Life story of a Ford Escort

The following is the life story of my Ford Escort...

The year was 1994. I was in my mid-teens, and my dad was looking to buy a new car. I remember him taking me along to look at the different cars and then asking me which one was my favourite. I said I liked the Escort best. That was the car he then decided to buy. I was so happy he chose the one I liked best and enjoyed riding along in it.

After my father died in 1998, the car was registered under my name. It was very reliable and always served me well. It survived a few bumps and scratches and also a minor accident. It also has had a total of 4 different licence plates.

The original licence plate lasted almost 10 years, until I went on a trip to France in the summer of 2003. At that time, my car also had a bumper sticker with the words "Jesus died for me & you" on the back of my car, together with a Christian fish and a Union Jack. Somebody in France obviously did not like that message and scratched up the bumper sticker and also stole the licence plate on the back of the car. That was very unfortunate, but I was relieved the damage wasn't any worse.



So I reported the vandalism to the French police, scribbled the number of my licence plate on a piece of paper, which I stuck to the back of my car and drove back to Germany like that where I was able to get a new licence plate with a new number.

The second licence plate only lasted for a year or so, because I sold my car to the pastor of a Spanish-speaking church before starting my first full-time job in Ireland in 2004. Since he lived in another district in Germany, he had to get a new licence plate number.

However, after returning from Ireland to Germany in 2006, I was able to buy back my old car because the pastor didn't really use it that much and was wanting to sell it again. So that's how my car got its fourth licence plate number, since I could not keep the number of the other district.

In 2006, I got some World Cup tickets for Sweden v. Trinidad & Tobago and I drove up to Dortmund with Milthon, a Mexican friend from college, to see the game. England were playing Paraguay on the same day, so I fitted my car with England flags and we drove to Dortmund. My Ford Escort won the race to the official parking area, as it was the very first car to arrive there in the morning! The photos below should provide sufficient proof... ;-)





And the photo below may be the only one of me driving my car. It was taken the same year on a rainy day in August by Maki, a Japanese friend from uni who came to visit.



My Ford Escort is now 15 years old. I had been thinking about getting a new one, but decided against it. Then, in late January, the German government introduced a scheme of giving car buyers that have their over-9-year-old car demolished €2,500 towards a new, environmentally-friendly car, in order to boost the economy and help the environment. I thought about it, but decided against it again. But then, this past Sunday morning, someone crashed into the back of my car at a red light and caused about €4,500 worth of damage, making my car a total write-off. (My car was worth about €1,500 before then.)



It does not look that bad really, but the frame has been squeezed together, causing the left back door to fall out of place and the boot to be stuck in a half open position. And the worst thing is that the fumes now enter the inside of the car, thus making it totally unsafe to drive in.



So I am glad I can take advantage of the government grant and receive some money from the other person's insurance towards buying a new car. The only trouble now is that there are so many people buying new small cars. This is because there is only limited funding available from the government and once it's used up, there is no more available. I took a whole day off on Wednesday to look for one, and I couldn't find any anywhere! Many places said they wouldn't be able to get any new small cars until June, July or even September! One car dealer said he hoped to get some within one or two months and there was just one car that could be delivered within a week. I also phoned several places with the same answer. But on Thursday evening, I did find a car dealer in another town who was able to offer me a small new car on the spot and I signed the dotted line the same day to have it reserved for me. Thank God! I hope to pick up my new car on Thursday.

And then I will have to say goodbye to my faithful Escort and have it demolished...

Abraham Lincoln and his Bible

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America, serving from 1861 to 1865. His presidency was marked by the American Civil War in which he managed to preserve the Union. He was also instrumental in ending slavery in the United States. Lincoln died after being assassinated on 14 April 1865. He is considered by many to have been the greatest American president.



This also seems to be the view of the current American president, Barack Obama. He frequently referred to and quoted from Lincoln in the past few years and themed his inauguration around Lincoln. Barack Obama was sworn in as president at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and, by his special request, while placing his hand on Lincoln's Bible. I also read recently that Obama removed a bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office and replaced it by one of Abraham Lincoln.

Certainly, it is still far too early to be able to compare Obama with Lincoln. But what we can be said for sure is that Obama has chosen a good role model. Abraham Lincoln was an avid reader of the Bible and enjoyed quoting from and referring to God's Word whenever possible. But for Lincoln, the Bible was more than just a book containing nice quotes.

Here is what Abraham Lincoln had to say about the Bible:

In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.

The Bible has the best counsel for living. And it is much needed for governing rightly - especially if you are the president of the United States.

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

I just made a life-changing decision

I love my job. Since May 2006, I have been working as a translator at the German central bank (Deutsche Bundesbank). This involves translating a wide variety of articles, letters, speeches, website material, Powerpoint presentations, regulations etc. from the various departments of the bank. Once I even translated a letter to someone in America who had just won the Nobel Prize in Economics. Sometimes there is more work, sometimes less, but in general it is pretty relaxed. I get a decent salary, plenty of holidays, flexi time, and have had several opportunities of travelling abroad for training. And I have great colleagues I get on very well with. So I am very happy with my job and very thankful for it. And I love the fact that my workplace is only a 30 minute drive from where I live and grew up.

However, this morning I handed in my notice and will leave my job in the summer. So why would I do that?

My reason for doing so will no doubt strike some of you as crazy...

I want to be trained to live and work among a people group that has yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ that we read about in God's Word, the Bible. There are still many people groups that do not have God's Word in their own language and have never heard about Jesus and the love and peace and joy that He offers to the whole world. They need somebody ready to leave his home and family and friends and go live in a remote location among them, without the financial security and many of the modern conveniences we have to make our lives easier. This person would have to establish a friendship with them, learn their culture and language, devise an alphabet and dictionary and teach them read and write their own language (if it is an unwritten language), translate the Bible into their language, teach them the Bible and share the love of Christ with them.

That is what I want to do by God's grace and with His help (alongside a team of others). In September, I will therefore start studying at a Bible school n England.

It's a scary step for me to take, because I always want to make sure everything is safe and secure before I do something. But this time, I do not really know what exactly awaits me.

With these thoughts in my mind this morning, when I was sitting in the train on my way to work with fearful thoughts about resigning from my job, God gave me the following verse:

Do not be afraid ... for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 1:8)

These are the words that God spoke to Jeremiah when He called him to be a prophet to the nations and Jeremiah's initial reaction was "Who? Me?!? Who am I?" Reading this verse today brought tears to my eyes because I know how Jeremiah must have felt and I was reminded about how good God is to His children.

The older I get, the more I realise how short my life is. I'm here today and gone tomorrow. I don't want to waste it by living just for myself and my own pleasures when there is a world in need of God's love and forgiveness. I have experienced this love of God and I want to pass it on, trying to follow in the footsteps of Christ and live for Him. I believe that a life that is committed to Christ - even if accompanied by poverty, hardships and pain - is so much better and worth much more than anything this world has to offer. And I fully believe the words of Jesus when He said:

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:39)

And if you are one of those who still think I am crazy, or if you are not sure, please talk to me. =)