I know I should say that loving Jesus and helping orphans and widows is the center of my joy at all times, but today I am pretty darned pleased with the purchase of a car!

Although I am a tried and true Toyota girl, my budget was tiny and this was a good car for the price and available right away.  So I am giving a small piece of my heart to Mitsubishi.  It’s a 1996 Pajero (I like to pronounce it in spanish with an “h” sound because that harsh “j” sound makes my ears hurt…) Standard.  Diesel.  All that you really want in Uganda.  No air conditioning but I still have a little of the funds raised left–so I may see how much that would cost…

It has definitely been well used over the years, but also well maintained with maintenance records for the last 8 years at least–which is a dream in Uganda.    My dear friend Moses and his mechanic buddy, Tony,  did a full examination of the engine and crawled under the car!  They gave it the thumbs up.

On top of all of that, it came with a Bryan Adams CD.  Yes, CD.  Which is awesome.  And even more awesome when driving pot-holed roads in Jinja.

As with all so many things, this marks a new stage of independence for me–which I am celebrating today.  Although recently another missionary from Portland was telling me how having a car can cut down the opportunities for relationship with locals. Of course, working daily with Ugandans means I know plenty of locals–and Jinja is a very small town–but I have thought a lot about his comment.  As missionaries we are guests in this culture and I would hope we are all here because God has given us some heart for Uganda and her people.  That being said, we have a very different standard of living and there is something to be said for allowing ourselves space to just “be mzungus.”  (Thus my very nice little home on the edge of Lake Victoria with only other Mzungus in sight…) Yet, I took his words as a challenge to never allow myself to get to far removed from the real reason I am here–to really walk alongside my friends in Uganda. I certainly can’t do that if I drive right past them! Anyway, it was a well placed word in my life and I am thankful for it.

Of course, I was also very thankful to pick up a case of water and just drive home with it from the store.  So let’s just say I am full of thankful today!