Conference Weekend

As I get older, I really look forward to General Conference. This weekend was no different. Friday we were running a bunch of errands around town and the check engine light came on in my car. Ben got an appointment at Mazda and they set to work on figuring out what was wrong with it. We have an extended warranty on the car and figured anything that was wrong would be covered minus our deductible. They determined that the actuator motor went out (now forgive me here as I'm not a mechanic and I may not remember all the terminology or details specifically to the T). Anyway, this thing controls a lot of stuff and absolutely had to be fixed but it is on the underside of the engine so there would be a lot of labor involved to get to it. They said we were lucky that it didn't run the timing belt when it went out. So they called the warranty company to make sure we got everything covered and the warranty company decided to be a pain. They didn't think we had enough routine maintenance records and work done on the vehicle. So they wanted Mazda to strip down the engine enough to get to what needs to be fixed and take a picture. If there was "sludge buildup" then they weren't going to cover the repairs under warranty. So we were potentially facing $2500 in repairs....if there was sludge... This unfortunately is where we were left hanging Friday afternoon. It wouldn't be until Monday that they could have the car stripped down and get back on the phone with the warranty company.

I prayed all weekend that the Lord would help us. I was in a fog all Friday evening stressing over the impending costs that could lay ahead of us. I NEEDED conference. I needed the uplifting words and spirit that only the Prophet and Apostles could bring. It was so refreshing to sit down Saturday and Sunday and be so inspired by their encouragement, their laughter, their faith and their love.

I was anxious today to hear about the car. We finally got tired of waiting around and called the dealership around 2 pm. They gave us an update on the car and said yeah they are replacing the timing belt now....Our jaws dropped...WHAT!?! We hadn't been told the timing belt was ruined. So Ben asked the obvious question in our minds. "So I'm assuming the warranty came through and we are approved for all these repairs since you are replacing the timing belt without having called us first?" The guy on the phone said..."oh yeah I spoke with your warranty group this morning and it was approved. Once we got everything taken apart we realized that the timing belt had been ruined and needed replacing."

So needless to say, after that phone conversation where we realized the $2500 in repairs quickly jumped much higher....I was saying many prayers of thanks! Hopefully I will have my car back on Wednesday and it will be good as new! Ugh...repairs! Some days I hate being an adult!