I prayed long and hard about whether I would write about this – but determined that I would “put it out there”, despite the audience in this format is rather tiny. One of the purposes of this blog has always been my personal experience and challenges as a small church pastor – a “Lonely Pastor” seeking to contend for Christ, and my recent events have been a part of that which are distracting me from my ministry efforts.

After a blessed, though extremely hot, week at church camp last week (Ozark Baptist Encampment @Camp Siloam), I got back to what rapidly became a major vehicle issue. But let me back up a bit…

A few months back, in an effort to help our monthly budget, I traded my truck for a truck a few years older that gets better fuel economy. This came about June 1. All has been well, and while the “new to me” used truck was running well, and indeed saving on both monthly payment and fuel bill – stumbled over the weekend.

Warning lights, then the dreaded “Service DEF System See Dealer” message, followed a few minutes later with a rolling countdown from 200 miles before the truck becomes disabled (aka – will not start again). This is a dangerous situation – especially when the truck is running as good as ever.

Without any other options, I took the truck to the dealer Tuesday morning. By mid-afternoon, I got the first estimate – pushing a little over $2000, to include a new Passenger Restraint Module that tests as bad (almost $1100), $160 for a reflash of the software in the Radio/HVAC controls (the final symptom that emerged as I was driving to the dealership Tuesday morning – a result apparently of software corrupted in the troubleshooting steps I followed), but the real disappointment – a major harness responsible for the DEF/emissions equipment had been “repaired” by the previous owner (or his representative) with metal zip ties – the initial estimate (almost $800 were to find and repair wiring issues/shorts). With no other options, I gave the approval, not knowing where the money would come from.

Fast-forward a couple of hours, and the tech found that the DEF pump apparently burned out due to the bad connection set up by that bad previous repair. So just the DEF pump, assembly and tank are $3300 by itself. That just isn’t even imaginable.

Here we are jockeying three people in the household (wife, younger daughter, and myself as a pastor with a myriad of schedule unpredictability – and doubling the daily mileage of my wife’s car – and spending half a day on the road, all while having a truck that cannot be driven until repaired.

The reality is – we have no budget for this. After last November’s fall, shattered heel, surgery, and insurance deductible followed by months of physical therapy and follow-ups (all with a newly reset deductible) – we simply don’t have the reserve we needed to be able to handle this.

So I have set up a “GoFundMe” page. It might not receive any gifts – but the Lord did say “you have not because you ask not”. (James 4:2) [and yes, I know this is a bit of a leap from spiritual needs to material]

So – if you feel so inclined to try to help out, I would be honored and blessed if you would consider giving through my campaign.

GIVE HERE