Adventures in Paradise Volume 2 #4

Adventures in Paradise      Volume 2    #4

Kia ora, our excellent adventure continues with some thoughts on trust and the responsibility of being trusted. Last week, Ward sold his car in preparation for our leaving the country. After the first listing on KSL.com, the results were less than encouraging. The only calls we received were from salesmen who offered to buy the Impala at very “Low-Book” prices.  Although Ward was not focused on making a huge profit from the sale, it was important that we received a fair price as that money was to be used to either rent or purchase a car once we reached New Zealand. At one point, we decided that we might at well just leave home without making a sale and worry about it later.

Last Monday, we answered one last phone call and that call became the inspiration for this week’s blog. A young man, who had read Ward’s ad inquired about the possibility of the car still being available. He did not identify himself, but said that he had seen the listing and understood that the reason for the sale was that we were sending someone on a mission. I made certain that he was not another salesman before I responded that that someone was us and that we were leaving for New Zealand in three weeks. The young man identified himself as Markham and asked about the need for snow tires. That was his only question to me before stating that he would call back and speak with Ward later in the afternoon.

As promised, Markham did call back and he spoke with Ward.  They agreed on a price (have you noticed that here there is no mention of any further car questions?) and then this young man handed the phone to his mother. For those of you who know Ward well, it will come as no surprise that Ward was able to make some sort of almost-instant connection. Markham’s great grandfather had served a mission in New Zealand many years ago and the half hour conversation that took place between Ward and Markham’s mother centered around talk of that beautiful country, mission experiences and people who lived there. Again, there were no questions about the car. How strange is that?

This young man said that he wanted to buy the car and was anxious to close the deal and pick up his new vehicle. He would have come that same evening but Ward had planned to leave town the following morning. It was agreed that the car would be available Thursday and Markham promised to phone. Could I add here, that although it sounded to us as though the car had been sold, it also seemed a little odd since Markham had not seen the car, let alone drive it. Was there something that we were missing? Were Markham’s motives honest and above board? Were we foolish in being so trusting as to indicate to a stranger that we would be leaving our home for eighteen months? Was there something else going on here?

The something else that I could see going on here is that because we were leaving on a mission, Markham trusted us and trusted that all would be well with the car. That kind of trust is a little daunting and we felt the heavy responsibility of that trust. It was important to us that our car be in perfect working order. Although nothing had been promised as to its condition, there was in our opinion, an implicit guarantee on our part. We were prospective missionaries, about to be serving our Heavenly Father, and we could not imagine doing anything that would tarnish that impression. So, Ward had the transmission serviced to make certain that all was well. The oil was changed and the car was lubed. He also washed it and made sure that the interior was clean and tidy. I began to worry that we would be missing something, or that there might be a problem with the car that we were not aware of. I was almost wishing that Markham, who was so trusting, would choose not to buy that car! I lost sleep over this and I worried.

Thursday morning, we met Markham at his credit union. The first time that Markham saw his new car was when Ward drove it into the parking lot. After receiving a check, we followed Markham to his home where license plates on the Impala were removed and the new owner peeked into his car for the first time. I was stunned when he asked me if the car were an automatic! That was only the second inquiry he had made in all of our conversations!

Now, one could argue that Markham was a very inexperienced car buyer. That in fact, could be a very correct statement. One could argue that since he asked no questions, had never driven the car nor had a mechanic look at it, that what ever problems the car might have would be Markham’s own concern. That also could be correct. But we believe that while this young man may have been somewhat inexperienced in car purchasing, we also truly believe that he was very experienced in trusting servants of our Heavenly Father. He trusted us, we believe, because he trusted our calling. Feeling that to be the case how could we be anything by trustworthy in return? Would it be possible on the one hand to be representatives of our Savior, and behave in anything less than a Christ-like manner on the other? We did not want to disappoint!

The weight of being trusted can be very heavy. It is a responsibility that we have been reminded of these last few days. It is one, we are certain, that we will be experiencing in extra measures in the next few months. We are so grateful for the influence and examples that we have in our lives of people who are trying to live in ways that allow us to trust without question. Thank you all for that example. We appreciate that example more than you will ever know. 

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard as we continue to prepare for our new adventure. As a reminder, should you be interested, we are speaking in our Sacrament meeting Sunday, October 26 at 11:00 am. Please plan to join us for lunch at 2:00 pm at our home.

Love, Ward and Susan      Elder and Sister Belliston, about to be serving in the New Zealand Hamilton Mission.

Goodbye, Impala. We know you have found a good home with Markham.