Making ends meet is always tough for Janis Wilson. And it got a lot worse in recent months, as the single mother of two was forced to dump hundreds of dollars every few weeks into fixing up her old car.

Well, life definitely got a little easier for the Langley City mother when she was given a new (to her) car through the Minivans for Moms program at the Aldergrove Seventh Day Adventist Church.

When Wilson, 50, first pulled into the church's twice annual oil change event for single-mothers a few months back, her 1992 Buick Skylark was in rough shape.

That would be putting it diplomatically, according to Wilson and Darren Allen, founder and organizers of the church's minivan program.

Her Buick was on its last legs, and despite Wilson recently dumping more than $1,000 into repairs including a muffler, heater core, and starter, its lifespan was limited.

At the time of the oil change, however, it was still limping along. So one of the church members simply gave Wilson his contact information and said before she sunk any more money into the car, to call him when something else went wrong.

Admittedly, there were other problems too, including broken window mechanisms and leaks - that, while inconvenient, weren't critical to getting the vehicle from Point A to Point B, Wilson said.

But the list was growing to include balding tires - which were worrisome heading into the winter - and more recently the need to replace the water pump.

That was enough to push Wilson's vehicle from the elective surgery to critical care list.

It was enough to prompt Allen and his team to action. The minivan program has been operating since 2007, and given out an average of one vehicle a year to a family in need, and replacing vehicles that "really shouldn't be on the road anymore," Allen explained.

Well, Wilson's vehicle definitely qualified, Allen said.

The bonus: Wilson had no idea what was coming.

She simply picked up the phone when the water pump went, and called the church volunteer, being led to believe that some-one would volunteer time and she'd - at most - be expected to pay for the parts to fix the car.

"They kept the secret going for two weeks," said Wilson, who waited patiently for the return of her Buick.

Then, the call finally came for her to pick up her car on Nov. 20. Upon her arrival, Allen started joking about the desperate need for new paint on the car roof, new tires, and windows that work.

"Then suddenly, they bring this car around from the back of the building, and they bring this beautiful red Toyota (Tercel). I bawled," Wilson said, recounted for the Langley Advance.

She was astonished and over-whelmed when they handed her the keys to her new vehicle. It's not new, in fact it's a 1991 - a year older than her previous vehicle (which the church is selling for scrap with plans to donate the money back to Wilson to help cover her auto insurance).

"But it's in such great shape, it's beautiful, and it's safe," Wilson said.

"I was crying because it was very generous of them doing that for me and my boys. I'm sure there's a lot of single mothers who deserve and need help. But they came to my aid. They're my heroes."

Wilson's new car, in fact, was donated to the church by a family that received a vehicle from the minivan program in 2008.

They had since replaced the van from the church with the Toyota, and then bought a newer vehicle in 2010, giving them the opportunity to give back by donating their Toyota to the cause.

"When you're giving away a car, there's always the unknown. But we try to make sure the car is in reason-able condition and will last a while," said Allen, an auto hobbiest from Bradner who describes the program as "uplifting" and rewarding.

"It means a lot to give people a hand up," Allen said.

"I wish I could pay it back, but I can't," Wilson added. "So I'm hoping I can pay it forward by helping a couple people in small ways."

rhooper@langleyadvance.com