A day before a three hundred mile trip - one way, Leonard discovered that
his water hose was never going to see Y2K. It had a swell in it and was about to
bust wide open. The Sinaloa Webmaster passed by his house and took advantage of a Typical
Missionary Day when it is time to do something with the vehicle. Leonard was
gracious enough to allow a few shots of the repairs that had to be done before he made his
trip to preach at the special services of a church.
Oh-No, this is Mexico. Parts cannot be bought as easily down here.
He finds out that no one in town carries the hose for the Van - not even the
dealer. It can be ordered but that will not do any good for the trip that starts the
next day. Leonard goes to at least five different places. The best that can
happen is to find a hose - any hose - that is sort of like the one he has. Most of
the evening was spent locating the hose. A fair match was found. It was a
little short but he could make it work.
Of course, the old one had to come off before he could take it around and
match it up. Then, another problem was discovered. The Water Reservoir had a
split and it leaked water. It was not bad but too bad to trust for a three hundred
mile trip. There was no way anyone was going to have a reservoir. Hopefully,
that could be fixed.
Thanks to JB Weld
The Water Reservoir Repair did not take all that long. The repair
was made and things started coming together.
One thing for sure, a missionary needs a creative mind to handle the
curves that are thrown his way in a foreign culture. Who would ever imagine that
changing a water hose on a van could get this involved? This is a typical thing in the
life of a missionary.
Well, the short screwdriver fell down in there somewhere. Every
project needs at least one thing to hold up progress. The screwdriver was recovered and
things are looking up.
It is back together. The radiator is filled with water.
Looks like the trip is going to be possible.
1985 Chevy Van. More than two hundred thousand miles. Still
looks good and as long as they keep making JB Weld, Leonard ought to be able to keep it
holding together. As is mentioned on the start page of a typical day in the life of
a missionary, there is nothing typical about living in a foreign culture.
