Purchasing a New Truck in Haiti
If you read Jessica’s post from yesterday (click here if you missed it) then you saw how wonderful our black truck has been over the past 4+ years. We purchased it used in January 2014 (it is a 2011) and we have put quite a few miles (or kilometers) on it since. Today, however, I am not going to be sentimental about the old trucks. Instead, I want to tell you how important a new truck is and why we need it. My hope is that you will be in prayer for us as we try to raise the funds to purchase this new vehicle and that if you are able to, you will give towards this end by clicking here and either sending a check or donating online.
I will start by describing to you our need. Our current trucks are really struggling, and if you have ever been down to Haiti, then you probably already understand why. Our white truck never really worked that well to start with but it got us through for a while. Our hope is to sell that one and to use our black one as our “beater” truck (back roads, hauling, etc.) moving forward. The black truck currently has 2 bad tires, a blown head gasket, a busted headlight, a dented hood, and probably other things that we don’t know about yet. Simply driving on the roads here is enough to age a vehicle very quickly, but hauling 20 kids around everyday and making multiple trips into the market and Port Au Prince have taken its toll.
The truck we will purchase is a brand new, 2018 Kia flatbed. This truck will be bigger and more reliable and these 2 things alone make it infinitely better for All Things New. It is already difficult, if not impossible, to get all 20 of our kids, our 2 babies, Jess and I, and 4 House Moms into our current truck. As you can tell by the picture, this will not be a problem in the Kia. We will also build a cage around the back of the Kia with benches lining both sides. This will give us a great deal more room to cart kids around as well as make it safer when traveling on the main road. We will also be able to use this vehicle to take teams to and from ministry sites. As we continue to bring more teams down, consistent transportation will be even more important. We hope to keep this truck clean and running well even longer by using the black truck to run any backroad errands and even still taking it in to the market when needed. Another important fact to know about the Kia is that this is the same vehicle that other local ministries purchase again and again including Christianville and Reach Global and everyone says the same thing…they run forever. I could go on and on about the advantages of the Kia and how much we need it, but the most important things to know about this vehicle is that it is safer, bigger, and more reliable than what we currently have and the importance of these things cannot be overstated especially in Haiti and especially with 2 babies.
We continue to make progress towards being able to purchase this new vehicle. The cost of the vehicle, brand new is $25,000 + (approximately) $5,000 to build the cage in the back. If you would like to find out more information or give towards the purchase of this new vehicle, please click here. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us or even comment on this blog on social media and we will be sure to respond asap.