As we sit here at Yolanda's mother's home in the U.K. (as we are here visiting for a week on our way back to the U.S.), all we can think is "Wow!" As you know, we flew out of Harare on Sunday, landing here yesterday morning. We are looking forward to exhaling here after the eventful last three weeks. Let me rewind though as God has been working overtime with JM2Z.
They say that God likes to work in the 11th hour, so that there can be no doubt that all the glory should go to Him. We believe this, and have seen it time after time, and this is exactly what happened with us. This is Part 1 of a 2 part blog (the conclusion to come in a day or two).
In recent blogs, we mentioned about the opportunity that I (Andrew) could bring in items into Zimbabwe tax-free, and that opportunity would be expiring soon. We were hoping God would do a miracle and make it possible for JM2Z to purchase a ministry vehicle in South Africa. As we have said before, we did not know this would be a possibility until I was approved for my spousal permit. We would never purchase a second hand one in Zim, because all second hand vehicles for sale have a minimum of 125,000-200,000 miles on them, plus have been worn out on the horrible Zim roads, which would require lots of extra money for maintenance. Our options were to purchase new in South Africa now ($47,500), purchase second hand in South Africa ($28,000- $40,000) now, or wait until next year and purchase new in Zim ($63,000). Waiting until next year would mean that the opportunity for buying in South Africa would be gone, because we would have to pay 80%-100% tax on importing it to Zim.
We knew that supporters had generously given $11,100 in recent weeks for a vehicle, after we told about the tax-free opportunity we had now. Even though this was so amazing to be gifted in such a short time, that it was not enough for a vehicle at this time. However, we knew that we had a pledge from a couple to donate $10,000 next year, once we return to Zim. With this thought in mind, we began searching online for used Toyota Hilux 4x4's in South Africa. We had a high criteria, and wanted to see how much we would need to spend to get what we needed. We also asked Yolanda's uncle to look around his area to see if he could find what we were looking for (He lives just south of Johannesburg, and is knowledgeable about cars). After looking online, we concluded that we would be able to find a Toyota Hilux with low mileage and in good condition for around $27,600. After doing our research, we e-mailed this couple, asking if they would be willing to donate their $10,000 now, which would give us $21,100. If that happened, we would have to borrow about $6,500 from the ministry account to be able to do it now, and raise it back next year. Which would be HUGE, because the other option would be to raise about $50,000 next year. This would be a heavy weight lifted off our shoulders, if we didn't have to raise $50,000 for a vehicle next year, but rather $6,500. To our delight, an hour after sending this couple an e-mail, they told us we could absolutely have the money now! Wow, what a blessing! At the same time that was happening, we were in communication with the board, asking for the go-ahead to be able to fly to South Africa now, depending on how these donors responded. We have such a great board, because at the time, they were in four different states, in three different time zones. They each made tremendous efforts in order to give us a timely response. They approved our request, and with $21,100 in donation (in just a matter of weeks), they transferred $28,000 to our account, and gave us their blessing.
They say that God likes to work in the 11th hour, so that there can be no doubt that all the glory should go to Him. We believe this, and have seen it time after time, and this is exactly what happened with us. This is Part 1 of a 2 part blog (the conclusion to come in a day or two).
In recent blogs, we mentioned about the opportunity that I (Andrew) could bring in items into Zimbabwe tax-free, and that opportunity would be expiring soon. We were hoping God would do a miracle and make it possible for JM2Z to purchase a ministry vehicle in South Africa. As we have said before, we did not know this would be a possibility until I was approved for my spousal permit. We would never purchase a second hand one in Zim, because all second hand vehicles for sale have a minimum of 125,000-200,000 miles on them, plus have been worn out on the horrible Zim roads, which would require lots of extra money for maintenance. Our options were to purchase new in South Africa now ($47,500), purchase second hand in South Africa ($28,000- $40,000) now, or wait until next year and purchase new in Zim ($63,000). Waiting until next year would mean that the opportunity for buying in South Africa would be gone, because we would have to pay 80%-100% tax on importing it to Zim.
We knew that supporters had generously given $11,100 in recent weeks for a vehicle, after we told about the tax-free opportunity we had now. Even though this was so amazing to be gifted in such a short time, that it was not enough for a vehicle at this time. However, we knew that we had a pledge from a couple to donate $10,000 next year, once we return to Zim. With this thought in mind, we began searching online for used Toyota Hilux 4x4's in South Africa. We had a high criteria, and wanted to see how much we would need to spend to get what we needed. We also asked Yolanda's uncle to look around his area to see if he could find what we were looking for (He lives just south of Johannesburg, and is knowledgeable about cars). After looking online, we concluded that we would be able to find a Toyota Hilux with low mileage and in good condition for around $27,600. After doing our research, we e-mailed this couple, asking if they would be willing to donate their $10,000 now, which would give us $21,100. If that happened, we would have to borrow about $6,500 from the ministry account to be able to do it now, and raise it back next year. Which would be HUGE, because the other option would be to raise about $50,000 next year. This would be a heavy weight lifted off our shoulders, if we didn't have to raise $50,000 for a vehicle next year, but rather $6,500. To our delight, an hour after sending this couple an e-mail, they told us we could absolutely have the money now! Wow, what a blessing! At the same time that was happening, we were in communication with the board, asking for the go-ahead to be able to fly to South Africa now, depending on how these donors responded. We have such a great board, because at the time, they were in four different states, in three different time zones. They each made tremendous efforts in order to give us a timely response. They approved our request, and with $21,100 in donation (in just a matter of weeks), they transferred $28,000 to our account, and gave us their blessing.
My first trip to South Africa The e-mail with the donors and contact with the board all took place on Nov. 13. The following day, we drove to Harare to purchase one-way plane tickets to Johannesburg for Nov. 15. Yolanda's uncle and cousin picked us up that Saturday morning, and they immediately took us to several dealerships where we had seen vehicles in our price range. The problem was that with our high criteria, vehicles in our price range were being sold quickly. So the first few we went to had just been sold, and another one had wrong information on the ad, which said it was a 4x4, but really wasn't. The time was gone for the day, but on the way back to their house, we stopped by a closed dealership. Yolanda's uncle had stopped by there first thing in the morning on the way to the airport to get us. There was a good one for R310,000 ($28,181, because the South African Rand was currently 11:1 with the U.S. Dollar). That was obviously on the edge of our limit. We would have to wait two days until Monday though, for the dealership to open again. We had seen a couple other great Hilux's for R315,000. But that seemed too high for us. We thought that if we could get the guy to go down to R300,000, we would go for it. This would be $27,272. The Hilux was a 4x4 (to get to the rural area), diesel (cheaper fuel), with a double cab (to accommodate Yolanda, a nurse, and a teacher), automatic transmission, with a canopy (to be able to transport things securely), and a tow hitch (to pull a trailer). It had everything we were hoping for, excluding a bull bar on the front (something we will add next year when we return, for safety measures).
So, Monday (11/15) comes, and Yolanda's uncle was having a very busy time at work, with lots of meetings and things, but he was willing and able to move some things around to take us back to the dealership. We got a closer look at the vehicle, looked under the hood, and test drove it. Everything was what we were hoping it would be. Then came the question of would the guy be willing to drop R10,000 off the price. We gave him an offer of R300,000, and he seemed hesitant. Yolanda's uncle told him that we were missionaries in Zimbabwe, which is why we needed it, and without blinking, he said it would be ok. He said he had done some mission work in Harare before, and he didn't mind a price of R300,000! If you do the math, you may think that saving just less than $1,000 isn't much, but with the fees of license plates, insurance, registration, and paperwork that came with it, we would need that extra money. So we agreed to purchase it!
So, Monday (11/15) comes, and Yolanda's uncle was having a very busy time at work, with lots of meetings and things, but he was willing and able to move some things around to take us back to the dealership. We got a closer look at the vehicle, looked under the hood, and test drove it. Everything was what we were hoping it would be. Then came the question of would the guy be willing to drop R10,000 off the price. We gave him an offer of R300,000, and he seemed hesitant. Yolanda's uncle told him that we were missionaries in Zimbabwe, which is why we needed it, and without blinking, he said it would be ok. He said he had done some mission work in Harare before, and he didn't mind a price of R300,000! If you do the math, you may think that saving just less than $1,000 isn't much, but with the fees of license plates, insurance, registration, and paperwork that came with it, we would need that extra money. So we agreed to purchase it!
JM2Z's new ministry vehicle The next hurdle to cross was actually paying for it. Our goal was to drive back to Zim on Thursday (11/18). We didn't want to do any payment plans. We wanted to pay cash. With our ATM limits, we didn't have enough time to draw cash and we read on our bank's website that a wire transfer would cost us $500. So, we wanted to talk with the bank as soon as they opened, which was 9am (5pm our time). My father was able to move a meeting around at work, and my parents went into our bank in Wheaton. We knew that in order to do a transfer of this amount, we would likely need to be at the branch in person, which obviously wasn't possible. So, my parents took their phone with them to the bank, and we got on Skype. Yolanda and I Skyped with the manager at the bank, and at first he said it wasn't possible because we weren't actually there, but after talking for a minute or two, he worked it out so that we could make a wire transfer directly to the car dealership for only $50! He needed us to fill out and sign some paperwork, scanning and e-mailing back and forth with him. This took 3 hours in all. The only downside, was that the bank gave us a 10.7:1 exchange rate, instead of 11:1, which meant that we paid $28,022, instead of $27,272. Even though the exchange rate was a bit disappointing, we knew that JM2Z still won out big, because of all the money that was saved doing this now instead of next year. Now, we need to raise $6,922 next year to cover what we spent, but how much better than needing to raise $50,000! We were told that the transfer could take a couple days, and of course we wanted to get on the road when we could, but we just had to wait.
During those couple days of waiting, we received our updated financial information from Shasta (our forwarding agent), and we were alerted to some additional donations for the vehicle! We received $90, $500, and $1,000, for a total of $1,590. Now instead of $6,922, we only need to raise $5,332! How thankful we are for all of these generous supporters, and truly how God works in the 11th hour, and He does deserve all of the credit!
During those couple days of waiting, we received our updated financial information from Shasta (our forwarding agent), and we were alerted to some additional donations for the vehicle! We received $90, $500, and $1,000, for a total of $1,590. Now instead of $6,922, we only need to raise $5,332! How thankful we are for all of these generous supporters, and truly how God works in the 11th hour, and He does deserve all of the credit!
Getting our new license plates Since everything in South Africa is literally half the price of the same thing in Zimbabwe, we decided to price some items that we were needing, not needing now, but next year; again taking advantage of bringing things into Zim tax-free. Of course, since everything was half price, we wanted to buy everything. However, after prioritizing things, we came away with a $300 dishwasher (the same one was $680 in Zim), three good sized fans, a small one-room air conditioner for our bedroom for $590 ($1,600 in Zim) (The air conditioner may not seem like a necessity, but with 90 degree temps, it has been very difficult to sleep at night, even with a fan. To be at our best for each day and to not have to sleep on opposite sides of the bed, we thought this to be a wise investment :-). We also purchased several other smaller needed items as well.
On Wednesday (11/17), we got the call that the transfer went through. However, it was too late to go to pick up the truck that day, so we went on Thursday. On Thursday, we got there, and did all of the paperwork and everything that we needed to. By the time that was complete, it was afternoon and too late to leave for Zim.
The drive would be 7 hours to the border, followed by 7 hours to Harare, with the amount of time at the border unknown (but we could estimate at least a few hours). We were advised that Fridays were extremely busy at the border, and customs would be closed over the weekend, so we would have to wait until Monday (11/24) to leave. This would be cutting it very close, as Janeece (the woman staying at our house while we are gone) would arrive in Harare on Wednesday (11/26), and we would need as much time as possible to show her around Harare and Chinhoyi and all that she would need to do for the next several months.
God had brought so many things together in just the right time in so many instances already. We were overwhelmed at God's provision time after time. And we were eager to get on the road. Well, Monday came around, we left the house, and we were on our way towards the border. Little did we know that the red tape that we would incur would bring much more stress, but once again God would intervene within the 11th hour so that He could get all the glory!
Part two soon to come....
On Wednesday (11/17), we got the call that the transfer went through. However, it was too late to go to pick up the truck that day, so we went on Thursday. On Thursday, we got there, and did all of the paperwork and everything that we needed to. By the time that was complete, it was afternoon and too late to leave for Zim.
The drive would be 7 hours to the border, followed by 7 hours to Harare, with the amount of time at the border unknown (but we could estimate at least a few hours). We were advised that Fridays were extremely busy at the border, and customs would be closed over the weekend, so we would have to wait until Monday (11/24) to leave. This would be cutting it very close, as Janeece (the woman staying at our house while we are gone) would arrive in Harare on Wednesday (11/26), and we would need as much time as possible to show her around Harare and Chinhoyi and all that she would need to do for the next several months.
God had brought so many things together in just the right time in so many instances already. We were overwhelmed at God's provision time after time. And we were eager to get on the road. Well, Monday came around, we left the house, and we were on our way towards the border. Little did we know that the red tape that we would incur would bring much more stress, but once again God would intervene within the 11th hour so that He could get all the glory!
Part two soon to come....
RSS Feed