By 6pm on Wednesday, we were supposed to have all of our travel plans, car, and insurance taken care of. So, we spent Wednesday afternoon looking for cars. We needed enough room for seven passengers and their stuff, and Casey had received a word from the Lord that we weren’t supposed to pay more than $1800 for whatever we purchased.
Our first potential lead on a mini-van here in Matamoros fell through because it was sold the day before. Therefore, we headed back into Brownsville to seek out other options. We were confident and ready for the task. God was sure to show up in an amazing way.
After several stops at car dealerships and random gas stations, God closed every door. God took us further out of Brownsville away from any places we thought we could find a van. As we turned around, we happened to pass a small dealership. Katherine and Casey ran in to check things out because time was getting short. The owner showed them a ’91, blue and white, Ford Clubwagon for $2000. This was a full-size van with more than enough room.
We test drove it and we all felt like it was the one, but we had to get him down to $1800 because Casey felt strongly that the Lord had given her that figure. After much negotiation, we finally talked him down to $1900, but he would not budge on this.
We got together and prayed. It was difficult for us to go on faith on a figure only one of us had heard from God. But as we prayed, God showed us each a different piece of the puzzle. Katherine was at peace that we should come back the next day and everything would be alright. Ashley heard God tell her to be obedient. Casey heard the $1800, and I knew it would be our van. We offered him $1800 one last time, but he was still adamant. That last $100 stood between our logic and our faith. Would we take matters into our own hands and make what seemed like the best deal, or would we trust God to handle it all?
On faith, we went to Wal-Mart to buy things for our van, though we hadn’t purchased it yet. We believed that God would deliver it to us for $1800, and we stepped out on that belief. Afterward, we headed back to our base in Matamoros without a van, and asked the other teams to pray for our obedience to God’s word and that the dealer’s heart would be changed. Gary also felt lead by the Lord to fast until God delivered our $1800 van.
Today, Gary and I went back to Brownsville on faith that God would be in control. It was funny, because we were the two who most wanted to take the $1900 offer. God knew we were supposed to be there, because we most needed to learn the lesson He had in store for us.
When we arrived at the dealership, we told the dealer that we really wanted the van, but through our prayers, God told us we could not pay more than $1800. I told him the money was for the Lord and he would be blessed. Gary reasoned with him about there not being a very good market for it here. Yet the best deal we could get him down to was $1850. We pleaded some more but he wasn’t moving.
We were faced with another decision to make. Could we compromise the word of the Lord to get the van we wanted so badly? Would our teammates feel like we sold them out? Gary and I went outside to pray about it once again.
Neither of us felt we were getting any confirmation. I even offered to pitch in the $50 as a donation to my team, but it still didn’t sit well with us. We knew God was calling us to be obedient again and just tell him we couldn’t pay. So we went back in and told him, “Sorry, but God just won’t let us do it.” He thought for a second and said, “Ok, I will give it to you for $1800.”
We were amazed by God’s provision and faithfulness to our obedience. It was nothing we did; God had to completely do it. No haggling or convincing on our own could get the man down to $1800, but God was totally in control. He called us not only to be obedient once at $1900, but even when it became more tempting to give in at $1850. As Gary was laughing and I was crying, we both realized the power of God and the fullness of His faithfulness. How great is our God!!!
So we were faced with the question: was our faith in God worth $50? Will we be obedient, even when it doesn’t make sense? Now, we know for certain what our answer is.
By the way our van is SWEEEEEET!
–Sarah, on behalf of Team Doulos
