Behold the Van!!!

I have finally taken the plunge and bought a camper van. After the plans to import one from Germany fell through, I was I a little disheartened, but I stuck to my guns. I just bought this beauty from ebay! A little risky buying a vehicle you have never seen, but I got a great deal on it. I took the train up to Rugby to pick it up (Rugby is about 90 miles north of where we live). The train from London to Rugby only took 45 minutes! The guy picked me up from the train station in the van and we did a little test drive. Everything seemed to be as he described it. It ran well, there was a little rust here and there, but nothing serious.

I handed over the cash for the vehicle, and as I was making a last check of the oil and the water before I left for London, the first "problem" occurred. The seller closed the rear sliding door, and it came off its runners (in other words the door fell off)! We messed around with the door for about half an hour to get it back on again (although I need to replace a part before I can open it up again).

I set off for London and the van did great. Comfortable on the motorway and reasonably powerful for one of these old things. The whole pulley and belt system in the engine was a bit noisy, but I was not overly concerned about this as it is a 20 year old vehicle. After 4 HOURS of London traffic, I was home. Heather's first comment upon my arrival was, "it sounds terrible"! Still unconcerned by the sound I replied, "that’s how its supposed to sound".

So the next day, we decided to give it a run to the grocery store. When I started it up I was surprised at how loud the engine had become. It seems that in the 4 hours of driving, the engine had become progressively louder, but I had become desensitized to the sound. When we stopped at the grocery store, we noticed some coolant leaking out of the vehicle. Upon inspection I noticed that the water pump was in the process of dying. This appears to be the cause of much of the noise. The pulley on the water pump that it spun by the belts is not spinning properly and there is coolant leaking out of it.

I now have a list of repairs and service to complete before the beast is fully roadworthy. It will get the following:

New water pump
New thermostat
New belts
Oil Change
Coolant Change
New oil, air, and fuel filters
Repaired sliding door

These are all simple enough repairs that I can do them at home, and the parts are all relatively inexpensive. I love the simplicity of the engine in this van. After owning a newer car for the last year or so, it is so refreshing to be able to look into the engine and see where everything is. Well, I'm off to find a water pump for a 20 year old van...

JE

"The Kingdom of Heaven"

We use amazon.co.uk for all of our movie rental needs. I love this service so much that I never really feel the need to enter a movie theater or video rental store. Six movies a month of my choosing are mailed to my house, and I return them when I am ready. I've only been to a movie theater once since we've moved to England over a year and a half ago. The movie was Star Wars Episode III (being a big Star Wars nerd, I couldn’t resist seeing this one in a theater).

These days I just can't beat the comfort of my living room, the beauty of our 28" widescreen Sony TV, and the exquisite sound of our Harman-Kardon and Infinity surround sound system. Most theaters are noisy, dirty, and have "issues" with the sound systems. Plus people don't know how to act in a movie theater any more. They all seem to treat it like it is their own living room.

Enough of that, and on to the topic at hand. One of our rentals this week was "The Kingdom of Heaven". When I first saw this movie advertised, way back when, I remember thinking, "that must be the latest Book of Mormon movie". Actually it's a movie about the crusades and I quite enjoyed it. The rare thing about this movie is that it is a Hollywood production that makes you think about religion, morals, and spirituality without putting them down.

The main story line involves a blacksmith who goes to the Holy Land to try and find forgiveness / redemption for his sins. He sits on the hill where they had crucified Christ 1000 years before praying in earnest, yet he hears no answer. He makes a name for himself by strictly adhering to the high moral code of a knight; although he no longer believes in religion and feels God has abandoned him. He orchestrates the defence of a siege of Jerusalem and saves thousands of lives. As he is leaving the city, after negotiating surrender, his enemy comments to him, "How can you say God does not love you when you have achieved all this".

That story line is one that I personally relate to. Often I feel like I pray in earnest for things with no apparent answer or direction from God. I have nothing to go by except the morals and lessons that I have learned throughout my life as a Christian. When I look back at the path I have taken, I can clearly see how blessed I have been. Not a result of my own doing, but an obvious touch by the hand of God. I know I don't deserve it, but it seems that God is smiling upon my life.

We all long to hear from God; we want to know what God's plan is for our lives, we want to know why we are here and what it all means. I used to believe / expect God to make this all very clear for us, but I have come to know differently. God does not always provide a burning bush, a giant angel, or a miraculous sign. It seems he usually provides just enough for us that we have to respond in faith without fully knowing what is in store. As a believer, I do find it frustrating, and I do suffer from anger, discouragement, and disbelief. But when I really look at my life I can see the indelible fingerprint of God, and it gives me the faith and hope to carry on.

JE

Obsessed with Vans!

I suppose there are worse things to be obsessed with. In case you have not heard, I am looking for a VW camper van to buy. We sold our car a few weeks ago, but I have been looking for months for just the right van.

For a while I was looking for one in Germany. The prices are quite a bit lower there and there are many more to choose from with much less rust than the vans in the UK. I thought I had found one. I had sent a deposit over, booked plane flights to Berlin, and booked a ferry back to the UK from Amsterdam. Unfortunately, the deal fell through at the last minute. The seller took the van in for its safety and emissions test, it failed and he could not afford to fix the things that needed fixing. Thus the van could not be exported. Having already lost money cancelling the ferry and transferring the plane tickets, I have abandoned my search in Germany and I am looking for something around here. The good news is that I transferred the plane tickets from London - Berlin to London - Palermo (Sicily). We will be going in June.

I have looked at a couple of vans in the UK so far and I can’t wait to actually have one of my own. They are so fun to drive! They remind me a bit of the old jeep that I drove in college. High up off the ground, kind of bouncy with a big heavy steering wheel.

The trouble is that this whole process is becoming a “blockage” in my life. I have this problem where I feel like nothing else can happen until I resolve whatever issue is blocking the way. You see, I need this van so that I can go to the insulation sellers to get acoustic treatment for my studio and I can’t start recording until I have the proper acoustic treatment. In addition, I would like to help out with the music at church, but I can’t really offer to help if I don’t have a vehicle to get me there. Also, now that it is spring, there is some work that needs to be done on the back garden, but I can’t haul stuff from the garden center without a vehicle. I know it’s a bit insane and there are ways around all of the scenarios that I listed, but that’s the way it is for now…

JE