When the Journey Didn't Go as Planned: A Faith-Building Journey
On July 8, 2026, my husband, Rob, and I left Illinois with hearts full of excitement.
After more than ten years apart, we were finally traveling to San Jose, California, to visit Rob's brother, who is living with Parkinson's disease. We had looked forward to this trip for a long time.
We never imagined that just a few days into our journey, our plans would change completely.
While traveling west on Interstate 80 through the Nevada mountains, our 2003 Chevy Express van suffered a catastrophic transmission failure. We were more than 1,700 miles from home, stranded in 104-degree heat outside Winnemucca, Nevada.
We didn't know how we were going to get the van repaired.
We didn't know how long we would be there.
And honestly, we didn't know what we were going to do.
But God knew.
## Sometimes the journey becomes the blessing.
Within minutes of breaking down, a complete stranger named Kevin made a U-turn on Interstate 80 to check on us.
He didn't know us.
He didn't owe us anything.
But he stopped.
After hearing what had happened, he drove into Winnemucca, purchased transmission fluid for us, drove back to the interstate, and made sure we were safe before continuing on his way.
We had no idea then how important that moment would become.
When we finally made our way into Winnemucca, we found shade at Juan's Sky Car Wash and Auto Detailing. Our leaking transmission fluid had ended up on his driveway.
Instead of being upset, Juan welcomed us.
He gave us two large bottles of water in the middle of a 104-degree day and helped point us toward people who could help.
At that moment, we needed three things: a tow truck, a mechanic, and a place to sleep.
God began providing them one person at a time.
## Strangers became our helpers.
Transportation was another challenge. Winnemucca doesn't have taxis, Uber, or hotel shuttles.
Jessica, a woman we had never met, graciously gave me a ride to our hotel.
Rob retrieved his bicycle from the back of the van and rode it there.
Then came the waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
What we initially thought might be a few days became weeks.
We moved between hotels and even spent a couple of nights at an RV park trying to keep our expenses under control.
While at the RV park, we met another couple. As we sat outside playing backgammon and sharing our story, they shared their own story of how Jesus had transformed their lives.
Then they did something we will never forget.
They paid for seven nights of lodging for us.
Seven nights.
At the time, we thought surely seven more nights would be enough to get our transmission repaired and send us on our way.
We had no idea we would still be in Winnemucca weeks later.
## And then came another problem.
While staying at the RV park, the rear door latch on our van failed. The door wouldn't open.
One person referred us to another.
Greg Albertson of Key Man pointed us toward Richard Munoz at Elite Glass, who connected us with Jose and his crew at Great Basin Collision.
Jose could have simply broken the window and replaced it.
Instead, he found another way.
He carefully removed the existing glass, found the problem inside the latch mechanism, repaired it, and reinstalled the same window.
He and his crew spent more than three hours working on our van.
Then Jose charged us for only two hours.
Another unexpected kindness.
Another reminder that we were not alone.
## Then we waited for the transmission.
Our mechanic, Brian, and his crew determined that the transmission needed to be completely rebuilt.
We waited for the rebuilt transmission to arrive.
Days turned into weeks.
There were moments when we were discouraged, frustrated, and simply ready to go home.
But along the way, people kept showing up.
The employees at our hotels became familiar faces. Local restaurants and businesses became part of our daily life. People offered encouragement, recommendations, rides, water, food, discounts, and simply a listening ear.
Each act of kindness may have seemed small to the person giving it.
To us, they were enormous.
They reminded us again and again that God often answers prayers through people.
## Finally, the phone call we had been praying for.
Brian called.
"I have your transmission on the floor of my shop. Bring me your van."
After nearly four weeks in Winnemucca, we finally had hope that we could go home.
The transmission was installed, and on August 3, Brian brought our van back to us at the hotel after testing it.
We were finally on our way.
We left Winnemucca on August 4, excited and grateful to be heading east.
We continued our journey home.
And on August 6, after nearly a month away, we finally walked through our own front door.
We came home with more than we left with.
We left Illinois hoping to reconnect with family.
We came home without making it to California—but with something we never expected.
A deeper faith.
A collection of stories about people who stopped for strangers.
Friendships we never expected to make.
And a renewed understanding that sometimes God's plans look nothing like ours.
Our journey cost us financially, too.
Between the transmission, repairs, towing, lodging, food, transportation, and other unexpected expenses, we have accumulated more than $10,500 in credit-card debt.
We used credit cards because we had to keep moving forward while we were stranded so far from home.
Now that we are home, we are facing the financial aftermath of those weeks away.
Why we are asking for help
We are asking for **$5,000** to help us begin paying down the emergency debt created by this unexpected experience.
We aren't asking because we expect anyone to fix this for us.
We are simply asking for help getting back on our feet.
Any amount would make a difference.
A $25 gift may seem small, but to us it would be one more step toward recovering from a situation we never could have anticipated.
And if you aren't able to give, we completely understand.
Please pray for us.
Please share our story.
And most of all, remember that sometimes the hardest roads can lead to the most meaningful places.
## The California trip will have to wait.
We still hope that one day Rob and I will make that trip to San Jose and spend time with his brother.
But perhaps that trip wasn't supposed to happen this time.
Perhaps this was the journey we were supposed to take.
A journey that began with a broken transmission...
and became a story about faith, kindness, generosity, friendship, and God's provision.
Kevin was a stranger when he made that U-turn on the interstate.
A few weeks later, we worshipped together at St. Paul's Catholic Church, shared coffee, and had pizza together.
Somewhere between a broken transmission, a lot of waiting, countless prayers, coffee, pizza, and conversations about faith...
strangers became friends.
That is the part of this journey we will carry with us forever.
We are deeply grateful to every person who helped us along the way—and to everyone who takes the time to read our story.
If you feel led to help us financially, thank you.
If you pray for us, thank you.
If you share our story, thank you.
Every act of kindness matters.
And after everything we've experienced, we know this much:
We were never truly stranded.
*"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." — Proverbs 3:5–6 (KJV)**
“For those who would like to see a detailed breakdown of our expenses, we can provide an itemized list.”
