God's Grease Monkeys
Brad not only has the ability to help other missionaries in the field with their vehicles or other mechanical problems, but also has the desire and drive to bless them in this way. Since he's worked on cars professionally since he was a teenager, he has found this skill to be extremely useful here. Some missionaries have both theological and practical skills and can do basic maintenance. But others have a more specialized skill set that does not include auto repair or even maintenance such as an oil change. That's where God's Grease Monkeys comes in.
Since our arrival in our village in 2006, we have been slowly building up the equipment supply to facilitate automotive repairs. Parts and equipment are quite difficult to get here, so it's taken many years of trips back and forth to and from South Africa to purchase the supplies to outfit a garage.
With the help of another missionary, we built a garage and a set of ramps to enable Brad to work on cars without rolling around in the dirt.
Among the ways God has used Brad as "God's Grease Monkey" has been to rescue other vehicles stuck in the mud, to weld truck beds and canopies
back together (having been cracked apart by the rough terrain), to source a completely new engine
for a truck and then to remove/install it in the broken vehicle, to advise missionaries on their purchase of a vehicle upon arriving in Mozambqique
and to teach basic maintenance such as changing a tire and checking the oil as well as performing those services on a fairly regular basis.
