Africa Tech Update
Mission Ready
I’m sure you’ve noticed there have been some changes at CfaN over the past few years. You’ve seen us adapting and growing as the needs and opportunities change and grow in Africa. Today I want to give you a quick update on the technical side. It’s not glamorous, it doesn’t seem ‘spiritual’, but without this part of CfaN, there are no Gospel Campaigns! This is important, and I want you to know exactly what’s happening.
A lot has changed
Back in 2018, I came to you with the beginnings of a bold plan to revamp and expand our technical capabilities for Gospel Campaigns in Africa. At the time, we had one gigantic tech setup, suitable for massive crowds. Like a combine harvester, it got the job done at scale in big cities. But it had also begun to hold us back from going everywhere we felt the Lord was calling us to go.
So, our tech team took on the huge task of splitting that system in two. But that was just the beginning. Within a short time, the vision expanded beyond those two big stages and equipment. We added the Gospel Trucks, smaller vehicles fully kitted out to conduct smaller campaigns. The truck itself becomes the stage, complete with its own generator, lights and speakers. You came alongside us (some of you saw a Gospel Truck for yourselves at Fire19 in Hamburg) and helped us buy and customize them for use in Africa. Millions have encountered Jesus since then through these trucks.
A vast and neglected harvest
And then, last year, the Lord spoke to us to go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – not to the relatively ‘easy’ capital city, but to far-flung rural regions where the conditions have to be seen to be believed. The DRC is the third-most populous country in Africa, with over 110 million people living in places where there is hardly any infrastructure, including roads. It’s a vast and neglected harvest field.
As you well know by now, Congo tore up our trucks! By the grace of God – and the resourcefulness and endurance of our long-suffering tech team! – we managed to conduct every single campaign as planned. However, the truck breakdowns and local truck hire cost us a fortune. It became very clear that we needed a new long-term strategy for the region, so that we can go back again and again.
Once again, I came to you with a pressing need – two more trucks for Africa, this time military grade, jungle ready, rugged 8x4-wheelers that can handle just about anything Africa can throw their way. And you, our precious partners, did not let us down!
Look how far we’ve come!
This is all a long and sometimes tedious process – from planning, to engineering, to struggling with worldwide supply-chain issues and months of shipping delays. But step by step, bit by bit, we are getting there. The result will be three pairs of trucks, for three different scenarios. Two Gospel trucks for smaller outreaches, two articulated trucks that can carry the entire ‘big’ tech setup and stages, and two super-tough ‘jungle’ trucks that can go where the others cannot. Each pair of trucks is fitted identically, so they can either combine to make one bigger system, or they act as backup for the other if – and when! – something challenging happens that could stop a campaign from happening.
To do
- Buy 2 x new jungle trucks - €111,240 ✔
- Assemble trucks in Kenya ✔
- 2 x 8.2m customized truck containers - €18,000 ✔
- Fit containers to jungle trucks ✔
- Truck hire 2024 after our trucks broke - €70,000 ✔
- Truck hire 2025 to complete Congo campaigns - €40,000 ✔
- 2 x electric winches and air conditioning - €14,500 ✔
- Buy 2 x new lighter aluminum trussing - €45,300 ✔
- Ship new trussing from China to Kenya - €28,000
- Order 2 x new stages from China - €30,000
- Ship and import new stages into Kenya – €26,000
One last push
With all my heart – and this comes from the entire CfaN team, too – thank you for making this possible so far. These trucks are so much more than transport! They are tools for the Gospel. Because these trucks exist, millions will come to know Jesus. Isn’t that an astonishing thought? So, I am coming to you once again to ask for one last push to get these trucks on the road. There are millions of people waiting for their arrival. Will you help us get mission ready?
Together with you for the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(here with the worldwide CfaN team)
