When Promises Become Very Precious (continued)

This is a continuation of my previous blog telling of my time in Mexico and the challenges that come with it…

After meeting with my kids, Carlos and Juan, at the mall for something of a discipleship group, we met up with Julie and Cynthia and walked around with them to do some browsing before heading home. I asked them if they needed rides home and they accepted. I didn’t actually take them home as I had planned, but dropped them off on the street somewhere near their houses (I suppose) when they jumped out of the back of Willy and said thank you, as is the custom in Mexico.

Julie and I went on to her house for a few minutes and then decided to go back out to Costco to get a membership there. Costco is very similar to Sam’s Club, but better, at least where we are in Mexico. On our way to Costco on a busy street at night, Willy began having issues. He started getting a bit jerky and then completely shut down. I pulled off to the side of the road (there is no actual side of the road, it was more like halfway in the right lane and halfway in a small parking lot) and tried to get him started up again. I told Julie that I thought we were out of gas, so when Willy started I knew we had very limited time to get to a gas station. As we started going, Willy stalled for a moment and then violently jerked forward causing me to seriously wonder about things, but then he stabilized enough to drive for a while. We bypassed Costco in search of a gas station and I was praying along the way that we would simply get there. We, very thankfully, got to the gas station without much trouble. It was there that I realized that without my wallet I, once again, couldn’t pay for the gas. I kindly asked Julie if she would pay for some gas and she graciously agreed. I love how God provides so many ways for His people. After getting gas, Willy seemed to be fine for about a minute and then he went dead on the side of some back road. I tried to get him started again, but he wasn’t about to move. A very nice Mexican guy saw us and stopped to assist us, helped me push Willy to try to jump start him, and even took the battery out of his truck and put it in Willy to make sure it wasn’t the battery. It wasn’t. God brings people along to help us completely unexpectedly. Even though he didn't fix the truck for us, it was a very good thing to know that we couldn't jump start Willy and the problem wasn't that battery. That was very useful later.

We eventually had to call Byron to come pick us up and take us home. Byron is very generous with his time and is a great partner in ministry. We never made it to Costco. The next day I rode around with Bryce and Noreen to find a tow service and we finally found one and got Willy towed to my mechanic friend downtown. Since I had no money, Bryce and Noreen had to pay the tow guy. I am very thankful to have friends like these working in the ministry with me.

My mechanic, Luis, spent a day looking for the problem and decided it was the fuel pump. A fuel pump for a 1990 Ford Ranger is not all that easy to come by in the Yucatan, but thankfully Luis was able to find one somewhere and have it sent. I got Willy back a day or two later and he made it through the weekend without any issues. The following week, I got up to go to school one morning and when I went out to Willy, he wouldn’t start. It was the exact same problem. I was thankful to still be able to catch a ride with Byron, but was getting a little frustrated with Willy. I was also feeling the onset of a cold that was coming fast and hard. After school, I called to have Willy towed again (the third time in a few days, mind you) back to Luis to see what he could do about the troublesome fuel pump. Again, I had to borrow money to pay for the tow.

After a day of getting sicker and sicker, I got a call from Luis saying that he had rigged the wiring to the fuel pump and it should work fine from then on. I was so thankful to be able to go get Willy back. I love watching problems in life keep coming up and wondering how God is going to work them out. A song comes to mind…

“Keep ‘em comin’ these lines on the road
Keep me responsible be it a light or a heavy load
Keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise
I’ll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes.”

~Derek Webb

His promises to always take care of me are precious to me, especially when things seem to be going wrong. It is a tremendous feeling to know that He is sovereign and is working things out for our good. We can delight in Him and trust in Him, rather than in our own understanding of things. We are not called to figure things out in this world, but to trust Him and His goodness, and He will direct our paths.

More in another blog to come…