Picking the vehicle to convert into our homebase for domestic missions was a daunting task. It took a lot of research and a lot more prayer. We were trying not to limit what God may provide for us, leaving ourselves open to new and used vans of all models as well as buses, ambulances, and box trucks. People have made luxurious homes out of all these vehicles, but we were definitely leaning towards a van.
When we were first looking, I was leaning towards a Ford Transit for the ample roof space I had seen (despite my fear of heights I weirdly dreamed of a roof deck for a very short time). We hoped to take a look at one in person and stopped by a used car dealership here in Tucson September 2022 to see what they had in stock. They had a Ford Transit sitting on the edge of the lot, but it had just been sold. We were able to creep on the outside to get a slight feel of the shape of a Transit, but we couldn’t get in for a closer look. On a neighboring lot, they happened to have a 2019 Ram Promaster for sale. Being able to get inside and really look around had a huge impact on us. If the dealership had had their way, we could have been driving away in that van back then. Thomas was just changing jobs at the time, though, and we knew it wasn’t quite time. We were just doing some research and the research sure was fruitful that day! The Promaster was looking quite ideal for us after that.
Fast forward six months of researching tutorials, auction sites, Marketplace, and dealerships, and we were ready to look into purchasing for real. It was intimidating putting ourselves out there. We knew, logically, that God had control over the situation and He had a plan for the perfect vehicle for us, but that didn’t help my anxiety as much as it should have. I can be a bit “type A” in my desire to have concrete plans right off the bat. I pray constantly for growth in this area and I am sure there will be many opportunities during this process.
Anyway, our first conquest was a 2021 Promaster 3500 Extended High Roof we found available in Phoenix. We drove up after church one Sunday with high hopes. This time, we took advantage of test driving the van–or at least Thomas did while I rode passenger. It was another positive experience with the Promaster and helped solidify our desires for a similar model. After the test drive/ride, we had the super fun wait for the finance department to churn out their offer.
While waiting, we played around with names for our van. In keeping with our mountainous theme, I wanted to name it after a mountain from the Bible. I felt drawn to “Nebo” at first, but after I explained that was where Moses was shown The Promised Land and told he would never reach it, Thomas thought that might be a bad idea. Turns out that was a bit prophetic in a way as that van would never be ours. The salesman did not come back with good news, in fact we felt very uncomfortable with our experience at that dealership in the end. They changed the listed price and wanted a very high interest rate. We drove home dejected. We were still confident in the direction God was calling us, but we had some details to figure out. There was still quite a journey left for us to find our new home.
The Traveling Mountains 