The story of our new-to-us car started back summer. It is a long but interesting story, in my opinion, and those of you who are interested in how God has helped us can read on.

We started the trip in our well loved dark red Mazda MPV Minivan MPV. It was a 1992 model, and had some miles on it, but was in good enough condition, so we figured it would handle the trip. Though even these best of vehicles can have problems on the 2500 mile car over rough roads to Alaska. In the old days cars would have special modifications done to their cars to protect the grill, headlights, etc., and they would take a couple extra parts of everything, because so little was available back then. Things are not the same as then, and parts can be flown in, if you are willing to wait for them, and pay the price.

Actually, we had very few problems along the road. We had a flat tire when we were about one day from Anchorage. And that turned out ok. It was 10 p.m. so we just pulled over onto an unused gravel side road, pitched our tent and spent the night. The next morning Sir Henry managed to limp the car to a tire repair shop on the slightly flat donut tire about 10 - 15 miles down the road and back to us in pretty good time.

The next afternoon we had just refueled in Palmer, and were getting onto our first 4 lane highway in a couple thousand miles, and that meant the first time for quite a while that we were going highway speeds. At that point we discovered that our transmission was slipping, and we couldn't go into higher gears. We were so close to Anchorage, only about 45 minutes or an hour, if I remember correctly, and we didn't want to stop for the weekend, with a car and wait for a shop to open on Monday. Also, we had relatives in Anchorage to stay with. So we crept down the side of the highway in first gear with cars and trucks whizzing past us. We were praying the whole way, and we made it all the way to the relatives house without completely breaking down.

Our dear relatives shared their second car with us so we could get around to see things in town, go to church, and check out car repairs. Prices are high up there. It looked like it would cost around $2000 to replace the transmission. My husband figured that our current minivan was worth that or less, so we decided to shop for a different minivan. That turned into a big ordeal. It tooks us a week to find what we were looking for. It is tricky because I am not a very tall person, and there are a lot of cars I can't drive. And my husband wants good reliability and price on the vehicle. We looked at all kinds of cars, for sale by owner and dealers. Nothing looked like it was going to meet our specifications. We were desperate because our only reservatiosn of the trip were for Saturday morning at Denali National Park. We didn't want to miss our shuttle bus trip into the park to see the animals and unique scenery. I was really praying now. Thursday night it was looking bleak. The relatives offered to let us take their car up, but we didn't want to, because it would mean we would be back in Anchorage shoping for a car again the next week, instead of doing the sight seeing what we had planned. Friday morning I got up and looked at the paper and there was a new ad. I was sceptical, but it looked interesting. There was a 1991 Dodge caravan. Looks good. Runs good. 69,000 miles. Doesn't pass emission testing. $500.

It looked too good to be true. We don't have emission testing where we live. We called and were able to go right over to see the car. It was a fine car for it's age. They just wanted to get rid of it and not put money into getting it to pass emissions. We bought it on the spot, handed over $500 and set forth. It seemed like God had led us to this car. It wasn't what I had really had it mind. It did have some draw backs. It was the base model, and didn't have many features of any kind, including no cassette, or air conditioning. It had also had a gallon (yes, that's not a typo) of soy sauce spilled in it, that they hadn't cleaned out. It smelled like soy sauce. Soy sauce isn't as bad as cigerette smoke, in my opinion, but it does get on one's nerves, when it doesn't go away as we drive along. Still, we were grateful to God for the new way to get around. And we set forth on Friday afternoon/evening for Denali, after moving things into the new van, restocking supplies at a couple stores. We didn't expect to see civilization again for a week and a half or maybe two weeks.

The relatives were sceptical about the new van, but were surprized that a $500 van would be in such good condition, only a few tiny scratches in the paint, and no worn out seats or carpet. We knew God was taking care of us.

We had a great trip. Denali park was wonderful. We had a few brake problems, but God helped us take care of those too, without an accident. We were able to limp into a little town that just happened to have a Napa autoparts and a very understanding and helpful clerk. He had the needed new part and even told my husband what to do to fix it. The repair cost around $3, if I remember correctly.

The car had had no problems since then. We drove it down the highway, even down the Cassiar Highway through British Columbia with its long gravel roads, and we had no problems. The car got us all the way home, and we have been driving it ever since. We have been a one car family for the last ten years since we got married, and so the new minivan is an important part of the family. My brother-in-law named it the Ptarmigan, after the little white Alaska bird, in honor of our trip, and the fact that it is white, but turns brown in the summer when we drive down gravel highways. Some of you may wonder how we got the soy sauce smell out of the Ptarmigan. Well, when we finally got home, Sir Henry removed seats, and carpet out of the van. We preformed an experiment, since it was only a $500 van we took the carpet and pads and put them in the kids wading pool, filled and refilled it with water, and stomped on each piece until the water ran clear. It worked. The smell was washed away. And the carpet didn't shrink or fade when we dried it on the driveway in the hot summer sun.

So what does this have to do with the car we bought yesterday? Well, we knew that we would need a different one, because the Ptarmigan didn't have air conditioning. That is fine in Alaska, but don't live there. We live where it is almost a necessity in July and August. So we have been car shopping since we got back home. Isn't it funny that when you know what kind of car you want, you can't find it. We wanted a Geo Prism, because they are filled with Toyota body, and have good reliabilty ratings. I can drive them comfortably. And they are cheaper then a Toyota. We had decided that we wanted to have a second car so when one broke down we didn't have to rely on friends in town so much. And cars do break down. My husband's family has quite strong frugal tendencies. And even if we had the money, he would not want to spend what he considers "too much" on anything. So we shop and shop and shop. It feels like there is no such thing as the car we are looking for. But then it turns up on an email from craigslist.com in Portland, OR. We make phone calls. It sounds really good. We get in the car and drive the required hours to get there. And sure enough, it was just what we were looking for. 1996 Geo Prism, 80,000 miles, 5 speed, 35 miles per gallon, ac, cd player, original owner. And we got it for $2200. My husband was even happy with the price. Again we thank God for taking care of us and providing for our needs. Now I won't worry so much about the van breaking down, or the heat of summer approaching.

We spent the night at my parent's house, near there. We got up at 4:00 a. m. so my husband could make it back for his 9:00 a.m. class. The kids and I took the new car and my husband followed us in the old. We are all tired today, and no school work got done at all. We each took naps, and my son may be taking his second nap. Tomorrow we will get back on schedule.