A Six Month Voyage To A New Vehicle
Thank you for your support.
We just returned from the State XC Championship and were walking over to our minivan in the Burke High School parking lot when we saw the flat tire. A flat tire isn’t that big a deal, but when it is the latest needed repair with your twenty-three year old minivan you might think, “Enough.” That was my thought.
With Jana beginning her full-time role at Beveridge Middle School, four boys between Beveridge and Burke, and me going through a job change and coaching at Burke, we couldn’t do it all with one vehicle.
Jana and I had no idea how we were going to purchase a second vehicle. The three previous cars we owned were given to us by people in the churches I pastored. A testament to God’s provision and the kindness of church families. We prayed, but also were uncertain what would happen since I no longer pastored.
I shared our story of life change. The idea to do a GoFundMe came to mind as a part of sharing our story. People, many of you reading this, responded immediately. One of the first to respond was Sarah Caruso. She let us use her Honda Pilot while we raised funds for a second vehicle. For nearly five months she has let us use her vehicle without complaint.
There were big and small financial gifts given to help us raise money toward a down payment. When I think of the financial gifts that have been given one of the first donations I think of is an anonymous $10 gift that came through GoFundMe. Being the one that manages the GoFundMe campaign I can see the names and emails behind the public anonymous donations. It was from a high school student. That donation in particular has stuck with me, and been a reminder of my family’s life and work being seen even when we get down on ourselves and think no one notices the good we are doing. People do notice.
That is the wonderful thing with this godly provision. People from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, people from different churches, people from different communities, people of different faiths, people of different races and ethnicities, so many people gave toward this. So many people gave toward my family.
When we reached $7000 in donations and then a family gave us a check for $3000, without them knowing we needed that exact amount to get us to our $10,000 goal? Well, as a person of faith I saw God answering our prayers.
Of course, I started praying anew when looking for vehicles to purchase. I shared before how this process was difficult. I’d find a good vehicle online but when I see it in person it does not come close to its online profile. Fair or not, I am reminded why there is a stereotype with used car salesman.
There were options to buy newer vehicles with low mileage, but also had extensive hail damage and were on salvage titles. In the end we passed on those. We didn’t think it would be honoring the donations given to us.
I realized I couldn’t find something we wanted within our price range. I decided to up our budget and go through CarMax. This allowed us to get a newer vehicle with under a 100,000 miles from a larger inventory. We’ve had good experiences with Chrysler, and I found a 2021 Chrysler Voyager available.
We were able to test drive it this past Wednesday evening and finalized the purchase. I smiled when driving it for the first time because the song playing on the radio was Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive”. (One of my boys’ favorite songs and they would stream it when I picked them up from school.) Omaha being the “big, small town” it is, the CarMax employee who works with us is a 2013 Burke graduate who pole vaulted on the track and field team.
Because of everyone’s support, we were able to pay a sizable down payment on the minivan. With economic uncertainty rising, especially with tariffs, we feel fortunate to purchase the minivan right now. Our monthly car payment is low going forward.
One thing I’m also grateful for is the experience of buying a car. I’ve never had it before in a traditional sense. During the frustrating aftermath of visiting a local dealership the thought came to mind of how this experience will help my boys someday. I can provide better insight to them if they purchase a car.
Six months after the flat tire, I’m in the midst of coaching my first track season. It’s busier than coaching cross country, with more students, events, and meets. The fourth quarter of the school year is always full. Liam is on the cusp of graduating and I can feel the change coming to our family. Still, I see and experience goodness throughout it all. I see God at work in big and small ways. When I drove the Chrysler a second time I hear Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” on the radio. I smile and I am grateful.
Thanks
Thank you for reading, and for all the support you’ve shown my family the past six to nine months.
It’s Friday, April 11th, and I’m finishing this post from the McDonald’s near Millard South High School. (Why McDonald’s? Chris Arnade.) I’m getting ready to head over to Millard South to set up Burke’s camp for today’s track meet.
If you’re curious about Burke Track & Field, or want to read more about my coaching experience, you can read my Burke Distance Running Substack.
If you want to continue to help us with the Chrysler Voyager purchase, you can give to the GoFundMe campaign still or give directly through Venmo like some have. (Time to go to the DMV to pay the tax and get the plates!)
Thanks.