Gone and Back Again

On Sept 21st. we left Salmon Arm headed to northern Alberta with our little Lasharo RV with hopes that it would take us to our desired destinations with quitting, it is twenty years old and doesn't owe us anything. We planned to visit churches in LaGlace, Manning, McLennan AB. Then head further south and east to Belbute, Weldon, Regine (for conference) and Porcupine Plain all in SK. All was well till we left Mannning, we got as far as Fairrview, and the Lasharo decided it had had enough and packed it in. So there we were between nowhere and nowhere. We had a good reliable van in the garage at home but that was now 1400 kms away. Fortunately for us my nephew Dan Litke and his wife & Karen live in Fairview as well as a very good Brazilian friend that we always stop to visit when we go through. Dan & Karen invited us out for dinner and as we walked into the driveway Earl commented on the car sitting in his driveway. It was a Chrysler Intrepid, "it's got just the motor I need to adapt to the imported Lasharo diesel. It didn't take Earl long to inquire where he got the car and how did he like it. Dan told him he just got it but he hit two bears with it a few days ago and the insurance company wrote it off. Earl perked right up and said he would be interested in paying Dan for the wrecked car if the insurance let him keep it. Dan would only find out the next day. Then we told them of our dilemma, somehow Earl had to get back to Salmon Arm and pick up the van. The next day Dan called and said Earl could have the car if he wanted it, the insurance company didn't want the thing. He also said he and Karen were planning to go to Sicamous that week end to see their friends, and if Earl wanted to drive the car home, they would follow him in case anything went wrong ... but they couldn't leave until Friday 5 pm. So that's what we did, Earl drove to S.A. and back, a 2800 km round trip. The car ran well but the trip was brutal, he only got in 4 hours of sleep between Fri. and Sun. where we had another service to go to in McLennan. Luke came back to help him keep away. There were two very groggy guys sitting in church that Sunday, but we managed to stay awake through it all. The RV is parked in Dan's yard, and the motor for it is in the little red car sitting in our driveway in S.A. What fun, but the Lord must have had thing already worked out before all this happened ... who else would have given us a free motor. And it also takes care of any extra hours of leisure Earl thought he might have this winter. The nice thing is he now has a nice heated garage in which to work. We are so grateful to Dan & Karen. And, we managed to stay and help our Brazilian friend finish some jobs on her newly moved house. Other than that we enjoyed visiting with friends and relatives all along the way. Earl even got to sit on the tractor and make a few rounds in out friends field. Daughter Pat just got out of the hospital after back surgery. We are all praying for a full recovery, and hopefully some relief from her constant pain. Lynn & Dwight are doing just fine in Mozambique, their kids are doing very well in University in Edmonton. Our Brazilian boy wasn't able to find a sponsor so he has gone back to Brazil. We will keep looking for a sponsor and hopefully he can come back some day soon. We will surely miss him, he was such a wonderful guy, so kind and considerate, and he lit up our lives. Now we are hunkering down for the long dreary winter. But we have a nice new furnace, warm blankets, lots of homemade jam in the pantry, and enough money to buy whatever else we need to get us through the next four months! That's it for this round ...