Taken for a Ride

I cannot thank my Heavenly Father enough for carrying our car in his hands throughout this whole mission.

In one three day period we were asked to take a missionary that serves 1 1/2 hours south of our city to a doctor's appointment 1 1/2 hours north of our city. We took advantage of the travel to stop on the way home and teach an investigating family that we met months ago at a restaurant.  They really like us to visit but they live 40 minutes away.  We played the "I'm thinking of a color" game, which the six kids loved! We have long since passed the family referral on to the missionaries serving in that city and they visit to teach each week. The oldest son was very interested in lds.org.  You just never know how things will turn out!

Then Sunday some Sister Missionaries in a city north of us asked if we could take them to a city two hours south of us to a baptism in Visalia.  Both of these young sisters had taught the investigator who was now finally being baptized. It was amazing to see these missionaries' joy in seeing their previous investigator get baptized and to visit again with the ward members they knew who had come to support the baptism. They felt the Spirit so much there that they said they felt completely drained on the ride home.  It was well worth our efforts.

However, this week has been very hot. It has been like 110 degrees hot. Our car, tires, air-conditioning, and every part of the car has continued to work perfectly as we serve in this mission. We have put 27,000 miles on the car just since we have been on the mission. And the car is ten years old.

 It is a miracle to me that the Lord is carrying our car through this mission. It is needed to take the Relief Society sisters to the Temple in Fresno each month, an hour away.  And it is needed to pick up people who need rides to church each week, sometimes making the trip back and forth to the church multiple times to pick up everyone. Every week there is a Missionary District or Zone meeting and we drive to the next city to pick up missionaries and bring them here. And we volunteer to drive the missionaries that are on bikes to across town appointments when the temperature gets over 100.

And somehow it all gets done because the Lord is carrying us-and our car.