Meet “THE BEAST”

No no no… not THAT Beast:

Though you must confess, my doggo was a pretty cute puppy… but what I’m talking about is this one:

This is my car. Well, truck really, and this specific truck, my 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser has served me well. It has big tires that can climb steep inclines, even when it’s been raining and the mud is slick climbing up or down the side of the mountain where you can find my house.

It has a powerful engine, which has pushed through shallow and deep waters alike when the bridges have been out over the small creek I need to pass to get home, or the underpasses have 6 inches of water that can’t drain.

It has great suspension, a needed asset when navigating the terrain of dirt roads filled with potholes and small (or large as seen above) ravines, or the paved roads that really aren’t paved anymore, or even when going over the main source of traffic speed control: Speed bumps.

It was an expensive car. They all are here. Every single vehicle in this country was imported at some point, and as such, vehicles retain their value here-especially since everything is geographically close so the milage stays low, even if the time it takes to get anywhere stretches out. The 35 miles to my favorite place in Nairobi to get groceries? It takes close to an hour and a half to get there. Even 20 years old, my car cost more than I ever imagined spending on a vehicle. In fact, because of that cost, I didn’t plan on getting one at all! But before I moved out here four and a half years ago, God provided. I had a church raise money specifically for my car with a coin drive during VBS. While it provided only a fraction of the cost of the vehicle (the rest coming from the generosity of my fabulous supporters <3), it was the push I needed to get the car, and I often think of and pray for those children while I drive.

So, why am I talking about my car?

Because today I have a huge praise.

Mechanics has been hard since moving to Kenya. I had to leave my favorite mechanic in Michigan. I did all my mechanics with my dad. With him, I learned to change my own oil, my own windshield wipers, taillights, and could even do my own brake job, pads rotors and all! He taught me every single basic you need to maintain your own vehicle outside significant repairs.

I’d grown comfortable and confident working on my little convertible, to the point where I even changed brake pads for a friend of mine! Then I moved continents, sold the convertible and got a massive diesel truck: I can’t even change my own tire anymore as I’m not strong enough to jack it up. I don’t own any tools to do my own work, and I have no idea how to source parts! There isn’t a Napa or Autozone just around the corner as my “trusted source for automotive parts, accessories, and know how for your car, truck, or SUV…”

I have felt hamstrung in my ability to be self-sufficient in taking care of my car, and asking for help is not always easy! My first car ’emergency’ I was sent to G. Sure, he fixed the car, but I paid too much money for too little improvements, and the car came back to me sounding worse than it did when I dropped it off! Why was my gearshift suddenly clunking when it hadn’t before? Why was my engine rumbling in a new way? I felt hoodwinked, and finally understood what the term “mansplaining” means. And yet, I do have friends that swear by his work.

I deleted his number and did ok for a while, working with two different friends on campus to get my next couple of oil changes done, along with replacing my brake pads. So thankful for these guys that were willing to walk alongside me! But then my radiator blew. I needed someone with expertise AND time. My friends on campus both had families and full time jobs. I was referred to our campus mechanic, W, and got a lot done on my car. I felt like maybe, just maybe W could service my car for a long time! I was relieved I’d found a mechanic, but alas, he services all of RVA’s fleet and doesn’t reliably have time to take on extra clients. Bummer. After 6 weeks of waiting just to get it looked at since November, I decided to begin my search once more. Many people trust J, but I hear he is only reliable if he himself does the work… if he outsources to ANY of his underlings, you’d best beware.

After asking around, I learned about Kamal. I’m so thankful for him, he gets a full name, Kamal.

I don’t even know where to begin.

I took my car in on Saturday, concerned about a few things that had accumulated (and needing an oil change). He was quick to find one more thing- the fuel injector which was leaking fuel, on the engine block. PRAISE GOD I have not been driving it, waiting to get a mechanic to look at it. The problem I’d brought for Kamal to look at was something in the radiator (yes, the new one from last year) was overheating.

Leaking fuel + overheating engine = potential for very real, very large, very scary explosions.

The original plan was an oil change and investigation/diagnostics, then I was to drive my car back to Kijabe then bring it back to him for the remaining repairs later so he could source parts etc. in the meantime. Welp. I was not about to risk an explosion, so I hired a driver to return us to Kijabe and left my car with him.

Yesterday as I mulled the information, and chatted with my dad, processing some of the repairs, I got a little confused. I kind of knew what Kamal and I had talked about, but also thought he was going to make a list of the repair options with an approximate price by each one, ranked in order of safety, then I would choose from there and we would proceed. But then, he was sending me pictures of the work he was doing and I was like, waitttttt a second! Did you already start the work? Like I said, confused.

I reached out with my questions, but couldn’t chat on the phone at the time, so we connected this morning.

Let me I tell you. This man stayed on the phone with me for 30 minutes. I repeated back, back and back again, taking notes on which repairs we were proceeding with, which cost they might have, which repairs we were investigating, and which repairs we could pursue for the future. I asked for clarification on what “gearbox service” meant and finally had a breakthrough when I realized it’s what I would call the transmission… we talked about what part should be serviced of the transmission system, but that it wasn’t urgent, maybe we do that at the next oil change.

We talked about the problem with the water pump, and that being the source of the leak causing the radiator to empty then overheat. We discussed the timing belts, and all the accessories that come with that, and the need to change more than one part at a time.

He made me feel listened to, understood, and most of all confident that he was not trying to work me into more of a repair than needed to be done. For goodness sakes, this car is over 20 years old! But still a good one… and it needs to be maintained if I want it to STAY a good one, this I knew without any convincing, I just hadn’t found anyone yet to replace my favorite mechanic, my dad.

“My daughter,” Kamal had said on the phone this morning, “Even if I had to pay for that one out of my own pocket, that repair is so important I would not have let you leave the shop without fixing the fuel injector.” I truly felt like he wants to not just take care of my car, he wants to take care of me. He runs his shop on his own property, the garage connected to his house. He has a couple of guys that he has been mentoring and training up under him, but he watches closely. He doesn’t leave the work to them, he checks every step along the way, making sure the work is done well.

So today my post is simply one of praise for finding a new mechanic.

Prayer Points

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for bringing me to a mechanic that I can work with, that I can trust to care for my car well, to provide good service, to source good parts, to explain with gentleness and kindness what needs to be done in a way that makes me feel like he is treating me with dignity. Thank you that he is willing to explain, that he wants to do well by my car, and has been so careful to treat me with care in our dealings. Thank you God also for my supporters, whom through you have provided this car, which is such a gift to have, and have already provided through their faithful giving what I need for the repairs to be done without having to even worry about what they will cost.

Thank you for your grace for me today, in letting me feel seen and cared for in this seemingly simple, but not so small way of repairs for “The Beast”

Amen.