We left you yesterday with a note from a radiator shop in Tampico. The good news is that we got our raditor up and running. The guy really did a great job, and it cost about $400 pesos, so around $40 US dollars to fix. We were worried it would cost heaps more. So after about two hours of blogging, eating tacos, and having some much needed Quiet Time (QT with JC), we were finally on the road again in the mid afternoon.
We rushed off amidst our songs of praise, and shouts of ¨Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole!¨ The trip was bliss. Perhaps we would make it to Veracruz before the night was over. Not an hour later we were feeling a slight slip in the transmission. Ugh Oh we thought to ourselves, no one willing to verbalize the fear that something new was wrong. After a few minutes of jerking and pulling along, it started to lose all power. God was still with us though. Again we had been driving down a barren road and hadn´t seen much of anything for most of the hour long trip from Tampico. But just as our van started to die completely, a little town appeared on the horizon.
On the side of the road again, stuck between a hotel, a restraunt, and a gas station we tried to start the van up over and over. But to no avail. Casey suggested it might be a problem with the gas we had gotten in Tampico. So Juan Carlos got some gas cans and a tube to get the gas out of the tank. An angel of a man showed up shortly after, and both he and Juan Carlos got down and dirty under the van. We got all the gas out and put some new gas in the tank. They found a little hole in our fuel line, though it wasn´t big enough to let any gas out, it was probably sucking air up into the tank. They did a quick fix on that, and we started the van up. It was roaring back to life again.
With praise to God, thanks to our angel helper, and pats on the back for our mechanico internacional (Juan Carlos) we got back on the road. You would think it was okay at this point. What else could go wrong? But as night fell, and we drove into the mountains the van started jerking again. Our prayers rang up louder and louder as we were urging the van up the mountain. As we topped out, rouded a curve, it died. So here we were, in the middle of the road, in the dark of night, on a curve…stuck.
Our spirits were down. What now?…What else? We got out with our flashlights and headlamps and pushed the van into the field on the side of the road. As thoughts of what to do ran through our brains we stopped and took a second to pray. We had nothing but God. Our question for the year is, ¨When the going get´s tough, is God enough?¨ In a flash of defensive humor I shouted into the sky…¨Gabriel?? Michael?? anybody up there? Julio…angel of stranded people in Mexico…can you come and help?¨
As we lifted up our prayers to God something happened. A peace, a joy came over us. We were prepared to trust in God even though it seemed as though we were being thrown into the fiery furnance. Finsihing up, Sarah spoke up and suggested we try and start up the van. Gary got in and to our astonishment it roared back to life. We pushed it out of the weeds, onto the road, and got in the van. Our fears of having to put on our packs and walk out of the mountains were now far away. For the next 20 minutes, on our way into Poza Rica, we sang songs of loudest praise to our God. He is always there and is always faithful. Juan Carlos has family in Poza Rica and we stayed with them last night. Their hospitality was a blessing to our tired bodies.
So we write to you today, still a few hours from Veracruz. Since we have obviously lost this leg of the race, we are considering going straight to our ministry site and skipping the stop in Veracruz. The trip to the finish line would require some backtracking for us, and the way things have been going…that´s not necessary. The van is being checked out once again, and we are searching for other options of transportation just in case this doesn´t work out. Pray that God provides a good way to get around here, or does something amazing financially. We look to see what He will do with no expectations of what will happen. It´s a crazy journey for sure, but it´s also quite amazing to see how much God loves us and to be able to trust Him when we have nothing else.
Today we´ll leave you with a quote from Juan Carlos who has finally named the van. ¨la tortuga volando!¨ In English, ¨The Flying Turtle.¨ Carlos is certain we have set a record for the longest trip to Veracruz. Pray for us, but know we have the joy of the Lord, and our faith in Him will not let us down.
– Ashley, for the Red Team
