I pulled in front of the pastorate and white smoke engulfed me. However, my final destination was only 100 yards away so I thought...come on Bertha...you can make it...and I nursed my way into the parking spot. Key off and a loud BANG. Hood open and whoooooooosh white smoke everywhere.

I gotta tell ya, I laughed. I think I mentioned that I read Randy Alcorn's Treasure Principle a couple months ago. In it I was reminded how everything I have is really God's anyway, so I looked up at the sky and told God it was too bad about His RV and what did He propose we do about it. ;) Then I thanked Him that it happened when and where it did. I was, after all, driving 200 miles through the boondocks of Florida in blazing heat just a few days ago. Now I'm in a spot I could conceivably stay a few extra days if necessary, staying with someone I know who can recommend an honest mechanic (who just happens to be across the street).

My father telephonically diagnosed a blown head gasket and introduced me to the term 'lunched' which means...if I remember correctly...that <something> broke and antifreeze went all through the engine and the engine is kaput. I also learned that white smoke is oil, black smoke is gas. Or is it blue smoke that's oil and white smoke that's... Yeah, guess I didn't learn that lesson quite as well. :p

Several of the guys at the church decided it was maybe the transmission and a look at the transmission fluid holder thingy determined that the transmission fluid dipsticky thing was bone dry. We're going to get some fluid in the morning and then see if "we" can see where the leak is.

After prayer meeting and dinner I said goodnight to my new hosts and called my marvelously-mechanic uncle and stood outside at 10 o'clock at night with a flashlight in my mouth trying to open the radiator. First, I confess, I had to double-check that what I thought was the radiator truly was the radiator. Under orders, I turned it halfway, and after not being blown up, turned it the rest of the way and took the cap off. Green fluid coolant...check. I even moved the flashlight around a little to see that none of the belts were munched. I am quite flush with my new mechanicalness.

A new transmission is better than a new engine, so obviously I hope it's just that, if not something even more lovely and cheap. Thankfully I'm still skating on my faith high and haven't yet sunk into anxiety over how one might conceivably pay for a new engine when one's bank account spends most of its time in the negligible range. ;)