I am finally buying a car!!! The whole story is so incredible.
There is NO DOUBT this is the car God wanted for me. AND
it's a car I love!
Car shopping has been going on for so long I can't even remember all
of the details, but basically Jairo has been searching for a car for
me since July 2012. His friends bring cars to the church for me
to look at. We all agree there is one problem or another with
each car and decide it is not the car for me. Samuel Wood was
helping me to look over the cars because he knows about that stuff.
Finally he said let's go to an agency (dealership).
On the day he took me shopping he had gone earlier in the morning and
scouted out 3 cars he thought I would like. We went to the
first place and he started walking over to the corner where 2 cars
that he liked were, but I saw a different car.
The week before I noticed the same car everywhere I went. It
was a coffee colored Honda CRV. On the Wednesday before I said
to Lourdes' sister, Belinda, "I like that car. It's a nice
color." On Thursday I told Josselyn, "Isn't that a
nice car? Do you like it?" On Good Friday that same
car followed Hermida and me everywhere. In tiny little El
Hatillo we saw it four times! (Probably not the same exact
car, but the same color.) I told Hermida I think that car is
following me! I never noticed it before and now it has been
everywhere I look for three days. I did wish I could buy that
car, but I thought it only came in new models and would be too
expensive for me.
So Sammy and I are at the dealership and there is the car! He
had two different cars in mind for me to look at but I told him I
have to go look at this car because everywhere I go I see the
same car. I explained that I've been asking God for a sign when
I find the right car, and this could be it. He said okay. We
looked inside and I loved it, but I didn't test drive it because I
didn't want to get attached to it. He still had more places to
take me.
We went to the next place where he showed me a Montero Sport, which I
liked and it was cheap, but it uses too much gas and gas here is
EXPENSIVE! I told Sammy if I buy this car Jairo will kill me.
Then we went back to the office and Jairo said his friend had
another car for me to look at. His friend pulled into the
church with the same car that was following me! I couldn't
believe it! Turns out that car was a piece of junk. It
had been in a few bad accidents and the repairs were poorly done. I
could see the ground through the floor and the drivers' door didn't
shut right so it made a whistling noise. The whole car was out
of alignment so much that the rear end was no longer square. That
was not my car.
Walter said he would take me back to test drive the first car I saw
when I was with Sammy. We got too busy that day and there
wasn't time so he said on Monday we will test drive the car. That
was fine with me. I thought if they sold the car over the
weekend then it wasn't meant for me.
On Monday I decided I wasn't going to mention the car but Walter went
straight to the dealership on the way to the church. As we
drove up we could see that the car was gone. If I had been
driving, I would have just kept on going, but Walter pulled into the
dealership and parked. We looked around and I confirmed it was
definitely gone. Then Walter went and asked one of the workers
where the car had gone. I thought to myself what a silly
question! They sold it! This is a car dealership! But
no, they didn't sell it. They used it as a loaner for someone
because the gas mileage is so economical. It wasn't sold!!! So
Jorge took my name and phone number and said he would call me in
about a week when it came back from being loaned. He was the
same man who showed me the inside of the car the week before.
Then Jairo's friend brought a Kia Sorento for me to see on Friday. I
really liked it. A lot. I did research on line and read
nothing but good things. They said it was a gas guzzler, but
this one was diesel, so it seemed perfect. There was a noise
that worried me and a couple of little things I would have to fix but
nothing big. I decided I would buy the Kia Sorento. The
agency told me I needed 3 years of residency in Honduras to qualify
for a loan, so I couldn't get a car there. This seemed like my
best option. Jairo's friend said he would talk to the owner and
call me back in the afternoon, but he never did. I figured the
owner didn't want to sell it for what I could pay.
That night there was a conference at the church. A church
member asked me how the car shopping was going. I told him I
found a good car today, but it seemed like I wasn't going to be able
to make a deal with the owner. The man from church asked if I
had tried any agencies (dealerships). I told him yes, there is
a car I really like at an agency, but it is a little more money than
I have. The man from church said he would co-sign for me to
get a car and he would take me car shopping on Tuesday. I was
so happy and honored that someone I don't know very well would step
forward and do that for me!
Tuesday morning my phone rang. It was a number I don't know. I
NEVER answer numbers I don't know, but this time I had a feeling, so
I did. It was Jorge - the guy who took my name and number at
the agency with the car that I loved. He said the car was back
and available for sale. I explained I was going shopping with a
friend and we may stop at that dealership today.
Jairo dropped me off to shop with the friend from church. He
said he has a friend who owns a dealership and he has been doing
business with that man for a long time. He really trusts the
guy and knows the guy will give us a good deal. He talked to
the guy that morning and was told they even have a Honda CRV (which
was the car I had loved this whole time). He said we should go
look at his friend's place first and if we don't find anything there
are other places nearby. I told him that Jorge had called me
from the dealership and said that the car I loved was back on the
lot. We agreed that would be another option.
Do I need to finish the story? The person from church and I
were talking about the same dealership! His buddy was Jorge's
boss. Jorge came and shook my hand, then later his boss came
and shook my friend's hand. We were all old buddies! I
test drove the car finally. It was the ONLY car I drove that
didn't have any funny noises. My friend thought it was a great
car too. So we put money down on the car and got paperwork for
a loan.
In Honduras - you know everything is different - the average interest
rate is 18%. That was a punch in the gut. But everyone
told me that it is just how things are here and I wasn't getting
ripped off. We took the paperwork home because other things
have to be done here first - so we didn't actually sign the loan.
I called my Mom all excited because I knew God had chosen this car
for me. She was not as thrilled. She told me I was crazy
and almost hung up on me after she heard the interest rate. Jairo
kept asking why I let my Mom make me sad when I had been so happy.
Then I decided to apply for a loan in the US. I thought I
wouldn't qualify because I make so little money. I don't
qualify for a car loan because I'm not buying a car
in the US, but I QUALIFIED FOR A PERSONAL LOAN!!!!! So the
money is already in my account. My Mom isn't mad anymore. In
fact she actually went to the bank and helped with the paperwork!
Now we are just waiting for the IRS people to do some paperwork
and then we can write a check for the rest of the money and drive
away with my car!!!
Do you know that many loans in Honduras have 40% interest????? Gosh!
I will get the car Monday or Tuesday. I was a little concerned
because car insurance here is expensive, but I knew I needed it and I
knew I was following what God wanted for me. Today a friend
from Iglesia en Transformación told me that he and his wife
discussed it and they want to support me. They want to pay for
my car insurance. They chose really good covereage which also
has the equivalent of AAA included - in case I get a flat tire, or
lock my keys in the car, etc. Can you believe that????
It was a long story, but I wanted you to know all of the details!
When you see a picture of me with my new car you will know all
of God's work that went into it. Walter stopping and asking
where the car was and Jairo's friend not calling me back on Friday
about the Kia Sorento. (He called Saturday, Sunday Monday and Tuesday, trying to sell me the car but we never came up with a payment plan that would have worked for me. ) If Jairo's friend had called me back
Friday, then when the man at the conference asked about my car
situation I would have told him I already found one. I think
about the fact that I got the call from Jorge and my friend got a
call from the owner of the dealership and we went straight back to
the same car that God had been showing me all of those days. It
was all God's hand at work for sure! And I really can't believe
I got approved for a loan in the US. But I did! Thank you
God!
I am still feeling more and more at home at the church here in
Honduras. Besides having a member agree to sign a loan for me
(but he didn't have to in the end) and buy insurance for me, the
whole church prayed for my friend who was hit by a drunk driver on
Saturday. She died on Monday. I received a lot of support
from the church members. They sent emails and texts saying they
would continue to pray for her family. In the past two weeks
many of them have asked me to be their friends on Facebook, which is
silly, I know, but it feels nice. I finally feel like I fit in
and am really a part of things here. I've been doing more
translation for Lourdes and Jairo. Lourdes says she doesn't
know what she would do without me. I know Jairo is appreciative
too.
Monday, when my friend was killed by a drunk driver and the bombs
went off in Boston I saw this. I thought it was cool.
I want to make light in darkness.
