Another one of our most frequently asked questions is, “Do you drive a bus?” But if you have been following our family story you are likely aware that we recently added a 13th member to our family (a baby girl named Riehlin Sydni). With her arrival we did officially outgrow our Ford E-350 12 passenger van.
We were able to sell the van about a week ago and strongly considered replacing it with a 15 passenger van. We have been praying about selling the van and buying something new for quite some time and after the sale of the van we asked a few other friends to watch and pray with us about what to own next. After prayer (and even the opportunity to try a 14 passenger bus on for size) we decided a bus would be the next thing for our family. We narrowed down our ideas about a bus and began searching for the right one. On Thursday this past week I (Todd) spent an evening shopping online with my friend Chris who knows A LOT about vehicles. We found a few options and even placed a low offer bid on a bus that was fairly close to us. Although we placed a bid on one, we were both more impressed with a bus that was about 10 hours away. Neither of us were excited about the distance we would have to go to look at it. We decided to sleep on it and pray about it. The next day Chris placed a call to the owner to inquire about it and even make a contingent offer. The owner accepted the offer which was lower than his listed price and very near the dollar amount we had received from the sale of our van! So, by 3:00PM on Friday we had made the decision to go and look at a bus that was in Greensboro North Carolina! Chris and I quickly packed our bags, a cooler of sodas and some home made cookies and set off on a journey of faith and friendship that would end up being a whirlwind two day tour of Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky! We left for NC on Friday at 3:30PM and arrived there at 1:30AM on Saturday.
Chris and I stayed at a hotel… Sorta. Actually, we slept in the car in the hotel parking lot mostly because we are both too frugal to buy a room for half a night of sleep. We had a cold and rough night of sleep (Chris started the car a couple of times to get the temp back up) and we fully awoke at about 8:00. From there we got a bite at a McD’s that was near the hotel. At breakfast we thanked God for our food and also asked him for favor and a good meeting with the bus owner. We also asked God for the opportunity to meet the owner earlier than our scheduled 10:00AM appointment because we were hoping to get back on the road ASAP.
We arrived at the bus place early and by divine appointment the bus owner showed up about 5 minutes later! We test drive the bus and looked it over for about an hour and by 10:00AM I was the proud owner of a 21 passenger Ford E-450 bus.
Of course, the drive home was a bit slower than the drive there. Chris and I shared the task of driving and because we were a bit travel weary our conversation was a little less vibrant than before. It was a long bus ride but we finally made it home.
The youngest kids were very excited to see me and their new ride. They even ran out to see me as I finally arrived hime at about 9:30 PM Saturday night.
I was glad to be home and so thankful for Chris and all of my other friends who had “shared the journey” of faith that God would provide another vehicle for our family!
~ Phillipians 4:19~