I met Gerti in the fall of 2018, and I have had the opportunity to pray alongside her and watch her story unfold. Gerti and I attend the same meeting in which we pray for the South Dakota reservations and state government, and the U.S. government and people. We also share personal prayer requests with the group. 

Last fall, Gerti would ask for rides to and from the prayer meeting, because her van had broken down. She was faithful to go in spite of the challenge to get there. Her van would not drive in reverse, and it needed a new transmission. She and her husband had tried jump starting it but were unsuccessful at starting the van for months. Week after week, Gerti would get a ride to prayer meeting, and all of us would pray that the Lord would give Gerti a dependable car – a car that she could easily get in and out of. I got to know her more when I would give her a ride to or from the meeting. 

Gerti needed a dependable car so she could continue to minister to people in the hospitals in Sioux Falls and on nearby Native American reservations. 

In early December, Gerti shared at the prayer meeting that she felt the Lord asking her to give her van to her nephew. She said she began praying that the Lord would fix the van or provide the funds get the van fixed. We were still praying that the Lord would give her a dependable car. 

Soon after, the road construction crew that was fixing the road outside her home told her that she needed to move the van for them to continue. Her husband had gone outside to move the van and didn’t have issues jump starting it. He drove it around the block and in reverse. He checked the engine. He found nothing wrong with the van. The Lord had fixed her van. 

Gerti knew she needed to do what she felt the Lord had asked her to do and give her van away. She still did not know when the Lord would give her a car, but she was faithful to give her van away. She gave the van to her nephew who was in the hospital. Her nephew is paralyzed from the waist down and has been without a vehicle for years. They talked about modifications to the van that he could receive so he could drive himself. Teary-eyed, he accepted the vehicle and asked, “What are you going to do without a car?” Gerti told him to not worry because the Lord would give her a car.

Two nights later a friend of Gerti’s in Minneapolis called. They hadn’t talked in years. She said, “Gerti, I have a proposition for you. If you drive me to Florida, I’ll give you my blazer. I will not need it there.” Gerti accepted and then began praying for another way to accomplish the drive in the winter. 

A couple nights after that conversation, Gerti’s friend called again. This time, she said she decided to fly to Florida and told Gerti to pick up the blazer any time before January 9th. This was another answer to Gerti’s prayers. Gerti and her husband traveled to Minneapolis to pick up the blazer before the 9th. 

Gerti’s prayer was always for a dependable car. After she picked up her blazer, her son had asked if she would trade her blazer for a car. She accepted. He swapped her with a well-maintained Buick La Sabre, which she could easily get in and out of and had better gas mileage than the blazer. 

As I sat and listened to her retell her story, she said, “It’s all for the glory of God.” She is so grateful to have been able to help her nephew. She saw a revived hope in him, and he’s now thinking to pursue a master’s degree. 

Gerti is now able to respond to requests to visit people in the hospitals in Sioux Falls. She is also equipped to go to the reservations again and pray with people there. 

As I watched her story unfold, I had such anticipation that the Lord would give her a car. Her faith was solid. For her, it was a matter of timing. She remained faithful to praying and asking the Lord to give her a dependable car. He did! He is so good. 

In Him, 

Julieanne