Breakdown on the Highway

During the last 6 weeks, I have done a lot of driving – to churches, universities, and visiting friends around Pennsylvania and the Midwest. That's part of the job of a missionary who is sharing about what God is doing around the world while also trying to raise financial support.

My parents offered me the use of their vehicle, a Ford Explorer, with air conditioning and good tires, both of which my aging Ford Festiva lacks. Before my trip to Kansas City, my parents, who are often overprepared for every possible circumstance, enrolled me in AAA for my summer travels– just in case something were to happen.

Everything seemed to be going fine until 2 days before I would return home. I was slightly over half way through my travels between Malone University in Canton, OH, and the church where I would be speaking the next evening in Corry, PA (near Erie), when the car lost all electrical power. I was barely able to get over to the shoulder of I-90. Since there was no electrical power, I couldn’t even turn on the 4-way flashers.

While waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I thought of all that I was thankful for in this situation:

1. Because my parents had signed me up for a AAA Plus membership, my towing was completely free for 100 miles. I was 84 miles from my destination.

2. The vehicle broke down less than 1000 feet from the beginning of a construction zone. If the vehicle had broken down there, where there was no shoulder, I would have been stopped in lane of traffic.

3. Because I was just before a construction zone, the construction speed zone was in effect, so cars were traveling by me a bit more slowly than normal.

4. Where the vehicle broke down was by an on-ramp, so I was actually on the shoulder to the on-ramp, rather than on the shoulder to the highway, next to speeding vehicles.

5. I was able to call the pastor of the church (a friend of my family’s for many years), who was able to direct me to a garage in the town where I would be speaking.

6. If the vehicle had broken down on a different day of driving, where I had longer distances to travel and a stricter schedule to keep, I would have had the added expenses of either a hotel or a rental vehicle (or have to wait for hours for someone I knew to pick me up).

Although I would prefer not to have had the vehicle break down, and the repairs were quite expensive, I was able to see God at work in keeping me safe when the car did break down, and I am thankful for His many blessings.

If you wish to help with vehicle repair expenses, please click here.