Bells And Wheels

Got a little change in my pockets going jing-o-ling-o-ling…

Two weeks in Australia with no vehicle or phone, really tested our fortitude as a family!

We landed in Brisbane late one evening, after Wallaby Creek Music Festival. We were tired, loaded with luggage and music gear, hungry and needed showers badly. Thankfully, our new friend, Zoe’s (Ladi Abundance), whom we met at the festival, welcomed us to stay in her flat in Brisbane, we just had to figure out how to get there. We checked on renting a car but found out that because of school holidays there were no cars for rent. Then we checked the shuttles but they wouldn’t drop us at her door, so that wasn’t an option, specially with all of our gear. Finally we hailed a taxi van and paid the $65 to get to the house.

Once we arrived all of the feelings of uncertainty started to melt away as we found space to spread out and time to catch our breath. Zoe was a gracious host and her home was a fantastic little abode nestled in the bohemian and culturally diverse suburb of Brisbane’s West End.

As we laid our heads to bed that night, we contemplated the last 24hrs and though, how great it was that the person set to help us find our footing and resources happened to go by “Ladi Abundance.”

The next morning we woke, ready to tackle the tasks at hand, finding a car and phone. We sourced a rental car in the city at $40 a day. Craig took an hour bus ride to the rental car facility and picked up the car. He returned and we got busy scouring local papers and websites like Gumtree. We struggled to find a vehicle in our price range ($3500US) that would carry four passengers and a ton of music gear. Phones were just as discouraging to shop for, as most shops/websites were selling iPhones for well over our budget ($60). So we continued to search, pray and wait.

We took time to go grocery shopping, make a meal, do some laundry and caught up on wifi communications. The next morning, Zoe popped over to the house to pick something up and we asked if she knew of anyone who had a phone that they’d be willing to part with? She mentioned that her band mate, Mariel, had one and we were elated to find out that she was open to sharing it with us for exactly what our budget was!

We took the phone immediately and drove to the nearest mall to get a sim card and set up our phone. We chose Vodaphone as it was the cheapest plan at $50 for a month of unlimited calls/text to Australia and the US, plus 3GB of wifi for our maps and instagram updates. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until I called my parents in the US and the call cut out. When I returned the call I heard a message that our service needed to be upgraded because we used all of our plan. I was miffed to say the least. We just bought the card. When I returned to the shop the young lady behind the counter didn’t seem interested in helping me much. She told me to call customer service and they would take care of it. I persisted to enlist her help and she finally took my phone and called the service center herself. They said they would reset my card and it should be up and running within the next two hours. We left, ate lunch and started back to the apartment to continue our search.

As we drove through the city we stumbled upon a little car lot and decided to take a look. Most of the cars in the lot were to small for us but there was one minivan available for $4999 AUST, and although it was above our price range we felt like we needed to have a better look.

The owner of the shop, Geoff, came out to answer our questions. It was a 2002 Honda Odyssey, white, with about 125,000 miles on it. We took it for a spin. And as we drove, we talked about our budget and prayed again. We asked in our prayer for the price to come down to $4200 (which would round out to about $3500US).

When we came back, we let Geoff know we were interested but couldn’t afford his asking price and asked him what his bottom line was? He answered, $4200 for everything, taxes, fees, etc… We looked at each other in amazement and said we’d take it! He was delighted and said he’d get the paper work in order and to come back in the morning to pick it up. Working through the purchase was a little more complicated than we had anticipated but all in all, Geoff was a great guide and in the end, we found all of the necessary proofs of identity and residence we needed to make the final sale.

In the morning, my phone still wasn’t working and our time was short but we decided that another visit to the Vodaphone store was necessary before we left the area, as any attempts to fix the problem by calling customer service were futile. We had to pick up our new car, drop off our rental car across town and then make our way south two hours to Byron Bay for a performance. So the stop off at the store was an inconvenience to say the least.

As we were working through the logistics for the day we sensed a critical spirit trying to sneak in. Our patience was wearing thin and the process of working with a clerk who didn’t seem to care about our problem didn’t make for the most enjoyable experience. I have to say though, that once we realized that pride was trying to steal our joy, we shifted our thinking and instead of allowing the clerk to set a tone of despondence we turned our attention to what we could control, our own attitudes. It’s easy to carry a sense of thanksgiving when everything is working out, but it’s in the trials that we find out if that spirit of gratitude is real and sustainable. This was a good test for us. In the end, the clerk changed her tune, she became vested in our case and as a result we walked out with a phone that worked and a humility that brought about great joy. And, honestly, we walked out feeling a sense of connection to that young lady. Which is even more cool!

Working through logistics isn’t really much fun. We’d rather be at the beach! However, working through logistics does offer opportunity to be apart of some wonderful human interactions.

We on our way now, in the flow, and thankful for Zoe, Mariel, Geoff and the young lady who helped us a Vodaphone. We’re thankful for those who cared for us ahead of time through Modern Day, in order for us to afford a van and phone. And, we’re thankful for the way the Holy Spirit continues to delight us with goodness and traveling mercies!