A new car for Mr and Mrs O

Given our perception of life in Africa being very slow and very laid back, sometimes things can happen with astonishing speed. We often joke that Africans are relaxed about time until you put them behind the wheel of a car or dala dala (mini bus/death trap!) and then suddenly it’s all about ‘time is money!’ This speed with which things can happen has been our recent experience with buying a car here.
After our pre-Christmas experience of being robbed by the man who ‘bought’ our car from us, and nine months of waiting, we know now that we will never see the money from our dear old Landy and actually just need to get on with getting our own vehicle here.
Now bear in mind that there’s no auto trader here. The way it works is that you put the word out that you are looking for a car and they just turn up at your house. Bizarre, but that’s how it is. Well we hadn’t quite gotten to the point of putting the word out, so our team leaders worker/guard decided to take matters into his own hands. We had never spoken to him about our desire to begin the process, he just decided that enough was enough and we should get our act together (plus he will probably get some sort of fee for organising the deal!).
So on Tuesday I headed off into town early to do the shopping and banking and bits and bobs like that. I was just finishing when Rich called to inform me that some men had turned up with a car for us and could I come and have a look at it. So off I went back to inspect the car.
What awaited me was a Honda CRV (silver for all the rest of the girls out there – that was my first question!) in very good condition and way out of our price range. However, after some fierce negotiating the price of the car was reduced to well within our price range and a deal was made. Shocking. Unbelievable. I had not had the slightest thoughts of buying a car when I had woken up that morning, but there you go. That’s how it can be here sometimes and you just have to go with it.
Now we have to go to the cash point every day in order to withdraw the money for the car. No such thing as cheque or bank transfer here. Just cash. So in about two weeks time we should have been able to withdraw enough money and we may once again be car owners.
Our whole car saga over the last few months has taught us a lot about trusting that God is ultimately in control of all these things and that if he wants us to have a car he will provide the car and the means of buying it. We are so thankful for this and so many other ways he has blessed us since arriving on this Island.