Update auto fleet

"Rita," as the elders fondly named the Opel Van will be replaced with another van. After the elders parked "her" on the rock behind the Mission Office, the tires were hot and the ice melted underneath. The van slid off the "perch," but luckily no damage was done. Sister Johnson wrote a limerick about it for Friday lunch.

Parking "Rita" on the big rock to show
Driving up the incline is fun, we know.
And, parking atop
When the tires are hot,
It slid to the driveway below.

With everywhere much snow and ice,
Another parking spot, it could suffice.
In summertime we'll try again,
To park up there won't be in vain,
Atop the hill will be quite nice.

Elder Johnson is looking at new cars on the showroom floor in Stockholm, Sweden, to replace part of the Mission fleet.

Elder Johnson begins the quest for six new cars and one large van. Depending on the vehicle condition, Swedish mission cars are sold when the odometer reaches 100,000 to 150,000 Km....or when the vehicle ends up in five feet of snow in Norrland! Purchasing and selling cars in Sweden and Europe in general, have very little resemblence to making deals in the USA.

In northern Sweden where the reindeer roam, two of our young elders came out of a snow cloud and swerved to miss several other cars that had crashed. Fortunately, the two missionaries escaped with minor scratches on their hands. The older Skoda automobile rolled four times in soft snow up to three feet deep. The elders were hanging by the seatbelts...upside down when the car came to a stop. This car will be replaced, but with a used car not a new vehicle.