Kilimanjaro Journey : A Big Day! I have a Vehicle in TZ!

Wheels for Wendy!
That was the talk of many Vacation Bible Schools this past Summer! The wheels have finally been found and purchased!

I am grateful for all of you

who helped make this day happen!

Finding a car here in Tanzania can be quite a journey. By missionaries who have lived here much longer than I along with reliable sources Toyota Land Cruiser is the desired way to go. This is because parts can be found, reliability, and ability to venture in remote places. The vehicle must be duty paid. And you wait to hear about or find flyers with info of who are selling that meets the above. Patience is required and a great deal of prayer. This decision and trying to uncover the right car was very stressful for me and I was very overwhelmed with trying to make a good choice. With the help of my teammates and a national this is the car we found after several test drives.

The vehicle is a 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

Many families on the team have a Prodo. It has been kept in good condition and looks to be reliable. Ron, Todd, and Gary along with myself all test drove it to make sure of its condition and to help me with the decision. Tami and Sarah were happy passengers to help as well. Minimal work needs to be done, met budget with the price, and my moral supporters were all in favor!

Rendezvous spot ended up being downtown Arusha on the sidewalk in front of the bank. Where I handed the man the check and got the keys in return. The car had been brought and parked up the street for us to drive away. All the stickers, registration, and road license paper work had to be purchases and filled out. One of our Tanzanian friends helped with that ongoing process. The entire process from test driving the vehicle to actual purchase was over a week. So, as simple as it might sound trust me purchasing a vehicle in TZ is not as easy as the Blog entry!

I had a peaceful sense driving it back to the Center which was really important to me. I really really wanted to make a solid choice and was a little nervous about all the ins and outs. It was a good learning week for me and I am grateful to be able to have wheels to get food and all the ministry possibilities that this vehicle will bring! When I drove onto the Center all the nationals and missionaries on the center came to congratulate me. It was cute! Julius was grinning from ear to ear! You would have thought I was bring the car back for him! They had all been working on a place for me to park the car while I was gone.

There were some hideous 70s polar bear furry seat cushions that HAD to go. I was cleaning the car up on the inside and Julius immeadiately took the rag from me and couldn't wait to clean it. Bless his heart! He said he has missed cleaning a car and was so glad I finally got one. What a hoot. He spent the afternoon spreading the rock for the parking area and cleaning the car. It was Christmas x10 for both of us! He made that car sparkle! Then the truck came in and dumped rock with a HUGE dust cloud. Doesn't take long around here for it to look like a Bush Vehicle!