my car thoughts and thankfulness

I got my driver’s license a few days after my 16^th birthday, and my first car a few weeks after that.  My first car was not very nice, but it was mine!  It meant independence and freedom and going places! 
Between ages 16 and 28 I owned 6 different cars, each one nicer than the last.  I seem to remember that my mom bought the first car; I think it cost $500.  But after that I paid for the cars myself with money from hard work.
And then I moved to Mali… and that meant making certain sacrifices. 

For my first year my means of transportation was my feet.  Sometimes I could borrow a motorbike from a friend.  For trips to the capital I took the bus.  All this was fine and I lived where I worked so it wasn’t really that difficult, but I missed the freedom and independence that owning a car gives.

Then JP and I were able to buy a motorcycle!  We were so excited and thankful to have a way to zoom around town.  Long trips were still on the bus.  For 4 years our motorcycle was our way of getting around.

Then for the past year or so we have had a car.  What a game changer!  It has belonged to 4 different expats in Mali and we were able to buy it inexpensively.  It is 20 years old and has to visit the mechanic pretty often, but we have been so glad to have a car.  We’ve been able to haul things around that would be pretty impossible with the motorcycle, and we’ve made several trips to Bamako without suffering on the bus.

Now we are so blessed to have our new car!  I think that because we went without a car for 5 years we are much more appreciative than if we had had a car all along. 
We are very conscious that this isn’t something that we deserve or have earned. We made a big effort to fundraise for a car last time we were in the states.  So many people were generous to give money for our car fund.  
We were able to get a car that is nicer and newer than we imagined we might be able to buy.  We will be able to drive on terrible rough roads with much more confidence now and not worry about breaking down in the middle of nowhere.  And the new car has good air conditioning!  It is only 5 years old, so hopefully we won’t see the mechanic on a regular basis anymore. I could ramble on some more, but suffice it to say that we are overjoyed and profoundly grateful.