The Week of October 31- November 8, 2022
Our Afghan family finally has transportation, after a year of trying to get a car. No more calling friends or our team members for visits to the grocery store and to the doctor. If their daughter misses the school bus, and if Dad is not away at work, he can drive her. This story has a happy ending, but it wasn’t easy. Here are the details.
Six months ago, a church member told us about a friend who lives in Florissant who might have a car for the family. Three team members spent the day examining the car—a Chrysler PT Cruiser, thirty years old, leather upholstery intact, with 165,000 miles, a dead battery, and flat tires. Car had not been driven in 12 months. The car otherwise seemed to be in good condition, though we could not drive it. Returned the next day and the following day. The owner of the car had died a year ago, and so transferring the title would require probate permission. That was June of this year. Probate would take time. In the meantime, our team looked for other options, to no avail.
Fast forward to late October. Probate released the title. The daughter of the owner (who lives in North Carolina) texted she was willing to transfer the title without charge and get a charitable donation. But to do so, the car would have to pass inspection.
So, we went back to Florissant, pumped up the tires, bought a new battery ($150) and the car started. We took it to a repair shop in South County and hoped for good news. Repair shop estimated repair cost of $2100, with perhaps more when they got into it. We weren’t doing it.
So, the owner in North Carolina is making arrangements to donate the car for parts. End of that story.
At the same time, we learned miraculously that our Afghan family purchased a car on their own. It’s a Honda mini-van, big enough to seat his five member family comfortably. And the family did without outside assistance—great to see this family being self-reliant.
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