"The Snowmobile"

The Story:

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen."

When we found out we were pregnant in early February, we knew we HAD to buy a vehicle. The two we owned in fact, were broken down, 100% undrivable at the time, and we were borrowing a car. Two days after our positive pregnancy test, this Excursion was listed for sale. WAAAAAAAAY too expensive for any chance that our family could ever afford it. But something about the Craigslist ad stuck with me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. In late Feb. or early March, Eric called the owner to learn more about the rig. We knew we couldn't buy it, but something was compelling us to call anyway. Eric had a good talk with the owner. Months passed, the Excursion was no longer listed for sale, and we continued "shopping" for vehicles, and saving every dime we could, knowing our tax refund was only enough to buy an old beater, not something to meet our family and farm needs. Throughout this process, we kept laying our need at God's feet. We got my little KIA running, only to have yet another part break, leaving it unusable. The explorer transmission kept running, but progressively getting worse, as more and more parts began breaking/failing on it. It's now mid-summer, and after looking at hundreds of vehicles for sale, I had never forgotten the Excursion ad. And I couldn't stop thinking about it. Finally one day I said to Eric, "I know it's completely insane, but would you call the guy in Bremerton and just ask if he still has it?" So, Eric did. And, yes, they still had it. They were now asking $2000 less than their original asking price. Eric thanked them, and said if we could put the money together we'd let them know. At this point, we had several family members lovingly pitch money into our "vehicle savings". That generosity helped tremendously. Another month passed by, and we were still several thousand short of the asking price. We both agreed and believed that God would provide a vehicle, we just had to find the right one. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the tug on my heart towards "that one." We had a list of vehicles we could afford, all with significantly more miles and not as good of shape, but within our price range. But always, something would stop us from pursuing the purchase. It's now early August, and I have an overwhelming feeling, so I finally share my thoughts with Eric...And told him I thought we needed to make an offer on the excursion, even though we were waaay under their asking price. I mean hey, the worst they could say is no, right? So we made our offer. The answer was that the owner and his wife would talk about it. Ok...Not a "no". A week went by with no answer. We figured ...ok, our offer was too low, that's ok. God will provide something else. And we truly believed that. Our hearts were at peace. One evening we were sitting at our patio umbrella table watching the last of the evening light fade away, and a message came through on Eric's phone. It was the owner of the excursion, telling us they would accept our offer. We were immediately wiping away grateful tears. We set it up with the owner to meet in Bremerton the following Saturday. Only...The next day, life threw us a curveball. I ended up in the hospital with a pregnancy scare. And consequently, unable to travel all the way to Bremerton. We contacted the owner, and explained what had happened, asking if we could postpone picking the vehicle up. His response? "I'll deliver it to you." ...We were blown away. On Saturday morning, a flatbed semi pulled into our driveway with the excursion. The owner started talking about his kids, five of them with #6 on the way! And he commented that his wife homeschools using a Christian curriculum. And that's where the connection on a much deeper level occurred. We weren't strangers meeting for the first time, we were FAMILY. The family of God. And...They didn't just bless us by bringing the excursion to our door. He brought us 4 extra tires on rims, completely detailed the vehicle and engine to a spotless clean, changed the oil, filled the gas tank, gave us a box of unopened bottles of oil, oil filters, fuel and air filters and replacement windshield wipers. They went completely above and beyond. We had a great visit, and prayer together before his trip back home. We all knew this entire transaction purchasing the vehicle was God's hand. We've talked one more time since Saturday, and the owner commented that he has no doubt God brought us together. 

I share this story, because we want others to know that God is faithful in ways we can't imagine. We prayed for a vehicle, but never dreamed we would be so abundantly blessed. This story is in no way about us. It's about God. Do you have a need? Lay it before Him. He is trustworthy, and deserving of praise!

In less than 2 months we'll welcome our new baby boy, we cannot wait to see what God has for our family in this next exciting chapter of life!