Suzi is healed...

If you don't know who Suzi is, don't feel bad; there's really no reason that you should. You see, Suzi is what we affectionately call our little rough & tumble Suzuki Caribbean Jeep. Although, this is quite likely the "toughest" car either of us have ever had, the last week has been pretty hard on her.

About a week ago, the back left brake was broken and leaking oil (I hope all you mechanically minded people out there will pardon my inarticulate language. Since I'm not a mechanic and since our mechanic speaks only Thai, we never really heard the official diagnosis.) A friend of ours told us about an excellent mechanic here in Chiang Rai, so we took the poor girl in for a check up. The mechanic was able to repair and replace everything in a day's time, all for under $35. We were impressed and swore that he'd be our mechanic for life. Little did we know how soon we'd see him again.

On Sunday, we took a day trip to Mae Salong for Church in the village. On the way up, the jeep started stalling on some of the steeper inclines and there was a very unsettling "clunking" sound as we shifted gears. So on Monday it was back to the mechanic. By Tuesday afternoon, he had (1) replaced a part in the fuel line which was broken and allowing water & dirt to mix in with the gasoline (no wonder she was stalling!) and (2) replaced a pin in the four-wheel drive mechanism that had sheered. This time the total bill was about $40.

We just wanted to praise God for his hand in allowing everything to go so smoothly & painlessly. So often in Thailand, we tend to fall flat on our faces when we encounter a new problem. Quite honestly we're getting quite used to having our face in the mud, but it is kind of nice to remain upright for a change. All in all, we're so blessed to have our car in great working order (& purring like a kitten) for under $75!