I want to share with you what I know so that if you are willing to help the gas fund that you would do so with an informed perspective. Like many of us in the United States we still cringe at the pump prices we see every day. Let’s not talk about when we say the prices soar across the $4.00 mark. I still get the shakes whenever I think about it. While in South Africa with Steve I saw how much driving Steve has to do inorder to do the work of the South African Christian Mission.
I took this picture of the gas station sign still blinking about the $7.81 per liter. Of course it’s a real shock until you remember that the price in SA is in Rands. So the obvious question is what is the price per gallon. Well, I always have to stop at this point and find my calculator because it’s not difficult but it is a little mind bending at first because you have to convert the liters to gallons and then figure the conversion of Rands to Dollars (which changes daily). You might feel overwhelmed and want to stop reading but don’t.
One gallon is equal to about 3.8 liters. So if you look the price in the picture that results in about 29.7 Rand/gallon (7.81 x 3.8). Now simply divide that by the conversion. Todays is about 7.71 Rand but you don’t get the best rate at the bank. Usually it’s much lower. It was about 7.4 in the bank so divide the 29.7 by 7.4 and you get about $4.01/gallon.
Every day Steve looks for the best rate and timing to exchange the money and when gas is at its best price. Much the same as we do but with the exchange rate twist. It’s amazing to watch him stretch each dollar. Last year we help not only Steve through the gas fund but also travel for him and Ntobie teach and train leaders and groups asking for Biblical teaching up to a 1,000 miles away. I will be writing more about Ntobie and Steve in what we hope will be final push to hand over the work to the Christians in Africa.
