Motorcycles For Pastors

There is a lot of excitement at our house this morning! Twelve pastors have arrived to pick up their long awaited motorcycles. Here is the story:

Every year, the Christian Motorcycle Association (CMA) raises funds to donate motorcycles for the use of Christian pastors and missionaries throughout the world. Because of their partnership with our organization, Missionary Ventures, we were able to receive funding allowing us to distribute four motorcycles in 2006, and five in 2007.

Of course, there were complications - this is Honduras, after all! First, we had a situation involving a dishonest salesman at the dealership, who pocketed our deposit money, instead of putting it into the company account. We are pleased to report that the Yamaha dealership made this right, and we did not lose this money - an amazing show of good business sense and doing right in spite of taking a major financial hit ($2000)! Good for you, Yamaha dealership of Honduras!

Second, we had to have each of these motorcycles titled in the names of the individual organizations receiving them. This involved a vast amount of paperwork and government activity, but eventually we got it all through the system.








Of course, we had the rest of the logistics to deal with - transferring the remainder of the funds from the US, changing dollars to Lempiras, moving the money safely into the hands of the dealership, arranging transportation for the bikes up to Gracias, and setting up the meeting to deliver the motorcycles to their new owners. In the course of all of this, the Yamaha dealership delivered the motorcycles which we had expected to receive to another customer, since (due to the dishonest dealings of their former salesman) our order didn't actually exist on their books and schedule!

So, today was the culmination of months of work - finally the motorcycles are in the hands of the pastors who will be using them!





Many of these pastors have never owned a motorcycle before, so we are also taking them through a brief lesson in motorcycle ownership and riding. Lots of coffee, cookies, and revving of engines at our house this morning!