York Association of Atlantic Baptist Churches

TIM & DIANE BANNISTER

NEWSLETTERS

January 14, 2002

Dear Friends,

     It is late afternoon in Kijabe, and it has been a particularly beautiful Sunday. It looked like rain around lunchtime (always a benefit in Kenya), but now has cleared off and the wind has picked up. There's not much likelihood of rain now, but we've had tons in the last month, so it's not a big worry. The whole area, escarpment and valley, is green, green, green. It looks like the local community will have an abundant harvest in their gardens this year, for which we are all very thankful. Praise the Lord for His kindness! Bwana asifiwe!


     As you have read in previous emails, our van has died. It was a Toyota Hiace van, which I don't recall ever having seen in Canada or the US. We only had the car for a few years, and it was a great vehicle - spacious enough to travel with our four kids and not get in each other's way. We bought it from a dealer in Dubai, and sweated for a year to get all the paperwork completed so we could get it into Kenya  . Although we had a fund at the time to which people could contribute, we actually paid for most of the vehicle ourselves by borrowing and scrounging. We had hoped that the car would last us at least ten years. Unfortunately, this has not happened.

    We had extensive work done on the engine while we were on furlough, as the engine had been badly damaged while we were gone. The work done on the engine was not very successful, and the engine was left with little compression and a tendency to overheat easily. Then, in early December, the turbo (it's a diesel) died. The turbo needs to be replaced, but the engine is just not worth the cost of a new turbo, so we are looking at alternatives. We are desperately in need of transportation, so we are coming to you for help.

     We see two possibilities. The first option is to have the entire engine replaced with a new or second-hand engine. However, because the van is already 12 years old, we're not sure if that's the best option, but we're willing to go that route. The second option is to look for a newer vehicle. With the current cost of vehicles in Kenya, we don't see that a new car is an option, but we could certainly get a good second-hand vehicle if the price was right.

     Both Africa Inland Mission and Canadian Baptist Ministries have graciously given us the green light to raise money to get us back on the road. If we raise only enough money for a new or used engine, that's what we'll do. If we raise enough to obtain a different vehicle, that's what we'll do. So now we're presenting this need to you, and asking you to consider if the Lord would like you to contribute to our fund.

     If you usually contribute through Africa Inland Mission, you may do so by
sending your contributions to:

    Africa Inland Mission - Canada
    1641 Victoria Park Avenue
    Scarborough, Ontario
    M1R 1P8

Make sure you designated it for the Bannister's Car Fund. Otherwise, it goes
into our monthly support account.

     If you usually contribute through Canadian Baptist Ministries, you may do
so by sending the money to :

    Canadian Baptist Ministries
    7185 Millcreek Drive
    Mississauga, Ontario
    L5N 5R4

Again, make sure you designate it for the Bannister's Car Fund.

      If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to ask us. Please pray with us that we will be able to get reliable, safe transportation. Thanks for reading this and thanks for praying about it. God bless.

Always in His care,

Tim, for Diane, Chelsea, Connie, Cody and Caleb