The Joy of Moto Ownership

Most of the time owning my own moto is a blessing, but occasionally things go wrong, and then it becomes a challenge. Today was one of those days.

I arose at some awfully early hour (before 7am on a Sunday is not only not nice, it's nasty), and hopped on the moto to go and collect some keys from folk who'd be staying in a friend's place in Phnom Penh, and who were due to leave at 6.35am. No problems there. They were ready and waiting and I was safely back in my bed by 7am to catch up on the rest of the sleepin! The rest of the day was a quiet one, with a couple of Skype calls to Australia, and a book to read, and very little real "work". At 3pm I decided it was time to get ready for church, so had a shower, got dressed a little less casually, and headed down to the moto. As I turned the key in the ignition I thought I could smell fuel. Hmm. I checked the fuel gauge and it showed empty. That's odd. There was 3/4 of a tank when I got home last night. I pushed the bike out the gate, and parked it while I locked the gate, and noticed what seemed to be fuel dripping from the bike. Hmm. I think I'd better pay the local moto mechanic a visit. Well, I got almost there when the engine sputtered and died. OK. I can deal with this. I hopped off, put the moto in Neutral and walked the rest of the way (about 100m). When I got there, they quickly identified the problem, and replaced the rubber hose that has split. Ten minutes and 2000Riel later and I was my way. Still walking the bike. It started, but wasn't going anywhere. So I headed in the direction of the nearest servo, and as I passed the old Logos campus, met up with one of the tuk-tuk drivers who regularly drives a number of the staff. He speaks very little English, but he showed me how to get the bike going and to use up those last few drops of fuel, and I made it the rest of the way to the servo, where I put $2 worth of fuel in the tank and headed off to church (better late than never).

So how did I feel about all this. Well, to be honest, when I first discovered the missing fuel, I wondered if someone had been syphoning it off, but when I noticed the dripping, I quickly put that idea to rest, and became very grateful that this event occurred when I was at home, and within easy walking distance of the moto workshop and fuel. Praise God for his provision! It could have happened out at school, and then it would have been a lot more complicated (mainly because of not knowing the area as well, but also because of distances). It could have happened at church, and again it would have been more complicated. I was also grateful that I had left early for church, and so, even with the walking and stops, I only missed the first two songs. Thanks again Lord. Once again I have been reminded of your loving care for the details in our lives as well as the big things.

So what does tomorrow hold? Who knows, but whatever it holds, God will give me the strength to get through it! As the song writer so aptly puts it, "God is Good, ALL the time".