Driveaway car

We were going to spend Christmas in California with Laura’s family then we were going to try to get what is called a driveaway car to Virginia. A driveaway starts with a car that someone wants to get somewhere else but without being able to drive it themselves. Shipping your car on a truck is very expensive so there are companies that will match the car up with someone who wants to get to or nearby the desired destination.

Not only is this proposition cheaper for the customer, it’s also cheaper for the travelers. Instead of paying for plane tickets, all we needed to do was pay for the gas. The only rules were that we had to get it to the destination within a certain time frame without going over a certain mileage. Other than that, we could go whatever route we wanted, stopping anywhere along the way.

Trying to do it this way was a bit risky. You had to be flexible in your timing but there was still no guarantee that there would be something going your way. And, of course, it wasn’t possible to choose what kind of car you got. Laura had always wanted a Honda Accord and she asked God to provide one going our way.

We put our requested destination in to the company and enjoyed Christmas with the family, albeit anxiously awaiting the transport company’s reply. Laura’s family was amused with what we were trying to do but they watched and waited with us.

After just two weeks, a car came up destined for Richmond, Virginia, just two hours from our destination of Chesapeake/Virginia Beach. Laura’s family was now a bit astonished. When her brother, John heard about it, he said, 

“And you probably got just the kind of car you wanted too, didn’t you?” 

Sure enough, it was a late-model, gray Accord.

We decided to stay as south as we could on the journey to avoid any winter perils and arranged friends to stay with along the way. We first went south to Los Angeles, then east toward the dinky town of Van, Texas. Despite being nowhere near the ocean, this little town now included the headquarters for Mercy Ships. They had found a good piece of property there and made all the logistics work as the headquarters for a ship ministry. 

Our friends, Don and Deyon Stephens were still running Mercy Ships so we got to see them, as well as many other long-time friends from the ministry who were now based in Van. Once again, the Stephens generously gave us some money to help us with the next phase of our adventure.

Up next was another small town, this time in Louisiana. Some friends from my DTS lived right on the Gulf of Mexico in Bay St. Louis. It was a beautiful, historic town with stately old, southern houses. They were in the process of restoring one of those houses that they had inherited. 

Our friends were a family of four with two little girls we adored. The parents were both doctors and they had both been a part of JYPO. They also made a contribution to our new adventure fund. Laura’s brother, John said that we were the only people he knew who actually made more money than they spent, driving across country.

Now it was time to focus on our new destination.

The Accord



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