We took the advice of one of our campsite neighbors, and headed to Germany to get the window in our van replaced. The city of Nürnberg is on the way to Heidelberg (our destination for the night), so thanks to the GPS unit we were able to find a Chrysler dealership in Nürnberg. (The drive was a bit chilly but we had warm clothes and blankets.) Unfortunately, the Chrysler guy said there were no windows not only in all of Germany or Europe, but the entire world. He said because of the bankruptcy proceedings and Fiat’s new ownership of Chrysler, we were out of luck. Fiat has yet to set up a system for ordering spare parts so no Chrysler parts are being shipped and sold anywhere in the world right now. That was not something we expected to hear, but the guy was very nice and gave us the address to Car Glass just down the road, and suggested we get some plexi-glass installed on a temporary basis. We drove right over there, left the car to be worked on and went to lunch. When we returned, they had taped some thick plastic to the door and through his broken English, the guy explained it was a short-term fix (no charge) because he ordered a window for us and it will be delivered tomorrow to their shop in Heidelberg (he knew that was our destination.) We asked how he got a window when Chrysler said there were none and he just smiled. (I guess the aftermarket for parts isn’t as impacted as the dealerships.) The guy said we could drive to Heidelberg and have the car locked in the Car Glass garage overnight so it would be safe, and first thing in the morning the window would be fixed. It was a good plan, but it didn’t allow for traffic jams on the Autobaun and even though Kory drove fast to get to Heidelberg by 6pm, we just didn’t make it. I called and told Car Glass we’d be in first thing in the morning and we headed to the hotel I’d reserved for the night. Coincidentally or not, our hotel was just outside the city, surrounded only by farmland and the owner assured us in 13 years there’s never been anything stolen from any cars, so we were fine with just plastic over the window. Hallelujah.
God never promises that bad things won’t happen to us, but He does promise to be with us through the bad times. This whole experience hasn’t been too bad, but we have definitely felt God’s protection through it all anyway and we sure have laughed a lot about it. First thing this morning Kaleb said, ”Those guys should have checked their merchandise before they took it – they got a backpack with a zipper that won’t stay closed, two umbrellas – one that leaks and one with a broken handle, two cameras – one that is falling apart because the screws are lost and the other the on/off switch doesn’t work right, two dead camera batteries with no chargers, two memory cards already full of pictures, a coat that might not even fit, credit cards that have been deactivated, passports that might get them arrested if they use them and the keys to a car they now can’t steal.” Oh, how we laughed. And then I said I wonder what it says about us that we own so many dilapidated things. We laughed again, and again when we realized we’ll now get all new stuff. It was all pretty funny to think about. Kaleb even said if they were working for some kind of crime ring they might get fired because they didn’t bring back anything of value to them. But aside from the photos, that were of value to us and can’t be replaced, they took my photo of Jesus. I’ve carried that photo of Jesus in my wallet since 1973. It was given to me by the mother of the kid who drown when we were caught in a rip-tide off the Oregon Coast while at summer camp (he was holding on to me because he couldn’t swim and I pushed him off and then he died). On the back of the photo it says, “Only one life, twill soon be past – Only what’s done for Christ, will last.” (I’m going to have that written on my tombstone.) So above all things, that being taken hurt the worst, but again, we trust God to use it to the good and we prayed all day that when they went through my wallet and found that picture, that they would really meet Jesus in a personal way. We forgave them and prayed for them and trust God to work in their lives, too. We won’t know this side of heaven how that all works out, but we’ll continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sins against God and one day soon they will repent.
I couldn’t get through to the US Embassy in Prague today (no surprise there), so I called the one in Oslo. They said we could get new emergency passports in one day, so we’ll just cut off the last few days of our trip we’d planned to spend in Stockholm and go to Oslo instead to get the passports – and then we are set. And all my new credit cards will be waiting for me when I get home. None of this has been as hard as I anticipated, so the trip will go on as planned.
The last stretch of freeway before getting into Heidelberg was stopped dead and the sun was beating down on me and I couldn’t “roll down the window” so I was burning up. We decided to take a detour off the freeway and as it turned out, it was our unexpected pleasure for today. It was a very scenic road going along a river and in the 30 or so miles we traveled we lost count of how many castles we passed. We made a game of it and gave two points to the first to spot one, and one point to the first to spot a church steeple, as there were so many of both all along the road. At one point there were three castles all within shouting distance to each other – it was obscene. Many of the castles and surrounds were just stunningly beautiful – and then to arrive into the heart of Heidelberg about threw us over the edge – what a gem of a city that is. Kory was completely exhausted from all the driving today so after a good German meal and a cold beer, he now has the remote control in his hand and all is right in his world.
(I can’t post photos from my new camera for some reason so this is an old photo from last week – taken in Denmark. Sorry!)
God never promises that bad things won’t happen to us, but He does promise to be with us through the bad times. This whole experience hasn’t been too bad, but we have definitely felt God’s protection through it all anyway and we sure have laughed a lot about it. First thing this morning Kaleb said, ”Those guys should have checked their merchandise before they took it – they got a backpack with a zipper that won’t stay closed, two umbrellas – one that leaks and one with a broken handle, two cameras – one that is falling apart because the screws are lost and the other the on/off switch doesn’t work right, two dead camera batteries with no chargers, two memory cards already full of pictures, a coat that might not even fit, credit cards that have been deactivated, passports that might get them arrested if they use them and the keys to a car they now can’t steal.” Oh, how we laughed. And then I said I wonder what it says about us that we own so many dilapidated things. We laughed again, and again when we realized we’ll now get all new stuff. It was all pretty funny to think about. Kaleb even said if they were working for some kind of crime ring they might get fired because they didn’t bring back anything of value to them. But aside from the photos, that were of value to us and can’t be replaced, they took my photo of Jesus. I’ve carried that photo of Jesus in my wallet since 1973. It was given to me by the mother of the kid who drown when we were caught in a rip-tide off the Oregon Coast while at summer camp (he was holding on to me because he couldn’t swim and I pushed him off and then he died). On the back of the photo it says, “Only one life, twill soon be past – Only what’s done for Christ, will last.” (I’m going to have that written on my tombstone.) So above all things, that being taken hurt the worst, but again, we trust God to use it to the good and we prayed all day that when they went through my wallet and found that picture, that they would really meet Jesus in a personal way. We forgave them and prayed for them and trust God to work in their lives, too. We won’t know this side of heaven how that all works out, but we’ll continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sins against God and one day soon they will repent.
I couldn’t get through to the US Embassy in Prague today (no surprise there), so I called the one in Oslo. They said we could get new emergency passports in one day, so we’ll just cut off the last few days of our trip we’d planned to spend in Stockholm and go to Oslo instead to get the passports – and then we are set. And all my new credit cards will be waiting for me when I get home. None of this has been as hard as I anticipated, so the trip will go on as planned.
The last stretch of freeway before getting into Heidelberg was stopped dead and the sun was beating down on me and I couldn’t “roll down the window” so I was burning up. We decided to take a detour off the freeway and as it turned out, it was our unexpected pleasure for today. It was a very scenic road going along a river and in the 30 or so miles we traveled we lost count of how many castles we passed. We made a game of it and gave two points to the first to spot one, and one point to the first to spot a church steeple, as there were so many of both all along the road. At one point there were three castles all within shouting distance to each other – it was obscene. Many of the castles and surrounds were just stunningly beautiful – and then to arrive into the heart of Heidelberg about threw us over the edge – what a gem of a city that is. Kory was completely exhausted from all the driving today so after a good German meal and a cold beer, he now has the remote control in his hand and all is right in his world.
(I can’t post photos from my new camera for some reason so this is an old photo from last week – taken in Denmark. Sorry!)
No comments:
Post a Comment