"Joyful tears are a pretty common thing around here," Craid Agapie told News Sentinel. Those aren't the words you'd expect to hear from a mechanic in his garage.
Craig Agapie is the manager of Love Auto Repair, a Christian garage seeking to be good news to downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, by providing affordable car-repairs and apprenticeships for young people in the foster-system.
"We exist for three reasons: to humbly serve the poor who can't afford car repair anywhere reputable; to save fellow Christians money on a necessity so they can choose where to reinvest their savings into the kingdom and coming online this year is our main mission: to train automotive-minded foster kids who are ageing out of the system into the next generation of technicians," Agapie said.
"We strive for excellence in all we do, but cars rust away... people are eternal. Our ministry is about much more than fixing cars."
The auto-repair shop is a ministry of Love Church, a local church in Fort Wayne, in response to the most urgent needs of people with low-incomes. It has now become a sustainable business, "financially helping Love Church continue its mission of inner city, holistic life ministry."
Agapie has previously worked as a pilot, and used to fix friends' cars on the side in his own garage.
"My flying job was fun but not eternally meaningful," he said. He had been expecting to be laid off "because the company was rapidly shrinking." Instead of finding another job in aviation, he heard God say: "Stay in Fort Wayne; don't pursue a flying job elsewhere."
A few months later Agapie lost his job. Although "no one knew I was laid off on Tuesday... Love Church called on Wednesday" asking if he could run Love Auto Repair.
"Had the days been reversed, I probably would have said no – why leave a 'glorious', much better-paying job with benefits for a start-up non-profit auto ministry with no equipment, no supplies and a four-year history of being propped up by the church?
"[It] didn't sound wise in our eyes, but God brought me through my life up to that point, building the skill and character needed to make it a blessing to both me and the community," he said.
