Car Trouble

As of tomorrow morning I will not own a vehicle. I'll give you three guesses as to why.
1. I'm crazy. I've become one of those well intended, but loopy people who feel they can walk or bicycle themselves and their family everywhere they need to go. No.

2. Our car was reposessed. Praise God, No; we are on pretty good ground financially.

3. I can't even come up with three guesses!!

The real reason is because the Stygers are blessed, blessed! We have given every detail of our lives go God and He has blessed us with His protection.

Steve and I bought a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe when I was pregnant with Elizabeth. Sadly, we knew our 2004 VW Jetta would not hold our growing family. So when I found out we were pregnant with a fourth I was SO excited, this meant one thing: minivan! I have wanted a minivan since Stevie was born. The trunk has so much room, the doors slide to the side so little kiddos don't slam a door into another car. I was giddy.
The search ended Thanksgiving weekend. We bought a used 2008 Toyota Sienna from New City Nissan here in Honolulu. We payed slightly more than we wanted to, but it had an automatic sliding door on one side! On his part, Steve wasn't thrilled with the minivan, he's much more of a SUV guy, but he blessed me with allowing me to get what I wanted. The fairytale ended pretty soon after that, days later to be exact.
Big plume of smoke out of the exhaust when I started the van.

The dealer took the van and gave us a free rental. They had the Sienna for I don't know how long, over a month. We went on vacation to Washington for Christmas and came back before they called.
We picked up the van and within a week I saw smoke again. They had fixed some of the engine issue, but not all of it. By this time Steve was deploying within days. Oh my.
As of yesterday the dealer has had the Sienna for just about 3 weeks. They called last week to tell me they thought oil was leaking out of the pistons.
On Tuesday morning at 9am I got a call. They were basically over it; not going to put any more money into the van and wanted to give us a full refund. What is the time table for this I asked. Today, maybe tomorrow. Bring our rental back and pick up your check.

One thought: I can't drive home on a check like it's Aladdin's carpet!

My husband is gone. I have 3 young children with one SOON to arrive. I have a motorcycle to my name.

I held my composure until I hung up the phone. A couple weeks ago, my pastor (prophetically!) said he would help if I needed to buy a new car. I called his wife, my great friend, and sobbed. I couldn't even get out what was wrong for a minute or two. She helped me calm down. I decided not to panic, but to take Genna to art class as usual and use that time to walk with the other two kids and think and pray.

God met with me on Tuesday morning. I was sweaty, stressed, pushing two kids fighting over one apple: a simple mom in need of divine wisdom. He gave me names of people I should contact to borrow a vehicle, but most importantly He gave me peace for the storm. I couldn't have Steve at that moment, but I had Him, and I didn't need anythng else.

The hands and feet of Christ have been so tangible to me over the last 3 weeks. This situation is no exception. Both friends I called were more than willing to let me borrow their vehicles. My one friend, Sarah, just happens to be leaving the island for six weeks. Her and David enthusiasticallly offered to let me borrow their SUV while they are gone. No pressure to jump into another minivan.

I told you we are blessed, and I really believe that is what is going on here. I'm not sure if we were wrong in buying the 2008 Sienna, I don't remember really getting any warning signs. What I do know is that God has protected us from an even bigger catastrophe by bringing us through this one.
Here is what I know:
*The engine is bad.
*We had a 60 day warranty through the car dealer and saw the problem within days of buying the van.
*We haven't had to pay for any repairs.
*We were given a free rental for weeks while they worked on the van.
*They have offered to give us a full refund, every penny, for the van.
*My friends are off island for 6 weeks at just the same time I need to borrow a car.

So there you have it. God is good, Amen?