NEWSLETTER // AUGUST 2020
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MISSION: Share the love of Jesus with those living in the RV/Skoolie community.
Currently in the US, a million people live full-time in their rv. [source-RVIA]

YOU'RE INVITED: LAUNCH PARTY

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Sunday Sept 13, 1:00-3:00pm

FOX RUN PARK
3732 168th Ave NE
Ham Lake, MN 55304


We've planned a launch party (Send off)! Come celebrate our launch, hear more about our mission and vision, and hang out with us before we take off!

We're bringing the bus to a park where you can see it/take a tour, enjoy some light snacks and hang out and ask us questions. Please BYOC (bring your own chair) and know that there is no bathroom at the park, but our bus bathroom can be used if needed. We hope to see you there!
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It's important to have brakes!

It was a Monday afternoon. I was working on the bus, cutting out rust and welding on new steel when I got an interesting and slightly confusing text from my buddy Dave. It read, “Megan (Dave’s wife) and I have been scheming… Is your family available Friday to come over for dinner and the guys head to Matt’s shop after to do brakes?” I was thinking we’d be going over to their house for dinner, hang out for a while and let the kids play, then the guys would head to Matt’s shop to work on someone’s car and just hang out. It happens every so often, so I thought that would be the general plan for the evening. I replied “We would love to hang out Friday and Lia and the boys would enjoy the break with friends.” As we texted back and forth I asked Dave who’s car we’d be working on, I was in shock when he said we’d be doing the brakes on our bus!

To be completely honest, I was really getting discouraged with how little progress was being made on the bus. The bombay was taking fooooorever to get done, I still hadn’t even thought of mounting the solar on the roof or installing our generator, not to mention the other things that were still on the To-Do list. I knew the brakes on the bus really needed to get done but it just seemed like that project was just one more on the never ending list that might, or might not, get done before we take off.

Fast-forward to Friday. Both Lia and I were excited as can be to actually start the brakes project! I drove the bus over to Matt’s shop where the action was happening, and we began the first step–trying to get the bus to fit IN Matt’s shop. The bus is 13 feet tall with the roof-top A/C’s on it. Matt’s shop door is 12 feet tall. Being problem solvers, we removed the A/C’s, and measured the bus height. It was going to be a tight squeeze with the bus measuring at about 11 feet, 11 1/2 inches tall. Was 1/2 inch really enough space to make it? We were going to find out!
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With Dave pushing the garage door as high as it could go with a 2x4 and Matt on a ladder, spotting the roof of the bus/garage door clearance, I slowly started driving the bus towards the entrance. It was a slow tedious crawl and when the front clearance lights on the top of the bus were almost at the garage door I was starting to lose hope. I didn’t think we could make it, but Matt confidently motioned me to keep moving forward. I’m not sure if he could actually see that we had enough clearance or if he was just really wanting to work on the bus inside, but whatever the reason was, he kept waving me forward. I slowed to a snails pace, feathering the clutch as slowly as I could, and crept closer to the garage door. To my relief, I did not hear the crunch of the plastic clearance lights making contact with the door, only a “Wahoo” from Dave as the bus cleared the door!

I had a mini-party in my mind as I finished parking the bus inside the shop.

That night, with the help of an additional 3 guys, we jacked up the bus, removed the tires, broke the brake drums free from the bus, and removed all the brake pads/shoes that needed replaced. It was obvious that there hadn’t been a brake job done on the bus in a very, VERY long time. The inside of the drums were as shiny as a mirror (not providing much friction to help stop) and the shoes needed replacing as well. We loaded the drums and brake shoes into a truck for me to haul down to the parts store in the morning so we could get them replaced, or that was the plan…
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Saturday morning, I drove into Minneapolis to get the new parts, but quickly found out they don’t make brake drums for a 60 year old bus, and brake shoes were out of the question too. Our only option was to have the drums “turned” (they plane down the inside of the drums to provide a good braking surface again) and have the brake shoes relined. This isn’t exactly the ideal way to do a brake job, but it’s better then they were so I dropped off the drums and shoes to get done.

Well, things with the bus seem to never go as planned, and the brake job was no different.

We were hoping to have the brakes back on Monday evening, but it ended up being Friday before I had them all back. Matt was gracious enough to let me do some other maintenance things on the bus while it was sitting in his shop! I got the oil changed, changed out the transmission oil and fixed the Jake brakes while at it.

Friday evening came and we were ready to throw the whole thing back together. The sound of the grinder was often heard, a welder sizzling away, the thumping of brake parts getting put back on the bus. It was a glorious sound! We ended up replacing all of the brake air lines, all of the brake cans (the thing the air lines go into that applies the brakes), the newly redone brake shoes and drums. It was a completely redone brake system! Finally, around midnight the wheels were back on and the bus was lowered back to the ground. We were ready to take it for a test-drive.
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I slowly backed the bus out of the shop in the same fashion as it entered, Dave holding the door up and Matt spotting. Once outside we all loaded up in it to see if we had helped the slow stopping problem. There were a couple brake tests behind the shop, and when we were confident they were at least working we set out to give them a real-life test. I slowly pulled out onto the street and gained some speed. Making sure there weren’t any cars behind me, I pressed the brake pedal. The bus started stopping, only it was easily 2x better then before! I let off the brake and sped up again, tried the brakes a second time and they performed beautifully! I didn’t have to cram on the pedal as hard as I could just to slow down! I was smiling from ear to ear. I didn’t realize how bad the brakes were before, but now that they were working correctly, I can’t believe I went so long with them that way! We drove around for a while, making sure things were working good, then headed back to close up Matt’s shop for the night.

Exhausted, I pulled the bus back into the parking spot next to the house around 1:30am. As I laid in bed, I spent a little time talking with God. I was thanking him for friends like Matt & Dave who selflessly helped with this brake project, for his provision as the project should have cost upwards of $5,000 but we only paid $1,700 for the parts. I thanked him for the support of friends and people we don’t even know who have rallied around us as we get closer to our launch date. That night, I went to sleep with my hope renewed, knowing that God is going to provide and prepare us for the ministry he has called us to, even when we don’t always see how he’s going to do it.

Dave and Matt, thank you for all your hard work and hours spent getting our bus brakes done. I don’t think there is much more I can do but offer my sincerest gratitude for your help. But then again, I hear that Smokeys has a good prime rib… I’m sure that’d help you feel the thanks too!
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Making progress on the Bombay

We've finished welding, and painting the bombay, along with putting in the floors!
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WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED

☑️ Brakes done!
☑️ Oil change complete
☑️ Transmission oil change complete
☑️ Fix Jake Brakes
☑️ Finish welding and painting steel in Bombay
You made it to the end! Cheering! Thanks for your prayers last month (we asked for you to join us in prayer & fasting ) Please continue to pray for us, as we try our best to finish the bombay and solar panels in the next 2 weeks before launch. There are many projects that we'll have to finish while on the road, or will just wait until we return for the next tour.
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