7 December 2016

It has been few months since our family visit to Sandrohy and the surrouding area. Many things have happened since: we bought a four-wheel-drive, received approval from AIM Madagascar's leadership to move to Maroamboka, a village about a mile from Sandrohy. The construction is under way and the car is ready to make the trip. Jurgen hopes to travel down there this month with Issa, our eldest son, to take a look, maybe help some and meet with people we met previously.

The car

This is it: our Nissan Patrol, built 1999. We had to search a long time for this mechanical vehicle, but now we have succeeded. It is important that the car is not only a four-wheel-drive, but also that it is mechanical rather than electrical. Mechanical cars are easier to repair; if necessary even by non-mechanics. Some simple tools and a phone in hand will come a long way. For the car-lovers among you: the engine is a 4.2 litre diesel, 6 cylinders. Click on the photo to see more pictures.

We are tremendously happy about the car since it allows us to travel safely to and from Sandrohy in every season. We were able to purchase the car from the money in our car-fund. So far there even seems to be enough for the repairs and adjustments that are needed. We are impressed with the Lord's provision. It underlines that we are not here on our own. Thank you so very much!

Although we can drive the car now, there are still some things that have to be done: we need a new dashboard (some meters don't work); a strong grille at the front and extra steel welded underneath to support our extra high jack; a roof rack; a new steeringpump and some repairs to the front axle. On Madagascar it can take a while to find the needed parts, so in the meantime we are glad to put the car to use.

Home Sweet Home

The builders al ready started to build our house. A couple of weeks ago we heard that the house was al ready finished for 50%. Initially we thought that they meant to say that the builder collected 50% of all the material, but no! He send us some pictures, which amazed us. We have good hopes that the house will be finished at the end of this month. However, the builder told us that the rain does make things harder. Still, we expect that we can move, as a family, at the beginning of the new year.

We have provided the drawings for the house ourselves. The builder adjusted a few things... and, as you can see, during the construction things have been changed a bit more. The ground surface will be around the 40m². On each side of the house we will have a second floor with two bedrooms: One for the girls and one for the boys. The master bedroom will be on the ground floor with at the other side a living room with kitchen. Outside the house we will get a toilet and a washroom. Attached to the house we will get a porch where we can sit and dry our clothes. The builders use local material: the house will be made of wood with a concrete floor and a tin roof.

Jurgen is planning a trip to Maroamboka to take a look at the building side. He will also take some big furniture along. We will keep you informed!