First of all Mary Jo and I wish you a Merry CHRISTmas and a Jesus filled New Year! To view a copy of our CHRISTmas/Year End Letter, click here!
Recently we needed to get back to VA, where we were serving for about a year, to get our 5th wheel and the rest of our equipment down to Camp Calvary at CC Sarasota (CCSRQ). We took off on 11/30 for what was supposed to be a quick turnaround of less than a week that turned into 2 weeks, but such is our life serving The Lord!
After about 100 miles on the road our diesel started making some strange noises, but otherwise was running fine, so we continued to VA. Once there, while investigating the noises, I accidentally put a hole in the radiator. After I replaced the injection pump, injectors, fuel lines, etc. earlier this year, the truck was running the best it ever had, but since it was now getting more power and fuel, it had been running hotter than what I was comfortable with, so I had already begun researching what I needed to do to replace the cooling system. A Godincidence for sure as now I knew exactly what I needed to do!
Unfortunately, the radiator that I wanted wasn’t readily available locally and all I could find was cheap Chinese stuff that would only be a temporary fix. Ironically it was $25 more than the better made in the USA I needed. I originally purchased the one available locally, but then decided to pay the extra freight to get the right one shipped in time for us to supposedly still leave soon.
Steve, a long time friend who’s served alongside of us many times, and Dan, who goes to his church, Wilkinson Church of Christ (WCC) in Indiana, met us in VA with Steve’s truck and utility trailer. Steve also helped us move from GA to FL along with one of their pastors, Matt, who then brought back a team to serve back in November. WCC is also planning on bringing another team down after the first of the year!
They arrived Tuesday evening and got busy Wednesday loading up his trailer as I worked on the truck. Below I’ve listed a daily synopsis of all we did for 2 weeks if you’re interested. Steve mentioned that he never realized this side of our ministry and it has given him a different perspective and added to what he prays for us now.
I often say that it’s a full-time job doing everything it takes for Calvary Relief to exist, before we serve at anyone’s home. That’s not an exaggeration. I know that life is full of ups and downs, and we all have issues. I can attest however, that when Christians are living full out for Jesus and daily engaging in spiritual warfare that not only will you have normal issues, but they will be greatly increased. I’ve not only seen it in what we do with Calvary Relief, but in countless lives of others who do the same. I often say that if you’re not being attacked, then maybe you’re not in the battle? Something for sure to think about! Life on this earth is NOT about life on this earth, it’s about living full out for Jesus! I cannot serve The Lord and me at the same time and Jesus told us that those that follow Him will have troubles in this life, but in those troubles, He’s promised to never leave us or forsake us!
Since we ended up staying longer, we were blessed to attend church at CC Crossroads. It was a blessing to get to see our friends in VA one more time before we left. They also called us up front and 3 of the pastors and one of the elders all said some very encouraging things about us and our time with them and then they prayed for us. We always want to be a blessing wherever we are, not only in the physical, but more importantly regarding discipleship, which is why we do whatever it is we do whether it’s disaster relief or other!
Here's the daily synopsis of our trip:
- Saturday the 30th
- Left for VA
- Started hearing a strange noise north of TPA but truck was running great so continued
- Lots of traffic
- Stopped to visit with Nick, Everette, Olivia, & Junie for a minute
- Stayed overnight in Florence, SC
- Sunday
- Truck ran fine, noise persisted
- Tank selector quit working, replaced fuse then blew again
- Made it to VA middle of afternoon
- Looked for noise, left stool in front of truck, punctured radiator
- Drove to Charlottesville to get radiator and some parts, groceries and 5 Guys dinner-4 hours roundtrip after driving for 2 days!
- Monday
- Got more parts
- Looked for better radiator and found one that could ship 2 days
- Started taking truck apart
- Tuesday
- Continued to work on truck and decided to replace water pump
- Steve and Dan arrived late
- Wednesday
- Got guys going on stuff to go from indoor arena storage to trailer
- Had them work on tearing down skirting, etc. around 5th wheel
- Finished getting gunk removed from t-stat and pump
- Installed t-stat
- Tried to install water pump, Steve tried, to no avail
- Decided to take it off so had to order another gasket to arrive Thursday AM
- Thursday
- MJ got new gasket
- Guys worked on finishing up loading things
- Removed new pump and scraped/cleaned block and pump
- Thoroughly cleaned all bolt holes and bolts and then installed each bolt as if pump was installed
- Removed each bolt and set them so they’d go back in the same hole
- Pump would not install, but wasn’t torqued so gasket was still OK
- Steve suggested comparing the old/new and discovered that something was wrong with the new pump alignment
- Put the old pump on without gasket to see if it would still install, and it did
- Got another pump and it went right in, no issues
- Installed fuel filter bracket with the bolts from the water pump pulley so thought we lost those bolts, got new bolts and called it a day
- Put things up for travel inside 5th wheel after dinner
- Friday
- Forgot washers for pulley so sent MJ to get them and some Loctite
- Discovered that the bolts were used in the wrong place so removed and installed alternator bracket with longer bolts and then installed the alternator
- Installed water pump pulley
- Installed new belt
- Attempted to install fan clutch to no avail
- Took it back to NAPA and the one that was the exact fit for my truck was not the exact fit, but they didn’t have the correct one so ordered it and it would arrive in 2 hours
- Continued getting 5th wheel ready for departure
- Got ranch guys to fix gravel to be able to pull 5th wheel out
- Discovered that one of the heater hoses went to radiator but the fitting was a different size, so guys went looking for a solution in town and picked up new fan clutch
- Fixed air bag leak
- Looked at the fuel switch and everything looks good. Switched it several times with new fuse and no issues, we’ll see!
- Guys came back with fan clutch but no radiator solution
- I researched online and talked to Classic Diesel Design
- Decided to try a plumbing shop and a machine shop to no avail
- Found another auto shop and he came up with a temporary solution to get us home
- Saturday
- Continued securing 5th wheel
- Got diesel put all back together, tested, noise persists.
- Got the trailer ready to hitch and decided to take stuff back to FL to sort it out there praying it’s nothing serious
- Finished after dark and decided it was too late, and I was too tired with all I’d been doing beginning the day after Thanksgiving through Saturday night.
- We’ll take Sunday off, rest, go to church and fellowship and head out Monday morning after packing up our travel stuff
- Sunday
- Rested and went to church at CC Crossroads
- Monday
- Ran into town to get some injector lube and ran into a guy with an older diesel who told me of a local good diesel mechanic
- Talked to Pete and he had me bring the truck to him
- His diagnosis, toast, needs rebuilt, but he doesn’t get motors
- Started chasing down motors
- Dave Fowler suggested I get another opinion with a friend of his, Ricky, who seems to know a lot about IDI’s and said to bring it in
- Dropped the 5th wheel out back and took it over
- He said he’d have something on it for me by end of day Tuesday
- Spent a little time chasing down motors, other trucks, and getting the 5th wheel and us back
- Tuesday
- Much of the same with tracking down motors, other trucks, other mechanics, and getting us home
- Talked to Jim, he agrees get motor replaced is our best bet and figure out who will do it, get the truck to them, and get home
- Mickey agrees with all
- No call back from Ricky, so left a message
- Wednesday
- Ricky told me in the morning that he was working on it
- I continued to work on finding either a good used motor, talked to one, if not, the best rebuilders for my exact motor, researched other builders online, worked with Jim back home on coming and getting us and the 5th wheel, etc.
- Around 4 it was concluded that while we had some options to get back home, Jim was renting a truck that would pull our 5th wheel in the morning and heading out to rescue us. I reminded him that I was still waiting for the call from Ricky and told him I’d reach out as soon as we got off the phone.
- I texted Ricky and he said, “We just fixed it, a bad injector. The invoice is being done so come and get it!!!!!”
- After thanking The Lord, and still doing it, we decided to not tell anyone but Jim, so he no longer had to get ready to leave, until we got in it and drove it!
- It ran fine getting back to camp, about 12 miles down the highway so I let Steve and Guy know.
- As soon as I got back, Guy came down and helped me reconnect the 5th wheel and get it ready to roll
- Had dinner at a friend’s, let everyone know, had ice cream with Guy and Cristy, and went to sleep!
- Thursday
- Up with normal routines such as my exercising, packing up, and getting ready to roll
- Checked all fluids, fine
- Truck started right up
- Got things loaded, camp prayed us off, and on the road 10:30
- Stopped to fuel up and check everything at about 30 miles and all was good
- Truck continued to run fine all day. The best it’s ever driven pulling 9 tons!
- Stopped about 500 miles in Santee for the night
- Friday
- It was below freezing and no block heater connected, windows were frozen, but truck started right up!
- Loose upper hose clamp at radiator, tightened
- Truck ran great and still very impressed with how good it runs pulling 9 tons! This is what this truck was built for!
- 5th wheel blowout on 75 and 2 complete traffic stops for nothing
- Made it home! Praise The Lord
While these exact issues aren’t common, having issues crop up is a frequent thing for Mary Jo and me. Hopefully this glimpse into this side of Calvary Relief can give you another area that you can keep us in prayer about!
If you’re interested in growing in The LORD as you selflessly serve others alongside of Calvary Relief, please let us know! For more info on joining us, click here. Plenty of things to do!
If you feel led to help with any of the expenses with Calvary Relief, please click here.
If there’s ever anything you need prayer about or just need to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and let us know!
Merry CHRISTmas and have a Jesus Filled New Year!
Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home,
Curt & Mary Jo
