What does OnRamp do? Most assume we “give away cars.” Yes, we do, but that constitutes only one part of our overall mission to share the love of Jesus by blessing people in need of reliable transportation in every way possible. For some, that will require a donated vehicle, and that is what consumes the majority of our resources (donating cars is expensive, after all!) But for many others, what’s needed is a timely repair, an Uber card or bus pass, or in the cases below, training on essential automotive topics such as how to drive and how to change a tire. So here are two examples of significant ministries OnRamp performed this last week that were not about “giving away cars.”
On Thursday, after weeks of research and preparation, we set up a driving simulator at Texas A&M’s Borlaug Institute to help train three young Afghan women who were rescued out of their country when the Taliban took over. They had been assisting the Institute, which put them in danger from the Taliban who repress women and punish those who cooperated with western institutions. Fortunately, they were able to flee to the Unites States in the nick of time, and now live in our community doing vital work for the Institute. However, as all of us in Texas know, you really aren’t free to enjoy our state without transportation! They need vehicles of their own. But like so many women in Afghanistan, they had never had the opportunity to drive a car. They don’t even know how to ride bicycles. They had no experience of any kind behind a wheel. So we decided to give them an easy entry point: a realistic driving simulator. It took me about six weeks to experiment with different systems and software and find something affordable that would work. A local supporter donated a used high-end PC, and I had an older force-feedback steering wheel and pedal set (Logitech G27) and monitor to donate to the cause. We tried multiple simulators and landed on a combo of Assetto Corsa with Pacific Coast Highway map and cross-traffic mod pack and BeamNG Freeroam, East Coast Industrial Town with Police activated to enforce traffic laws. Parents of soon-to-be-drivers, a simulator like this seems to be an incredible way to help your child build experience without risking your life! Now these ladies are empowered to develop their driving skills and confidence in preparation for a formal drivers’ ed course and their next step towards freedom and self-sufficiency.
On Saturday, my son Luke and I had the privilege of teaching basic automotive maintenance skills at Brazos Valley Blessings’ Fathers’ Day event in Bryan. As around 30 attendees watched, we showed them how to check their oil and coolant, charge a battery, care for their tires, and change a flat tire. So many people haven’t learned these necessary skills, and that can cost a lot of money and heartache when something goes wrong. Part of OnRamp’s ongoing mission will always be community education about all things automotive. We want our entire community to know things like how to buy a used car without getting scammed, how to care for that vehicle to keep it running as long as possible, and how to handle breakdowns and accidents in a safe and effective way. The more people we can educate, the fewer clients OnRamp will need to assist down the road because more of our community will know how to acquire and care for reliable vehicles on their own. If these are topics you need to learn or refresh, please check out our “Resources” page, our Podcast, and our YouTube Instructional channel.
To our supporters, please know that I am so, so grateful that you give to OnRamp to enable me and our other staff members to do creative, outside-the-box ministries like these to bless our community and share Jesus’ love in practical (and essential) ways. I am so thankful to get to do this job!