For nearly a year, I imagined driving my family out of the capital of Guinea to where our future home would be, like an astronaut heading out into a new frontier (but with a family). As that moment came to a reality, certain details dashed my dreams. I did not have a drivers license and we would be driving through several checkpoints to get out of the capital. Aside from that, I had zero experience driving in this country. Much to my shame I took the passenger seat.
Once out of the capital and a couple hours down the road, our co-worker asked me if I could take over driving. At this point my boyish excitement mixed with fear and trembling. We were borrowing another persons vehicle and by this point I had already doubted my own ability to drive well in this new environment. I have been to a couple other under developed regions of the world and Africa still has the craziest traffic/drivers/roads I have ever seen. I stepped out under the hot Guinean sun on the side of the road and switched seats. I felt myself shaking a little. A couple gear shifts later I was feeling a little more confident and we had an uneventful rest of the trip.
One month later I find myself enjoying driving around our town, and we are realizing more and more the necessity of owning a vehicle for our family. a while ago I posted online a large number for the cost of a vehicle. Someone asked me “Why cant you just find a vehicle for a couple thousand dollars?” There are several reasons but the one I want to expound on is simply that not just any vehicle will do the job. Literally, certain vehicles will not and can not do it. If you have not seen it, refer to the video I posted last week.
Apparently these are the okay roads. Imagine that road being completely covered in mud with a river going over the middle of it. A little different from your daily commute perhaps. You see, some people look at 4x4s as a recreational pastime. Thousands of dollars will be poured into a truck or SUV for it to be able to cross over certain terrain. I don’t view this as a hobby. I view this as a part of my job. I see this as necessary to reaching people groups deep in the jungle. people that we want to help. I’m not saying I want to build the ultimate off roading machine. I’m saying that we desire to have a dependable and safe vehicle that will not require weekly maintenance and scouring the entire region for hard to find parts when there is a problem. Men, would you send your wife across the beltway to work in a 1985 Ford tempo that has had 5 owners and one engine swap. If your answer was anything other than no, you are a bad husband. I hope this gives a little perspective.
We do not want to wait until January, when we will be giving the truck back to it’s owner, to buy our own. January is already right around the corner anyway. We have started looking and have had some pretty great success. Two vehicles in particular have caught our attention. Both of them are amazing deals for the year and make of the vehicle. The gold Toyota Land Cruiser is $23,000. It is practically brand new but lacks some of the features that we would want to take it into the bush. They can be added but it will increase the cost of course. The white Land Cruiser 76 is only $25,000; super cheap for this year and make. It also does not have to many miles on it and has almost all the features that we would look for in a bush vehicle.
There are cheaper options such as pick up trucks. My family would already max out a pickup and leave no room for our co-worker (or someday a new member of the family). Obviously a car or van is not going to be able to do the job either. We are convinced that an SUV is what suits our family and ministry.
We are praying that God would allow us to raise at least $10,000. We were blessed during our time in the states enough that we could pay for most of a vehicle with our own finances. Please Pray with us that this would be possible and that it will be soon. I should be receiving my drivers license this week and it would be ideal to leave for the capital by this weekend or sooner to look at these two vehicles. We are trusting the lord for this and know that he will provide in His timing. We are also willing to answer any questions and have any discussions that you would be interested in having. If you believe that you can be a part of equipping our family in this way, either let me know in a message or follow the menu on our blog to giving. We appreciate the giving of individuals and look at each supporter as a part of our team in reaching the unreached of this world. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Hi-yo Silver, er uh, Gold, or maybe Whitey, away!