God's Vehicle

I was able to share a testimony with my church here this morning about God's provision. What happened is truly remarkable to me.

I had the engine rebuilt in my old Pajero about 2 years ago and was told by everyone that once those are rebuilt they will continue to develop many problems. Sure enough over the past two years it has continued buring a ton of oil and the turbo had to be replaced and it still wasn't running right. So two years ago I began praying for God to provide me with something else to help me in the ministry here. I had been consistently praying for two years. Everytime I travelled to Nairobi I would be searching the notice boards and the used car lots and checking the newspapers for possibilities. Most of them were in bad shape. That might have something to do with the bad roads in Kenya and the lack of the word "maintenance" in most people's vocabulary. The ones that were in good shape were way above my own budget. I was close to purchasing one a few months ago, but after I had made a counter-offer, he sold it to someone else. I guess it wasn't meant to be. After that I think I lost hope. I began praying that God would give me a new vehicle or would extend the life of my old Pajero to last me throughout my time here.

When I went to Nairobi in July I wasn't planning on shopping for another one anymore. Then one evening I was in the parking lot at the guesthouse where I was staying and a Toyota Landcruiser pulled in and almost ran me over. When I looked up I saw the "For Sale" sign on it. I looked at it closely and talked to the owner who was a lifelong missionary and father of six children. Their family was preparing for a move to the Horn of Africa to work with Muslims. The vehicle was exactly what I was looking for, but the price tag was beyond my budget. I prayed over it for a couple of days with a lot of hesitancy. The more I thought about it and sought wise counsel, I was feeling strongly that God was telling me this is the vehicle he wanted me to have. After my mechanic gave it a thumbs up, I talked with the owner again who said he could take a down payment and wait for the rest. I have a personality that likes to logically think through things, budget and plan for something. THis was a big step of faith for me. After selling my current vehicle, I knew I would still be short a certain amount and had no idea where that money would come from.

As I was driving back to Mbita the next day in my new vehicle with my friend Pastor Amos, I received a phone call from my parents. This was the first time in six years in Kenya that my parents have ever called my cell phone. We usually communicate through e-mail or the internet somehow. They said they had good news and proceeded to tell me that someone gave a gift in the offering for me. It ended up being the exact amount I had needed. I was stunned. God is so able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). I know this vehicle is truly God's gift to be used for his service. I hope and pray it would be used to help others to come to know him as the True God and that it would be a blessing to many people.