Chapter 10
My Trip to Phoenix
After our return from the events in Phoenix it was pretty hectic around
the Low household. I had to put in my notice at work, start letting my loyal customers
know what was happening and thank them for their business. Christmas was upon us and there
were the inevitable preparations for that festive time. And in between all of these
happenings, I had to get ready to move to Phoenix.
We still hadn’t sold our home in Idaho and I couldn’t leave it empty; the kids were still in school and I didn’t want too much of a disruption all at once. Frankly, we were troubled because the house hadn’t sold yet. It had been almost three months and there had been only one offer, and a pretty unreasonable one at that! I was uncomfortable leaving Linda and the kids in Idaho while I went to Arizona, but someone had to stay with the house. I had to be in Phoenix to start the new job and do the wiring in the house when it was ready. You would have thought that after all of the wonderful things the Lord had so vividly done for us I could have trusted him more. I guess I need to read the refrigerator more. Linda has a little magnet with a saying on the front of it, "Why worry when you can pray?" Easy to say but much harder to practice. I’m still learning - besides, the Lord had a good reason for holding up the sale of the house.
I didn’t have a place in Phoenix to stay when I got there. I had been in contact with one of the deacons at the church and his wife (Wes and Diane Nygaard) and they had been looking for an apartment for me. I didn’t realize it but I was looking for an apartment at about the worst time in Phoenix. Christmas starts the preseason baseball schedule. Because so many teams do their spring training in Phoenix, trying to find any accommodations is virtually impossible. Houses, apartments, mobile homes were all booked solid, but we had help from above.
Wes and Diane had gone into a large apartment complex to inquire about lodging. As Wes sat in the office the rental lady told him that there was nothing available. A moment later one of the ladies’ associates came in and said that one of the renters was checking out. A one bedroom apartment would be free, it just so happened, right when I would need to check into it! It’s so wonderful when you can see the Lord working so openly on your behalf. Anyway, the stage was all set for me to move to Phoenix.
In retrospect I guess I was pretty naïve because I thought everything concerning the move to Phoenix would go smoothly. After all, our sole reason for moving was to be under a ministry that preached the Word of God without compromise. Because we knew this was the right thing for us to do we thought we would sail through this move unopposed.
If I have learned anything from what is recounted in this testimony it is that we are in a battle and we get to choose sides. Both God and Satan want us; one will ask for us, even plead for us, but the other will lie to us and try to get us by deception. We make the choice, but beware! If we choose God’s way Satan will do everything he can to hinder us - even to the point of killing us. The good news is that God uses these tests and trials that Satan throws at us, to make us stronger.
The move to Phoenix started on December 27th, 1997. We had previously loaded up our old 1981 Lincoln and put a small U-Haul trailer on the back of it. We said a quick prayer for traveling mercies and off I went. I started out pretty early in the morning because I wanted to spend the night in Las Vegas, which would have been about twelve hours of driving. This wouldn’t have been a problem because I am very used to long distance traveling due to my years going to and from Elko and my selling in Nevada.
Speaking of Nevada, if you have never been to Nevada it is a whole lot of nothing with a smattering of small towns here and there. The roads are usually pretty good but it’s not a place where you want to get stuck with vehicle problems.
After two hours of driving I stopped in Wells, Nevada. (It’s one of those small towns - you know the kind where the entering and leaving signs are on the same post). I had a quick bite to eat and started south again, destination Ely about 3 ½ hours down the road. After about an hour the engine suddenly started clattering and vibrating. Before I could pull over and stop, the engine dies. As I quietly rolled to a stop and sat there I was really sick inside.
It’s time like these that you draw closer to God. I prayed for him to intervene and help me. Before too long, a Department of Transportation truck came along and stopped. The guy apologized and said he couldn’t take me back to Wells, but that he would let a towing company know where I was and send them right out. Three hours later the towing company shows up and tells me he can tow the car back but he cannot tow the trailer. I unhitch the trailer, padlock it to a power pole and off we go back to Wells.
When we get back to Wells the news is not very encouraging. It appears that the timing chain has broken and may have damaged some of the valves. This could be expensive - very expensive! They tell me that they will work on it through the evening and first thing in the morning I can have it back. We make a quick trip back to pick up the trailer and bring it back into Wells. The price for towing and to fix the car is just barely what I can afford so I rent a motel room and prepare to spend the night.
The next morning I get up and it is not quite ready. I had some breakfast and returned to the garage. They have replaced the timing chain but two of the valves have been bent. The engine vibrates slightly at idle but seems to smooth out at about 40 miles an hour. He tells me it should be okay to Phoenix but to take it slow and check the oil often. So my trip continues.
I reached Las Vegas in the early evening and the trip from Wells was pretty uneventful. In Las Vegas I picked up something to eat and hit the road again. The road to Phoenix from Las Vegas crosses Hoover Dam and is a single lane road for about 10 miles. Those ten miles are treacherous because they are very steep and winding going down into the canyon and equally as bad coming out.
Going down to the dam was no problem but I was taking it pretty slow, because of the trailer, so there was about a mile long line of traffic behind me. (All those people leaving Vegas empty-handed and usually in a bad mood!) I crossed the dam and as I started up out of the canyon the car started shaking violently and had absolutely no power. The engine was running but I could barely make 5MPH and there was no place to pull off to the side of the road. I had that terrible sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that usually occurs when something like this happens, but then the Lord dropped into my heart what was really happening.
At that moment, with all those people behind me, I began to pray outloud, "Satan I realize that this is just another attempt by you to keep me from getting to Phoenix. I am putting the Word of God first in my life and I rebuke you in the Name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Leave this car alone!"
I do not exaggerate in the slightest when I say, immediately the car stopped shaking and power returned. I pulled out of that canyon at about 50MPH and even the mileage became about 2 MPG better! The Lord was so good to me and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Actually, I did a little of both. About two hours later I pulled into Kingman, Arizona and I was exhausted. Between all of the driving and the emotional roller coaster I decided it was better to stop and finish the trip the next day.
I pulled into a convenient motel and went around the back of the car and trailer to make sure everything was secure and locked up and I noticed that the entire rear of the car and trailer was covered in a black oily substance. Apparently I was burning a lot more oil. The next morning I got up and checked the oil and it was down about 2 quarts so I added some and began the final leg of my journey. About halfway to Phoenix I noticed that the car was smoking quite a bit so I stopped to refuel and discovered that the oil level was down about 3 quarts. I realized that this engine didn’t have long to live. Fortunately, I made it into Phoenix.
I met Lorraine & LaVelle Sheppard and they helped me get my stuff into my apartment. We were discussing the car problems and they offered to let me use their brand new pickup while the car was being fixed. I had to accept because I couldn’t afford to do otherwise. Shortly thereafter, Brother Ron’s son, Amos, came over to help. Because I didn’t really know anyone, I asked him if he knew of a good, reasonable mechanic.
He told me of a member of the church named Frank Mosqueda who was a superb mechanic. I called him and he told me the engine would have to be completely rebuilt but he offered to do it after work, at his home, so it wouldn’t cost me as much. I had never met the man and here he was offering to spend about a month of his evenings fixing my car for me. What a Christian! Because of my financial condition I had to accept. Because of the generosity of these people I was able to get settled in my apartment and have a brand new vehicle to drive while my car was being fixed. I thank God that he led me to such a group of wonderful people, the members of Evening Light Fellowship. I cannot say enough about the goodness of the members of my church.
On the 3rd of January I started my new job as an assistant manager of an electrical distributor. The job was demanding but also, very rewarding. I enjoyed supervising 19 people and felt pretty comfortable almost immediately.
Linda and I talked just about
every day and we had made the decision that our kids would start to home school when we
got to Phoenix. A lot of thought went into that decision, with our primary reasoning being
the sorry state of the public school systems. We were pretty displeased with the schools
in Idaho and we knew that the schools in Phoenix would be much worse. One of the kids we
were particularly concerned about was my youngest son, Aaron. He had started hanging
around kids involved in gangs and was getting into trouble in school.
