{"id":518,"date":"2021-08-25T21:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T03:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/?p=518"},"modified":"2021-08-25T21:00:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T03:00:03","slug":"reliable-vehicle-for-png","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/2021\/08\/25\/reliable-vehicle-for-png\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliable Vehicle for PNG"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Dear Friends & Family,<\/p>\r\n

Our family returned to PNG about 6 weeks ago and, after being released from a 21-day quarantine, are already up to our eyeballs in ministry.\u00a0 We love it and are so grateful to be back in PNG doing what we love.\u00a0 The girls have completed their first week of school and are settling in very nicely.\u00a0 Melody is busy getting trained on new billing programs for our business office and I\u2019ve been drowning in water system maintenance and troubleshooting, lol.\u00a0 Thanks for making our return possible by your faithful support!<\/p>\r\n

Have you ever been driving down the road and heard mysterious clunks, clangs, bangs rattles and squeals coming from under your hood, near your wheels, or somewhere beneath you? \u00a0How does that make you feel? It doesn\u2019t give you a warm fuzzy or inspire much confidence does it. \u00a0Now imagine hearing all of those things while driving down a “paved highway” that is made up of more potholes than pavement and often has long stretches with no pavement at all. \u00a0Oh, and throw in the fact that you\u2019re a mom alone with your three daughters on your way to a Dr. Appointment because you husband is gone for a few weeks for work. \u00a0Remember, you\u2019re no longer in America but in Papua New Guinea, and there\u2019s no AAA in case of a break down on the road. \u00a0This is our reality every day on the road. \u00a0Would a reliable and safe vehicle be a wise investment? \u00a0We\u2019re prayerfully asking the Lord to provide for this need however and whenever He sees fit.<\/p>\r\n

Our ministry is very active and requires us to travel up and down the PNG highways and back roads frequently.\u00a0 Many of you know that we shipped over an old 1984 Chevy Blazer back in 2016 to fill this need.\u00a0 The ole Blazer has served us well and is still running.\u00a0 However, the PNG roads have not been kind and I\u2019m spending more time & money than I\u2019d like fixing her.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think her 37-year-old bones will be holding up for much longer.\u00a0 So, we\u2019ve been praying about purchasing a new or well-cared-for used vehicle here in PNG. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

There are many factors to consider in justifying this large expense.\u00a0 The most important one is safety, followed closely by reliability, which are one in the same here in PNG.\u00a0 Due to the security concerns of driving in a third world country, we need a reliable vehicle that Melody will feel safe driving in with my daughters.\u00a0 Melody must be able to drive when I\u2019m gone on bush trips, and it\u2019s very important to me that she\u2019s driving a safe and reliable vehicle.\u00a0 Most of the highways here in PNG are glorified blacktops with huge sections riddled with truck sized potholes or just gone altogether.\u00a0 We need a vehicle that can stand up to these conditions and that can be easily maintained here in country.\u00a0 The used truck market is basically non-existent, which means we\u2019ll probably be looking for a new vehicle.\u00a0 Even if we found a well-maintained used vehicle here, they wouldn\u2019t be much cheaper than a new one.\u00a0 I recently found a 2-year-old Patrol for sale that was selling for $32,000 and it had issues.\u00a0 Because our intentions are to continue serving here in PNG for as long as we are useful, we feel that a new vehicle is the wisest choice and will last us for the duration of our ministry here.\u00a0 (*However just after writing this a very nice used Patrol came up for sale.\u00a0 See the third picture below.)\u00a0 We don\u2019t want to cycle through used vehicles every 5 years.\u00a0 If we had to save $40,000 for a vehicle from our monthly support, it would take us this entire 4-year term to come close.\u00a0 So, we\u2019re reaching out to you to see if this is a project you would be willing to get behind and donate towards.\u00a0 If you know of others who you think would like to donate towards a project like this, please share this with them and give them my contact info.<\/p>\r\n

Currently our first choice would be a 4WD Nissan Patrol which would be like a Mid-sized SUV in the States.\u00a0 It meets all our requirements of being reliable, safe, and durable.\u00a0 It\u2019s a 9 passenger 5 speed Manual, with a 3.0 Turbo Diesel engine.\u00a0 The price tag for a new Patrol (base model with no extras) today is $40,200.\u00a0 The price with an off-road package is $47,500. The other options would be a gently used Nissan Patrol, which currently sells for between $27,000 – $32,000, if you can find one.\u00a0 Last would be a 4WD Toyota SUV which currently runs $58,900, and for that reason isn\u2019t really an option.\u00a0 And just so you know, these are base line models with no extras in case you\u2019re wondering if we\u2019re going for the luxury models. \u00a0We\u2019re not.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this is just the reality of the vehicle market in PNG.\u00a0 Here are some pictures of the model vehicle we\u2019re wanting to purchase.<\/p>\r\n

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New base model Patrol with no extras like upgraded suspension, off-tires, bull bar etc. $40,600.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
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New Patrol and has the off-road package, power locks and windows, which we prefer.\u00a0 $47,500.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
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2019 with 8,000 miles with an off-road package, has power locks but no power windows.\u00a0 $40,000. \u00a0(This one just came up for sale today, and we\u2019re very interested in it due to its great condition and very low mileage.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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As always, we are so appreciative of the many years of faithful support and want you to know we couldn\u2019t be here doing this work without you.\u00a0 Thank you for your prayerful consideration regarding this project. Please feel free to share this project with others who may be interested. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

For making donations click the link below to donate by credit card. \u00a0If you\u2019d like to donate by Check, EFT or Phone click the link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to \u201cOther Ways to Give.”<\/p>\r\n

Donate to Vechile Project<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Until all have heard,

Josh & Mel Simmons
Josh 1 (573) 231-8487
Mel 1 (573) 231-8507
josh_simmons@ntm.org<\/a>
https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/give\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Friends & Family, Our family returned to PNG about 6 weeks ago and, after being released from a 21-day quarantine, are already up to our eyeballs in ministry.\u00a0 We love it and are so grateful to be back in PNG doing what we love.\u00a0 The girls have completed their first week of school and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":543,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-ministry","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/543"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/josh-simmons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}