Her name is Mini Libby

Can I tell you a story?

It all started on a Saturday.

I was about to do laundry when I received a message from my friend Nick, asking me to stop by his place because he had something for me. Without having a car to drive, I would need to walk. It’s not far but walking in the middle of the day in the August heat is way too hot.

So I was going to wait until Monday but Naomi, his wife, was willing to pick me up.

Before I was picked up, I had a thought he would give me his scooter. I don’t know idea why I thought this. As I was driven over by Naomi, I thought that driving the scooter would be scary. A sort of internal freakout about it, “I can’t drive a scooter. I haven’t driven one in forever!”

What is going on with me? I keep getting these thoughts.

Once I arrived, I said my hellos to Nick and the rest of the family. He then proceeded to open their back door and said something to the equivalent of ‘Ta-da’.

As sure as anything, there was his scooter parked. For me. As. A. Gift. Nick felt from God to give me the scooter during the beginning of the summer.

WHAT?! Are you kidding me?!?!?!

I could not believe this. I had felt from God that something big was coming but I didn’t think it was actually going to happen. My head was spinning. I was slightly shaking.

Once he was done explaining all the features of the scooter, I was given the opportunity to drive it around the parking lot. I couldn’t really think.

My adrenaline was pumping and I was still trying to understand what had just happened. I was also nervous to sit in the driver’s seat. Having minimal experience in driving a scooter didn’t exactly help my nerves. I felt shaky when I drove it.

After successfully driving it back to his house, I asked Nick if I could pick it up later that week. He was kind enough to continue to store it at his place until Monday when he would drive it over to my place.

The following week I took some time to ask God if I was suppose to keep this gift or give it away. I had learned recently that sometimes when we receive gifts, we might be asked to give them away. This was a new revelation to me.

I had always thought that when I receive a gift, I was allowed to keep it. Sometimes that’s true. Other times, I feel like God is testing my heart. Am I willing to give my blessing away to bless someone else?

If God is looking at my heart like it says in Scripture, then why would He not ask me to give my gift away? I needed to make sure my heart was in the right place.

God gave me peace about keeping the scooter.

With keeping it, the realization hit me of what that meant. It would not be an easy switching of the titles from one owner to the other. I found out that in order to get the title switched, I needed insurance, a motorcycle/scooter permit and enrollment into a motorcycle safety course.

“WHAT!?!?! Ok I can do this. I mean if God wants me to have this, then He’ll provide a way for it to happen. I just need to make sure I am doing what I can, such as preparing for the permit test, researching insurance companies  and above all, praying.”

You might wonder what the big deal was. Well, I didn’t have the money for the insurance, permit and safety course. I had to wait for the money to come in. Plain and simple.

Did I mentioned I was also on a time crunch? I had to transfer the title within 6 weeks of getting the scooter or there would be an additional $100 fine.

So I bought a driver’s manual for a motorcycle.

The following weeks were filled with highs and lows of trusting God for what I felt was something given to me as a gift. At times I laughed because there were other financial needs I had and yet I was given something that required even more money in order for me to keep it.

As I was wondering about my finances one day, I was immediately reminded of how YWAM Ships Kona was gifted the m/v YWAM Liberty.

Once YWAM Ships Kona received this new ship, we had 2 weeks to see $300,000 come in to make the transfer complete. After doing all we could, we saw Him move in extravagant ways and He provided all the finances.

My life was paralleling that story in so many ways. With the inspiration of the YWAM Liberty and the story of God’s provision for that vessel, I felt led to name my scooter Mini Libby. So with that story in mind, I set my eyes on God.

Even when I knew where to focus my eyes, I found myself having to constantly reflect on God. How He is my provider and that nothing can stop Him. So to help keep my focus where it needs to be, I kept reminding myself that regardless of the outcome, whether I have all the money, whether I get to keep Mini Libby, God still reigns.

As the deadline approached, my money was still scare. I read the driver’s manual, looked up insurance companies, and kept God my focus. I praised Him through this time and continued to do what I could.

With one week left before I had to transfer the title, I spent some more time in prayer and took some practice tests. I knew the week was going to be busy with work and various other projects. When I checked my bank account, I saw a donation from one of my supporters had come in. There was now enough money in there to pay for what I needed. Praise the Lord!

It was now 3 days to deadline.

I took the test and passed! I was so elated. All the weight of the last 6 weeks just rolled off my shoulders. It was like I could finally breathe. Once I made it back to my friend’s car to drive home, I screamed for joy. The next steps now were to enroll into the safety course and get insurance.

To my surprise, I ran into one last obstacle. I had all the money I needed but it was in 2 different bank accounts.

In order for me to get a permit, I had to show proof of residence from a bank account. I deposited money into the new account to do that. Since I set it up days before taking the test, I didn’t have my new debit card.

Without having both debit cards to withdraw the money, I wouldn’t be able to pay for insurance and the safety course until after the deadline. Now I felt stuck. I said to God, “Ok God, if you want me to have this scooter, you’re going to have to help me out.”

Thoughts ran through my head of possibly borrowing money from friends and then paying them back the following week. There were a couple of people I thought of to ask. As I made my way down to the office, it felt like time was running out. I wondered how money would get into my account if someone were to help me.

Once I was at my desk, I casually explained the situation to Nick. He felt led to give me a sum of money, as a gift. Turns out that sum of money he gave, combined with mine, would cover all of my expenses.

Again I was blown away. Once Nick’s gift made it into my account, I would be able to pay for everything. I sat at my desk and cried tears of joy. Everything had boiled down to this moment and I was overcome with gratefulness. I immediately registered for the safety course and paid for insurance.

The only thing left to do was transfer the title, which was as simple as going to the DMV and showing proof of insurance for Mini Libby.

I was in disbelief. Did that just happen?! How did I get here?! How did receiving a gift show me the faithfulness of God? I did nothing to deserve His goodness but He blessed me anyway. It felt as if I was right in the middle of God’s favor and blessing.

I switched the title the next day. It’s amazing to think of where I came from and where I am now.

As I’ve continued on in my relationship with God, I am still blown away by how He operates, by how He loves and by how His timing is different than mine. God can and will use anything to get our attention.

So that’s my story. Do you have one? Do you know He is giving you one even if you aren’t aware of it?

By Jaime Gomez
Port YWAM Kona Communications Staff

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