Episode One: Another Day in the Life
As the new Season begins, Ryan faces new challenges, both personal and financial. Ryan first discovers that the transmission of his car is failing, leaving him with no reverse gear. Issues with Shawn begin to rise, as Shawn begins to speak more openly about financial issues and the need for Ryan to soon find employment. Because he’s self-conscious of his burden on his friend this doesn’t help, but Ryan still searches, again to no avail. He continues to pray that employment will come soon.
The next vehicular setback occurs when the cooling system of the car suddenly dumps all the antifreeze in the church parking lot just after Ryan arrived to work on media for the upcoming Sunday services. This effectively strands Ryan at the church for the afternoon. The culprit: the heater core has gone bad and must be replaced at a cost of 40 dollars. A quick patch is made, however, restoring the vehicle to driving condition.
The following week Ryan agrees to videotape the Pastor’s son’s football games, with the Pastor offering to reimburse for fuel. When Ryan attempts to leave that evening, however, he discovers that one of his tires has gone flat. The tire is completely destroyed, so Ryan limps his car back into the garage and makes a quick change to the spare, all the while wondering how long before the other side goes flat. With the spare installed and inflated to the proper pressure, Ryan fulfills his obligation to the Pastor, but must wait until the following Wednesday for reimbursement. Ryan again limps home with the bum tire where he discusses the issue with Shawn and David. David offers to take him to a junkyard where they could get a cheap replacement tire on the far side of Nashville.
The next day Ryan and David meet up and they leave for Nashville. Upon arriving they locate a few different possible replacements, but have a hard time removing them from the cars. After a bit of work, Ryan manages to remove two tires matching the specifications of his old tires, but in better condition, and he purchases them. David remarks that the set of tires would probably be worth almost four times what Ryan paid for them. Upon returning home Ryan removes the spare and installs the new tires. This brings the trouble-list for the car to only no air conditioning, no heat, and no reverse.
The weeks carry on. Ryan keeps praying and applying for various job opportunities. More and more people at church find out about his unemployment, and Ryan has to set aside his pride and explain the situation. Those that already know keep asking, and are continually met with a negative response. The others remain optimistic.