All I Want For Christmas Is My Car To Work - Again

Yet another chapter in the all too familiar story by now of the missionary and his car. I went out to Jorochito (a small town about 45 minutes or so from Santa Cruz) the other day to a hospital to check about someone we are trying to help. The car ran great on the way out. But on the way back it was another story. It decided that it didn't like hills and so would die trying to climb. The first three or four times I was able to get the car going. But the last time it would not go. What to do? Call the mechanic. But my cell phone was not working. My company (of course) has no service there (another reason why I am so happy to be their customer). Anyway, I started out on foot to find a phone. But I found a mechanic instead. I explained my situation to him and asked if he could help me. So he came but couldn't get it going either. At least my car was not going to do one of those the-fever-goes-away-as-soon-as-the-doctor-enters-the-examining-room to make me look stupid. I asked him if he had a phone and could I please borrow it. Yes, but he had no credit. I would need to buy credit. Fine. So we went to a small store that was nearby and bought credit. I called my mechanic asking him to send a tow truck. I didn't know what else to do. But he talked to the kind mechanic that had the phone and suggested some things to try. But we would have to tow the car to his garage (actually his patio). He went to get a rope and we returned to my vehicle. For a good two hours the mechanic worked on it. Finally he won the battle and my reluctant vehicle chugged into action again. I was just beginning to wonder if I would need to leave the car for the week end when the breakthrough came. When I asked the mechanic how much I owed him, he looked at me and finally said "30 bolivianos" (about $4.25). I responded "30 bolivianos? That's all?" His response "Is it too much?"  "No", I replied, "it's not enough." So I gave him a good tip and off I went, hoping that I would indeed make it home, and thanking the Lord for the roadside mechanic who was able to get me going. However, he only gave me a temporary fix. I am supposed to take it back to my mechanic tomorrow morning to try and get the problem solved for good.. Maybe I can do some Christmas shopping along the way . . .