Monday morning I followed Pastor DiZazzo to Yost Automotive in Wichita to drop off the Green Machine. I told them what it had been doing and I told them I wanted them to go over and see if they could find the problem and at least change the thermostat and flush the coolant system and add new Toyota Long Life Coolant.
They called later in the morning and said their testing pointed toward the water pump. In my experience water pumps have always started leaking when they went bad, but he said that was not always the case. I authorized them to change the water pump and thermostat and coolant.
Bro. DiZazzo had brought one of their cars for us to use while our car was down and it was a huge benefit to us. About 4:00 Kelly Jo took me down in the loaner car to pick up the Green Machine. It was about time to get ready for church so I ran our car up the interstate hard and heavy about 15 miles and then back. All seemed well.
Tuesday I ran it for about one hour and forty minutes in a combination of interstate and in town driving and it manifested no problems at all. I guess Yost Automotive got it right! Our thanks to them and to Pastor DiZazzo and the Bethany Revival Center for helping us navigate our way through the car problem.
One day, I am not sure which day, KJ brought tacos from the taco truck down the street! Wow! Delicious!
Tuesday night Pastor Jimmy Millikin and his family along with Sis. Rachael McCutcheon visited revival. They were a tremendous blessing as they always are and it was wonderful to have them.
Wednesday was the last day of revival and it was a busy day. I preached at the Sedgwick County Jail for the second time this visit and had great service. I appreciate Bro. Charles Mitchell for always arranging for me to be able to preach in the jail. It is a wonderful privilege and I look forward to it each year.
While I was "in Jail" Kelly Jo and Odie went to the laundromat. We all met up afterward with Bro. and Sis. Mitchell and Bro. DiZazzo for a great Mexican meal.
After lunch and a little rest, we had work to do. We disconnected all the utilities, cranked the bus, hooked it up to the trailer, pulled forward, inserted the Green Machine, strapped it down and backed it all into position.
After a great final service Wednesday night several of the folks helped us get the sound equipment packed up and loaded. It was not too late and we could have left then, but we were spent. It turns out, we all had a difficult night and I let Kelly try to rest a bit Thursday before we pulled out a little after 8:00 AM.
Before we left, I hoisted KJ through the escape hatch to make sure the AC covers were all secure. The wind on I-70 west in Kansas is fierce and we have lost covers there before. Soon we were ready.
We eased out of the church parking lot and rolled all of .3 of a mile before getting stopped on 21st and Broadway by a train. It was a long train and while it was passing, a second train going much slower also started going through the same direction.
While waiting, I wrote another verse to the old song, "This Train is Bound For Glory."
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train is bound for glory,
It may get there But it's going there slowly.
This train is bound for glory, this train.
After about 15 minutes I turned left on Broadway to hit I-235 over to I-135 north. Great idea, but no go. There was construction on I-235 and the on-ramp was closed. I ended up going 32 blocks north to 53rd and taking it over to I-135. Whew!
I stopped a few miles up the road for a planned detour at a rest area. It was time to do the work of the evangelist.
Once that was taken care of, I glanced at the GPS while pulling out of the rest area. With the train and the stop, we had gone 15.5 miles in our first 49 minutes. Oh My! I hoped that was not an indication of how the whole day would go.
Fortunately, all went smooth for 90 miles north to Salina. In fact, I was being pushed along by a strong wind from the south. I did not rejoice in the wind though. I knew it would be a bear when it blew broadside against my rolling wind catching wall when we turned west.
Oh yes, that strong south wind was a thorn in my side for the next 340 miles. Plus, we probably had one lane traffic 10 times and one of those times had to be 40 miles. Between that and the wind, I was tight as a banjo string 429 miles later when we pulled into the Flying J at Limon, Colorado.
We are less than 75 miles from our destination at Souls Harbor Church in Colorado Springs, but I had driven enough. We rested better last night and we will finish the drive today by God's grace.
Once we arrive in Colorado Springs, we will get the tent trailer in position, park the bus, get the utilities wired in and then Kelly Jo and I will measure for the stake line. Hopefully, we will have everything ready to go when help arrives on Saturday morning.
We are excited to see the tent up in the air again!
Thank you for reading today.
Davy
