Hunting for a Vehicle (Updated)

I noted previously a prayer request for another vehicle. One of our regular readers asked for a better accounting of how we are doing this. It seems to me I have no reason to keep this so very private if I want you to pray intelligently.

We do have something of value to exchange or sell toward the price of a vehicle. It’s current value is just over $1000 and there’s no doubt we can sell it for that. We’ve held onto it for just this kind of situation. Here in Central Oklahoma, that could buy something useful. We paid about that much for our 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee a few years ago and aren’t disappointed in how it all worked out.

Our experience has been that we can trust God, take our time and let Him show us the best deal for the money. We have time because the Jeep still runs. It seems the issue is related to electronics, dicey to diagnose and very expensive to fix. It costs more than it’s worth right now. So our Jeep runs pretty good when the ambient air temperature is cooler, and gives us trouble as it rises past 55F. At that, five miles is about the limit, which is roughly the distance my wife drives to work. Meanwhile, I’m doing some shopping today on my bicycle because the store in question is farther than that. Riding 30+ miles at a time is no big deal for me, so it’s just a question of carrying the load and enduring the conditions.

I don’t doubt that some of you wish you could help. God bless you, but don’t use our PayPal link for that on the donations page if you are working in US dollars. It’s really hard to move that money out into cash or to transfer to anyone selling a vehicle. (We don’t trust PayPal with our banking info.) Honestly, you really need to pray first and foremost. Yes, I’m convinced it makes a difference. If you want to contribute materially, email me (ehurst at soulkiln dot org) and ask for details.

Here in this part of the world, we can probably still find something decent with our current resources. We are starting our market research right now; my wife is in charge of this because God keeps blessing her efforts. I know that I can find something pretty good for $3000 easy, but I’d frankly be surprised if our parish and others contributed that much. This is not a big fund-raising campaign, but I’m not embarrassed to accept gifts from anyone. FYI, or personal inclinations are toward a small pickup, but we would accept a full-sized one, too.

This is not an emergency and we are patiently waiting for God to show us what He has in mind. Thank you for your love and support.

Update: The reader who asked me about this has a challenge to all the rest of you: She’ll match dollar for dollar any donations I receive for this vehicle.