the zoo, church buses and an answer to prayer

We are a family of 15.

We don’t go all the places we used to.

For the last few years we’ve been taking two cars most places because we outgrew the old Sprinter a few kiddos back. We began praying over a solution as a family, and I asked for prayer from my prayer partners as well, knowing God could and would change our circumstances if it was His will.

We thought a 12-seater Nissan NV was maybe the way to go – but no matter how we tried, it just never happened. And then, when our family grew again, we outgrew even the theoretical NV we’d been imagining.

Kinda like God knew better than us.

We prayed some more. Separately, together, and as a family.

Then, several months ago, some sweet (like crazy, unbelievably, selflessly sweet) friends came alongside us and wanted to help put us in a car that would seat us all. And not just the grown ups and the ones that were too young to drive, but all 15 of us.

We thanked God for His incredible graciousness in just giving us friends like this… I mean, out-of-the-blue generosity like that is absolutely breath-taking.

And then the real hunt began.

Because the pool of 15+ passenger vehicles is small. And strange.

And we really, really wanted to be the very best stewards possible of the generosity offered to us by our friends.

Finally it came down to one car we could agree on. It suited my desires of solid, sturdy and not a church bus.

(Seriously. He wanted to buy a church bus. And my argument of “how in the world can I practically drive a church bus anywhere? ever?” didn’t seem to deter him, and his love for the idea of operating a bus door, one iota.)

And his desires of reasonable cost, lots of room and high consumer ratings.

As you can imagine, finding the right vehicle took some time.

But one day, he found it. Just what we wanted and a great price. It seemed too good to be true.

We cautiously hoped. And celebrated. And prayed.

And then we held our collective breath.

He got a one-way ticket flight out of state.

And then he drove home with a new-to-us Ford Transit.

And y’all. It’s silver (my favorite).

And still has the factory plastic covering on the carpet (not my favorite but my type-A husband’s favorite).

And, for the nervous-nellie in me in operating a vehicle that feels as long as a football field, it has a rear camera.

The kids positively squealed when they got to choose their very own seat.

And sweet Clementine signed “new” and “car” – banging her legs in the happiest-of-dances, propped high in her carseat and looking out her window – on our very first outing.