Our trip to Washington was a relaxing time of fellowship with my brother’s family, as well as a good time to share about our vision as missionaries with New Tribes Mission. We were able to see the dual nature of the state (arid vs. forest) as well as the culture of the various areas…
Getting back home was the craziest and started out at 5:00AM PST. The first part of the adventure, from Washington to Minnesota was the most normal part of it all. Minnesota to Chicago… easy as well. However, once we landed in Chicago things got exciting.
First, when we arrived back at the airport to take the shuttle to our parking spot, we did not have the “required” ticket to board the bus (we did have the confirmation paper from Expedia though). Secondly, when we finally made it back to the parking garage we found our vehicle unstartable. I figured it was a battery issue, so the parking garage gave us a complimentary jump (after signing waiver forms).
Down the road we went. About one or two miles later, when deciding to get gas before traveling the distance back to the Lansing area, we pulled into the station… and the motor quit. I figured that we must have stalled, and that a simple jump would get us going again. Some guys in a moving truck assisted in getting the car in a better location (instead of blocking the entrance from the road) and then proceeded to hook up the jumper cables. We successfully got the car to make a “harrummphh” sound, but it wouldn’t start. It was puzzling in that their jumper cables were a little old, and if they wiggled them on the battery terminals, the light underneath the hood would alternate between bright and dim. This made us both think that their cables were bad… Once the battery on their truck started to smoke (at the point that the cables were connected to it), I thanked them for their time and they were on their way.
I decided to purchase some new jumper cables from the small store that served the gas pumps and then sought out another helper. The guy I found was equally sympathetic to our plight, but after only another single “harrummphh” declared that he had to get to work (which I fully understood). So I plotted our location on the GPS, grabbed the prepaid cell phone and went into the station to look in the phone book for the nearest fix-it shop. The attendant explained that only a few blocks away there was such a place… After assuring Denise and the kids I would be back, I set off on my course.
The fix-it shop declared that they would help as well as gift me lift back to the car. They brought a portable jumper unit, connected it to the car, and had me drive with it under the hood down the road (with the hood still partially open) as they followed behind with there flashers on (it was only a half mile or so).
Once back at their place, they determined that it was probably due to the positive terminal being stripped and the screw hole on the battery not making a good connection. They replaced it, and declared it was free of charge (I was so grateful, I gave them twenty dollars anyway), but cautioned that there was a chance it could be something else, but this was most likely the cause of our troubles.
Back on the road in Chicago we encountered nine miles of bumper to bumper traffic… and eventually made it home at 11:30PM EST. The car has made it, and continues to start and drive fine. I am sure the starting trouble was due to the loose cable connection on the battery. This got me thinking… I am thankful that it wiggled loose when it did, not on our way to Chicago to fly out, and not in the middle of the bumper to bumper traffic on the toll road. :-)
Tags: life, missionaries, thoughts, vehicle
