A little over two weeks ago Frank Kittle told me that during L.I.F.E. the Viewsonic projector had emitted a loud pop and a puff of smoke and stopped working. Classic symptoms of a bulb failure.
Did anyone ever tell you how much these bulbs cost? An internet search found them available for as much as $400, and as little as $177 on Ebay.
You don’t have to guess which one we bought. Unfortunately I didn’t notice the fine print on the listing which said “bulb only.” It turns out that the bulb is normally sold in an assembly that looks like this:
But I didn’t know that at the time. So when the bulb came I just took the box to church. On Saturday afternoon, after moving the Pinards I ran over to church to do some work and ‘swap and test the new bulb’.
Famous last words. When I opened the projector I found much glass, a thoroughly busted bulb and a partially melted assembly. I easily pulled the assembly from the projector, and then spent two hours failing to get the bulb out of the assembly.
‘The Truth Project’ class needed the projector on Sunday. So I got up extra early, brought a few new tools, and tried again. Then I prayed ‘The Prayer.’ If you hang around me much you know that ‘The Prayer’ is ‘Oh Lord, let this work!’ God gave me a little insight and the right tools, and I was finally able to get the bulb out.
I then spent an hour putting the new bulb back into the assembly and re-assembling the projector. By this time it was almost the start of first service. I prayed ‘The Prayer’ and tested the projector. It worked.
God’s grace reaches even to geeks!
