This is our car. We have had it for about 8 months now. It is fully paid for and we own it. Now let me rewind a bit and tell you how we got to this point. It's pretty amazing.
After being married for 3 years (2006), Brandon and I were doing pretty well. He was one of the owners of a family business. We had a 2001 BMW (325I) and 2004 Landrover Discovery. Neither was paid for in full. We just did the typical loan thing where we made monthly payments. Ok, so after the company fell through in 2008 we lost alot. Both cars were repossessed, the Landrover in May 2008 and the BMW in January 2009. That's right. Someone came to our house and drove away with our cars because we couldn't afford them anymore. Not a great feeling, but we got over it.
After praying and telling God how bad we felt for getting into the situation of financing these cars and not being very smart with our money, we humbly asked Him to help us out. (Don't get me wrong. We are not saying we did some awful thing by getting these cars because up til then we had enough money to make the payments. We were just searching our hearts and trying to clear the air so we could understand what was going on). Well, the same month the last car was taken, a really wonderful family (of 6) gave us a blue van they had, to use indefinitely because someone had given their family another really nice van! That same week another sweet family we were having dinner with gave us their 2nd car to use for a week after we were sharing a bit of our story. So, we used the blue van for months, until sadly it died and we could not afford to fix it. (Also, did I mention this family continued to pay for insurance, taxes and such because we were soooo broke?!!) Now, looking over my journal I don't see exactly when the car died, but I do know that it was after June because Elle was born June 16th, 2009. And we used it to drive her to her first checkup. So it was in the fall of 2009.
After the blue van died, we borrowed many people's cars to get around. I can't even count how many times we had to borrow Brandon's parents car to get groceries or run errands! There were people that had 2 cars in their household and from time to time they would offer to let us borrow their's. But for the most part, at that time in our lives we really just didn't go out very much, except for church and stuff. (At this point you might be wondering why did we not have a job or whatever to fix this mess. And that my friend is a whole other story. But the short of it was that my husband did work for himself as a networker/investor. This was something we had prayed numerous times about and it was what he was supposed to do at the time. And I stayed home with my 2 girls because getting a job with no car, to pay for daycare did not make sense.)
In February 2010, yet another generous family (of 6) gave us their second vehicle (early 90's Ford Crown Victoria) to use indefinitely (with insurance, taxes and all paid for again)! Mind you, we never asked any of these people to borrow their cars except Brandon's parents and our landlords a few times for a dr's visit. So, God totally laid it on these family's hearts to help us. In June 2010, our friends needed their car back as they were moving to Denver.
We then went to God and asked Him to provide a car for us. Within days our friends that gave us the "blue van" were going to Peru for a few months and they let us use their really nice van that was given to them (insurance still covered and everything)! Their trip to Peru got extended for a few more months so we had their van from June until the end of October (2010). When they came back, we gave them their van and went back to God again and asked Him to help us. This time when we got together to pray, Brandon told me he felt a little presumptuous but that he felt like God was going to give us a car (and not just to borrow).
In November, we were asked to be a part of a series at a church, we were attending at the time, about failures and how God sees people through hard times. We were asked some questions and got to give a bit of our story on how God had provided for us. After the service, the church totally surprised us and gave our family a car (1995 Mazda Millenia) that someone had donated to them months prior. They also provided the tags and insurance for the first 2 months!
Ok....so we are almost there, but it is really awesome how God provided. In July 2011 we took a leap of faith as God showed us the path, to move our family to Kansas City, Missouri. With that move, our Mazda could not make the trip, so we sold it to help with the cost of the move. As we prayed about a vehicle, this time Brandon had talked to a mentor of his that has seen God provide in miraculous ways. As he was challenged in his faith, he then told me he felt like,"If we could believe God for a car...why not be very specific and expect that he could provide us with a bigger vehicle (like an SUV) this time, since our family was growing." So, we prayed for an SUV. A week before we moved Brandon was trying to work out a deal to buy a car so that we could have something to drive, but it fell through. And the same day, I received a call from a friend that knew a family in Kansas City that had 3 cars and wanted to let us borrow theirs when we moved! Crazy! We had never even met them!! So, we got a rental car to get there and then borrowed their car for a few weeks. Then, unexpectedly they needed their car back because one of their other cars got crashed in a wreck. At this point Brandon had started his new job and a truck was provided, so that is what we used when we absolutely had to. We also borrowed a vehicle here and there from fellow church people.
In October 2011, the job my husband got when we initially moved here turned really bad involving threats and verbal abuse. After much discussion and prayer we felt that he had to leave, for his and our family's well being. This left us with no car again, but this time in a new city with not as many contacts and no family. At that point we prayed and just asked God for confirmation that we made the right move and for Him to show us if we were supposed to be here or not.
Within a week, a young lady from church heard about our situation and offered us her car for 2 months because she was going on a trip to China. For the few weeks before her trip she would just hitch a ride or ride her bike.
Finally, in November 2011 an old friend of Brandon's had called to see how we were doing and felt God put it on his heart to give us $5000 to buy a car! Once he heard about us without a car, he definitely wanted to send the money quickly. So we found this 1999 Ford Explorer and got a good deal! His friend also paid the insurance for 6 months.
We have a journal we kept for the past 3 years or so of our life to remind us of God's continual faithfulness. These stories are just too good to be kept to ourselves. I hope someone reads this one day that needs a car, or just needs something, and God encourages your heart to know that He can and will take care of your needs.
Psalm 77:11-12
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.
Selah.
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