For those of you who have been asking, let me give an update about my car situation. I finally have it back in my possession AND in driving condition!

Here’s the story from where I left off…

Last you heard, my car was stuck in Sessreim, 5 hours southwest of Windhoek. After a few days of strategizing--mostly, trying to find the cheapest and safest option--we decided it would be best for me to travel down with Mick and his daughter Grace to fetch my car. I had went back and forth on the decision of how exactly to solve the problem on my broken car, and in the meantime, I purchased a clutch kit in case the end result would be to send a mechanic down to fix my car where it sat. Thankfully, that clutch kit was used in the end, though I don’t know whether or not the advance purchase saved me any money.

We left Mick’s house that Thursday morning around 2:45am and headed for Sessreim. Mick was able to borrow a tank (aka: beast of a Land Rover), rented a trailer (which he and Suzanne blessed me by paying for it!), and off we went. It was cold and dark, but we were on a mission. We saw nearly every kind of African wildlife there is to see along the way. Zebras would run out in front of us. I tried to get a decent picture, but only managed to capture a black and white blur since I was inside a moving vehicle and it was dark outside. The stars were absolutely incredible and the wildlife was quite exciting, although one little jackrabbit type creature decided to run straight into the front of our moving tank… probably not a good ending for that little guy.

We stopped along the way for breakfast. Grace had made some delicious cinnamon rolls! We watched the sunrise come over the mountains and plains… God’s mercies are truly new every morning. It was a fun, but tiring trip.

We finally made it to my poor little car. The men at the service station helped us roll it onto the trailer. I bought them each a coke for their time and effort. Mick and another man tied everything down, including a tarp that would supposedly protect my car from damage as rocks tend to fly up on the dirt and gravel roads. About 12 hours after we left Windhoek that morning, we returned safely and left my car with the mechanic.

One week later, after many times of hearing “maybe it will be ready tomorrow”, I finally was able to go pick up my car. The clutch works like butter. It’s pretty nice actually! Everything is in perfect condition, except for two things… 1) I still need to purchase one more tire (my spare is slightly larger than my other tires, and the patch job that we got in Solitaire for the first busted tire wasn’t holding) and 2) unfortunately the tarp had the opposite effect of what we were hoping for. The paint job down both sides of my car is quite ruined. Sand or something must have gotten between the tarp and my paint and just buffed it out. Who knew?

I purchased a new tire on Monday. And the paint job will have to wait… maybe forever. It’s just not a priority. Priority One: paying off the debt I just racked up to get my car back to driving condition.

Here’s the entire bill…

1st tire repaired: N$110
1st tire replaced: N$1840
Short tow out of sand: N$200
Gas for Land Rover: N$1240
Clutch kit: N$2550.10
Clutch repaired: N$3076.60
2nd tire replaced: N$1260

For a grand total of N$10276.70, which equals around $1369.88 US. Welcome to the life of a missionary, where things like this are just not as convenient and affordable as they are in America. I’m sure a burnt out clutch is expensive to replace in the States as well, but the time it took for the entire situation to be resolved was very inconvenient, and typically you don’t have to tow a car yourself five hours on dirt, sand, and gravel roads. I will say, God was faithful throughout. He sent us angels along the way to help fix our flats, pull us out of the sand, and He allowed us to stay safe in what could have been a few far more dangerous situations, and I’ve been able to pay for all but around $750 of the total cost. I owe that payment by the end of this year, and I’ll trust that He will provide as He always does.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement throughout this crazy ordeal. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone when calamity of any kind strikes. If this is the worst thing that happens to me during my time in Namibia, I’m extremely blessed.