When it rains it... (part 3)

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The next morning (After Wednesday's ATM incident and clutch cable snapping in half in the middle of the desert and Thursday's theft attempt and finding out our ATM card had been canceled) we decided to get to Cuzco as quick as possible before anything else went wrong. That lasted all of two hours before the van stalled and rolled to a dead stop on the side of the highway. An hour of trying to diagnose the problem rolled by. A bit of tinkering here and there and we got the van going again. Three consecutive days of frustration were rewarded by the most breathtaking stretch of highway to date. We were so amazed by what we were seeing that our troubles were almost forgotten. Well, that is until we found a rocky river crossing the Pan-American highway. This is flood season in Peru and this impromptu road hazard was just one of the many we encountered in the day. As with the three previous flooded areas, we crossed with caution.

Yes, you already guessed.

The van gets stuck exactly mid-crossing and the water is deep enough that it is coming in the doors. A friendly truck driver seeing our panic drives into the river and tries to tow us out with a strap that almost immediately breaks in half. However, he does manage to pull us far enough that we could cross the rest of the way. We cheered, we laughed, we almost cried for joy. Turns out we celebrated too soon. Unbeknownst to us, back in the engine the brace that holds the alternator had slipped from it's place. The resulting angle caused a violent vibration throughout the engine that began to tear it apart. Bolts sheared, the coil was thrown from it's place, the alternator shook loose and the fan which cools the car began to grind and throw it's broken blades into the engine. All of this happened within three minutes of the river crossing. The car might not be repairable with the money we have left. We need a tow truck and a mechanic and it is late Friday afternoon. The only mechanic in the small town who really knows about VW engines is out of town and won't be back for a day or two. I would be lying if I told you I didn't do some serious soul searching in that moment.

But then a thought occurred to me. Do I serve a great God or don't I? Is He working all things for His glory and my good or isn't He? Is THIS situation (three days in a row of nightmare frustrating scenarios) for His glory and my good? Really? If so, then I need to rejoice that God is being glorified and my good is being looked after in even this.
We are still here in Abancay, Peru, the motor is still a disaster, the future of this journey is still in doubt, but I am at peace.

God is good and He will do right by His children.

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Comments

[Peter Brunone]

Wow.
The views, the news, and the abuse... all seen through the lens of God's love for us. Thank you for putting it up here for us all to see.