The Blessings of a Blown Engine

When was the last time you considered mechanical failure a blessing? I never thought I would write a title like this blog's. But, I did.

Over three weeks ago, on our way down to Livingstone with Tracy's niece and her husband, the engine to our
Pajero overheated, seized up,
and blew. Just 30 km from

Tracy and Alek

our destination (the distance a blessing), we sat by the side of the road for an hour and half until the tow truck came. We'd never ridden in our car on a tow truck before, so that was a new experience. Three hundred dollars later, the tow truck operator Carl dropped us in town at the mechanic's. The bad news and the bad news was that our vehicle was going to take three weeks to repair, and it would cost over $5,500 to fix. It is now three weeks later and they're saying it will be another two weeks.  

Despite the excruciating pain to our wallets and the huge inconvenience, God brought great good out of this disaster. We were still able to have a wonderful time with Dave and Jessica visiting Victoria Falls and traveling to Botswana on safari.

Without a car, we've been hiring taxis to get us around Lusaka. Enter the blessing. Through another taxi driver, we became acquainted with Alek, pictured above. During the twenty-five minute trips to town and back, Tracy has begun a discipling relationship with this brother in Christ, giving him several books to help him grow in his faith. Alek is eager to learn and devours everything Tracy has given him to read. 

Having no wheels is a huge inconvenience, but praise God for the blessing of Alek. Not only do we have a reliable, trustworthy driver, but God has opened doors of ministry with him. We're fast becoming friends!