Oh what a feeling!
For all the Aussies reading this post, you are probably saying in your head "Toyota!". Guess what this post is about? Yep. A toyota. A toyota prado to be exact.
That is the car that is now regularly parked in front of my house. It has my name on the registration stickers, but really it took a whole international community to get it there.
In January this year I started to look for a car to buy. I had been riding my bicycle around, but the bumpy roads and long distances were killing my back, and it just took a lot of time to get anywhere.
In February I found a car in a nearby city that just seemed perfect. Great price, the 4-wheel drive I needed for the roads, and extra three seats in the back so I could transport the whole class. I prayed about it and really had peace about buying it. Out of the blue, some supporters contacted me and said they would help pay for the car. That was such an answer to prayer. In an amazing confirmation, the amount they offered was exactly what I needed. I put a deposit on the car and then transferred the money from my Australian account to my Zambian bank account.
What followed was three months of frustration and a lot of tears. The money got lost in different banks on the way here, people went on holidays, there were system failures when registering it, numerous hours spent at the bank, international phone calls, emails, trips to the car registration place, hours spent in queues...basically it felt like anything that could happen to delay the car coming, did happen. I had two cancel two road trips that I had planned because the car was not here.
It was such a stressful time.
In hindsight, it's a lot easier to think about the situation. At the time, it was horrible. So many doubts and bad feelings mixed with feelings of guilt for losing money, a desire to be a positive witness to people but really struggling, and the hardship of not having the car when I really needed it. I continued to cycle, and my body got tired.
Then, on the 6th of June it happened...my car arrived! Oh, I couldn't believe it was real until I was driving it from the my workplace to my house! The stress started to fade away, and I was filled with a joy that it was finally here! I am so grateful to my friends and family who stuck in there with me, let me vent and supported me through it all.
Some of my teachers named the car: Lubuuto.
It's a Bemba word meaning "Light."
I really like light. And it's a good name for the car considering the dark times I went through to get her here.
Lubuuto and I are going places, of that I am sure!
A HUGE thank-you to all the supporters who helped me buy Lubuuto. She makes a world of difference here! Thank-you!
