“Did you hear that? That couldn’t be us, could it?” But it was. The loud hissing noise was coming from a punctured tire. This was only one of several events that day that stretched our patience to the max.

We were returning home after a Christmas visit with two other AFM missionary families. It is normally about a four-hour drive, but a string of adventures expanded the trip to 12 trying hours!

We were about 25 miles from home when the truck started to wobble badly. It has always had a bit of a wobble, but this time was different. It kept pulling strongly to the right. Then without warning the brakes were gone! We smelled smoke and pulled over at the first gas station we saw. The brakes on the right front wheel had seized up, and smoke was pouring out.

As the Lord would have it, we must have stopped at the gas station with the nicest owners around (actually most people here are very helpful and friendly). They called their mechanic friend right away, and with our trusty dictionary we tried to communicate our need. The mechanic went to work taking apart the hub assembly. When he pulled the bearing out, it fell into pieces. He then drove the hub assembly to the capital (about an hour’s drive on his moped), bought the new part, and came back and put it all together.
This all took a few hours, and in the meantime we got to spend time with the sweet family. We got lots of language practice, as they knew almost no English. The wife was especially friendly. She taught us many new words and made us feel so welcome. They even cooked us a vegetarian meal, for which we were very thankful. We tried to give them a little love offering for all their trouble, but they refused, insisting that we were friends.

This first breakdown thwarted our plans for the day, but we chose to be thankful for our blessings. We were thankful for all the ways the Lord has provided, and we knew He was watching out for us.

As we moved on down the road, we were glad that our brakes were back, but we were disappointed to find that the strong wobble was still there. Boaz stopped for a minute to look at the tires. He could see that the left front tire was wearing quickly and wouldn’t last long. We drove slowly and hoped we would at least make it home, but we ended up having a blowout only about six miles down the road. Boaz pulled the spare off the bottom of the truck, but he soon realized the front and rear bolt patterns were different for some reason, and it only fit on the rear. Right then a tuk-tuk came by, and Boaz decided to send the kids and me home with all our stuff while he went to try to find another spare before the shops closed. I quickly finished putting all our things in the tuk-tuk and locked up only to find that I had locked all our keys in the truck! (I’m glad my husband loves me!) We decided to go home anyway hoping that someone had a spare set for the house, and we would figure out later what to do about getting into the truck.

The tuk-tuk ride was where our patience was really tested. We were exhausted. It was getting dark, and the traffic was horrible. We were hungry, and we hadn’t showered in two days. After the first breakdown, it was relatively easy to praise the Lord, but it took much more effort at this point to remain positive and thankful. As we silently prayed, we felt our hearts renewed with thankfulness that we had come as far as we had, and we trusted that God would bring us through.

Boaz left us at the mission and continued on with the tuk-tuk driver in hopes of finding an open tire shop. The first two didn’t have the right size tires, and a third shop was closing. The young men were all dressed up and ready for a New Year’s Eve party, but they reluctantly went back in and found the right tire for Boaz.

Back at the mission we found out that everyone was on vacation, and the guard didn’t have keys for anything. The kids and I resigned ourselves to lying on the concrete in front of our house until Boaz got home. I used a broom to keep the mosquitoes away. Joshua tried to learn the art of lock picking, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) didn’t succeed.

Boaz made his way back to the truck and put on the new tire. Now to break into the truck. He pried the door open a little and then used the jack handle to try to open the little side window that older trucks have. Several people stopped to help, and finally someone got it.

We had begun our trip that morning at about 7:45, and Boaz got home after 8 that night. After he put the new tire on, the wobble was completely gone! We are still praising the Lord for taking care of us through all of that, and now the truck is better than before. Since then, we have been able to buy all new tires and wheels for our trusty truck.

Our family is now living in the village where we plan to work. We are learning the language as we minister to the health needs of the people. We greatly enjoy our new home and new neighbors. We feel sure we have the best job in the world. Every day is a new adventure! But thankfully most days don’t require so much patience.

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