Our New Toyota Land Cruiser!

We have had such an adventure finding the right vehicle for our family!. Jonathan, with the help of several other pastors, spent almost every day for two weeks out in vehicle lots looking for something that suited our family's needs.. It had to be a Land Cruiser, and it had to have 4-wheel drive - without that, we'd never make it through the rough desert terrain to the remote villages we are reaching out to.

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Now, before you imagine Jonathan shopping in a lovely American-style car lot, let me set the stage!. These cars are in used condition, packed row upon row in sandy, dirty, dusty compounds (walled in yards). There are dozens of vehicles in each compound. Many are missing parts.. On a slightly smaller scale (with slightly nicer cars), an American might drive by one of these lots and mistake it for a junk yard! But it's not. It's a Nigerien car lot!

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After the search for a vehicle had been on for a few weeks with no results, we were getting a little discouraged. .During a time of prayer, I felt the Lord say, "I'm going to bring it to you." .My mom emailed me, too, and said, "I'm praying and calling your vehicle out of hiding!"
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Well, it seems that God did have it "hidden away" for a season, and in just the right time, He brought it out of hiding.. We didn't "find" it ourselves, it was brought to us. .Here's a bit of our adventure, beginning to end...

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Car #1: .The first Land Cruiser that we really liked was big, white, shiny, and beautiful!. It had low mileage, too!. Since one NEVER purchases a vehicle here without first giving it a thorough checkout, we brought it to our trusted mechanic, Tony, for inspection.. Well, as it turned out, the seller of the vehicle had given it a fresh coat of paint, put brand new tires on it, and TURNED THE ODOMETER BACK!. To top things off, the engine in the thing was JUNK! .Reminds me of when Jesus said of the Pharisees, "You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones...". This vehicle looked great on the outside, but had nothing but death on the inside!. This was NOT the car for us.

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Car #2:. Looked like a great vehicle. .As it turned out, this vehicle did NOT have 4-wheel drive.. Right price, right everything else, but we just couldn't do without that 4-wheel drive.

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Car #3: .We ran across a vehicle that had already been sold.. The dealer told us if we paid him MORE than current buyer, he would re-sell it to us.. Eh-HEM!. Isn't there an ethical issue here?. Well, we didn't get that one either. .The seller may have been telling us it was already sold, even if it wasn't, to try to get a higher price for it.

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After these and MANY others, we were left wondering, "WHERE is the car that God has for us?!!" .We knew that He would provide, but we were in a bit of a time-bind!. While we were scratching our heads, wondering where else we could look for a vehicle, one of our contacts came to us and said, "I have a vehicle for you to see!"

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Praise God! .This vehicle turned out to be THE one for us!

Here is our Toyota Land Cruiser!

This Toyota Prado was a perfect fit for our family! .It had just been transported into Niger from Belgium, and we were the first people in Niger to see it. .Praise the Lord!. The terrain here is so hard on vehicles that it is best if you can get something that hasn't been driven in Niger yet. .This Land Cruiser is in excellent condition!. It's silver with black trim, quite a handsome vehicle! .It has 4-wheel drive, excellent air conditioning (yesssss), low mileage (not adjusted :), and a 5-cylinder engine.. It was a floor model before it was sold, so it has some pretty sweet extra features! .We were thrilled when Tony, our mechanic, gave it his FULL stamp of approval!

Isaiah loves beeping the horn! .It sure has his stamp of approval!

And Anna's, too!

How exciting.. God brought this car to us. .We feel like it is a gift. .It's a vessel that will be used for His work here in Niger.. Without a good vehicle, it is impossible to get the the remote villages!. We are so blessed.

Officially ours! .We have the title!
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