Ministry request.

So I don't write these types of blogs normally (or at all)
But after a long time of thinking and praying about a particular need we have here on the ground, I have been encouraged by others to write up a request for anyone who would love to get behind us and support us in a particular area.

With the ministry expanding, and also our family growing (not just my own with the birth of Ethan, but new babies that have also joined us with the 'larger' family that we live with) we have seen that there is a growing need for safer modes of transport for our family in Uganda.
Agnes and I really feel, and have decided (alongside consultation with our missions mentor) that a small car is a responsible thing for us to have right now.

A recent event really showed us how important a car is. When Farouk and Beatrice's newborn son got extremely sick with blood poisoning, and almost lost his life, we had to race him to the hospital. We were lucky that my mother was borrowing the village of hopes car at the time, so we could race straight to the hospital.
If we did not have the car, we would of had to of waited around while trying to find a friend who was available.

The nearest good hospital is about 20 minutes drive away in a car. In public transport it can take up to 1 hour to get there.

Public transport has also got more dangerous to use, as we frequently need to go to town to buy things for our work here. The taxi buses and boda boda's (motor bike taxis) that are the only form of public transport, our regularly driving in a very dangerous way.
We have counted so many deaths, and severe accidents, on the road over the last year caused by these public transport vehicles.
Of course you can understand that Aggie and I do not want to take baby Ethan on the back of a motor bike.

Our only other option is to pay a high fee for a personal taxi car to come and drive us around. This costs a lot of money, and even still, if there is an emergency we need to wait for the car to come from town first, and then bring us to the hospital (which can take 45 minutes)

We have manged to use public transport for the whole time that I have been here in Uganda, and have tried our best to make do.
But with the birth of our newborn son, we feel we cannot keep doing this without taking risks that we don't feel comfortable about.

So taking all of this into account it seems wise and responsible to have a small vehicle for the family.

Cars can be expensive here, but we have a good contact for a small reliable car that Andrew has been able to look up and find.
We believe we can get the car for between five to six thousand dollars (maybe even a bit less)

As you know, we serve the people here in a voluntary capacity and our personal living and family costs are provided by generous partners ... many of you reading this!
This means that there is no 'pot' of savings to draw from in times like this, as each month is finely budgeted.
God has provided everything we need and often more through all of you and we are thankful for that.

People have also given us one off donations, which have been such a blessing! A lot of these one off donations though have gone towards the medical care of Agnes having a safe pregnancy and delivery! But we are able to contribute about $400 of money that has been accumulated from these one off donations to go towards a car at least!

We waited a time and prayed about asking for help on our blog here, and even though I really don't like asking for money, and prefer to see God work through people at the needed times, we feel that it is right to do so now.

If you are in a position to contribute and willing to help, we would appreciate any contribution that could go straight towards purchasing a small car.
We ask this knowing that you all have to budget each month as well, so we acknowledge that every donation is a gift and a blessing. We also thank everyone who has stood by us so far, not just financially, but also with your prayers.
If you feel, please pray about partnering with us in this, we value each gift.

Our heart is to continue to serve the young people here in Uganda and express even more of Gods love and his potential for them to be people of hope, and we love that we can share that with all of you.

If you can contribute, please contact Andrew on: aboonstra1@gmail.com or on 0400 488016 to let us know.
Contributions via bank accounts also can always work, but it helps to see where we are at and who has blessed us if you could contact Andrew.

God bless you and thank you.

From the Vandenberg family.