Hi, my name is Dan Shulters. My wife Alise and I are missionaries in Malawi, which is located in southeast Africa. We are raising money to pay for a project vehicle. We moved from Ashland, Oregon to Malawi six years ago in 2018, and we live in a small village on the far southeast side of the country, extremely close to Mozambique. We have spent this time trying to help with whatever needs come to our door. We have attempted to share Jesus by example and word, while learning about the people, their cultures and what day-to-day issues they actually face. All of this allows us and our cultural paradigms to get out of the way, freeing us to see what God clearly wants for us here, and we believe he has.
We are here to share Jesus’s Gospel through relationships and example, to disciple. We are working to build community, to combat the horrific medical issues in the remote villages by providing health and wellness education, to demonstrate medicinal farming along with other regenerative farming methods new to the culture in an effort to reduce further chemical harm to the land while improving harvests that are less dependent on perfect weather.
We also pay for acute emergency medical treatment and, if needed, provide transport to those who cannot afford it. There are no ambulances like in the US and since we have not had an appropriate vehicle, even in emergencies, we have had to hire private taxis or buy space on a minibus for people to get to the appropriate facilities. While we do have a district hospital within a 25 minute drive by private vehicle, the closest actual town with a major government hospital for serious issues, Blantyre, is two hours away by car, or 3 to 4 hours by minibus.
If we had our own transport we would typically need to go in at least twice a month for supplies and other support, or more often if traveling by minibus. That being said, an incredible opportunity has opened up for us regarding our need for transportation.
Friends from another Christian farm ministry have been called back to South Africa by God and are generously offering their Land Cruiser 100 (Big Bertha) to us at a crazy good price. They are allowing us to have possession while we fundraise. She is tough and makes traveling the worst roads possible and safe. They bought her in 2020 when the embassies were recalling all their people home and sold off their vehicles at give away prices. They have offered the vehicle to us for the same price they paid, after putting significant money into it in maintenance, tires, battery, paint, etc.. The biggest issue with buying a vehicle in Malawi is its true condition and what may be hiding inside waiting to show its ugly head, but Bertha had a cushy, well-maintained embassy life. As they are friends, we have watched and assisted with the care and upkeep of the cruiser and personally know its history.
Since we do need to go to Blantyre to purchase supplies or receive other support, this vehicle will provide the transport for my wife and I and our two foster children, or visitors, or locals, along with supplies to travel to and from town, or wherever we are needed, together and in safety.
It will also be available as a transport ambulance since there is room in the back for a person who needs to lay flat for transport. She can carry 3/4 of a ton of cargo and has a roof rack for additional baggage.
We have already picked up 60 boxes of donated rice meals which, in the past, we would have had to hire a truck from town to deliver and were able to do it on a normal trip.
Our fundraising need including a GiveSendGo donation of 1% is $16,500.
All donations are tax-deductible through our USA nonprofit Steps4Malawi. For details, email us.
Join us in our work; we need your prayers and encouragement, come along and join the adventure! Ride along as we share our travels in Big Bertha around Malawi. We will provide updates on our ministry and travels, along the lives she allows us to touch. Just in the short time we have had her she has already saved us time and money, and has allowed us to reach out and serve other projects which in the past we could not.
We have until the end of the year to meet this goal.
If you would like to avoid credit/debit card fees and donate straight to our US Umpqua bank account, email us at: steps4malawi@gmail.com.
We are www.Steps4Malawi.org.
