It's that time of year that we go a traveling to visit family and friends and churches.  We had a very late start yesterday.  We were going to take care of the horses early and be on our way, but two coal trucks hit each other going around the curve near our house.  No one was hurt, but one truck went over the bank a little bit and held up traffice for two hours.  There was no way out of our driveway.

After saying goodbye to the horses and making sure there was enough hay and water (Franklins and Backs - please take good care of the horses for us.), we drove home and packed the van.  This took awhile. Wow! There is a lot of stuff!  We had the car top carrier also.  We drove into town, stopped at Walmart for a bag of apples, carrots and gas.

We were on our way...a little later than we had expected.  A mile or so past Fugate's on 15, the car's engine started thumping.  We stopped immediately.  We found the surpetine belt partially shredded.  Nate pulled at the shredded pieces  and cut off what he could.  Half of the belt was still in place.  We turned around and found a mechanic that we had just gone to two days before. It was just a mile away. 

We stayed at the mechanic shop for about an hour while replacing with a new belt.  The owner of the shop slipped into the front seat and looked around.  He was amazed at the amount of "stuff" and the three teens in the back seat.  He found out what was going on in their lives...that all three were going off on adventures in life.  

The mechanic was almost finished with his job.  Nate took the checkbook to pay.  He came back and plopped the checkbook on the seat.  "That was fast," I said, "how much?"
     "Nothing. He's not charging us."  

I found a thank you note in my bible bag and had the kids sign it.  What a surprise, but then...God is so amazing.  

The rest of the trip went uneventfully and we arrived in Detroit at 9 pm to stay with college friends for the night.  Today we go to a reunion.  I really look forward to seeing the childhood church folks...and seeing my mom.