Dear close friends and family.

I have received 'just giving' requests many times and never really thought I would be writing a request like this now, but this is so strong in my heart I have to.

This request isn’t about a van…well it is….but its really about supporting a man who gave up everything for the women he loved, its about continuing and making a success out of a business venture which was started by my sister and her husband.

As you know my sister wasn’t well for a long time and sadly passed away this week and her Husband, Rob, many of you didn’t know very well.

Let me tell you about Rob.

Firstly he would not be happy I’m doing this, he is fiercely independent! But I’m doing it anyway as everyone needs help every so often. Rob is a man who gave up everything to care for my sister, his wife, he wouldn’t describe it like that he sees it as his privilege and maintains that Hana did far more for him than he ever did for her, by which he is referring to his walk with Christ and how Hana guided him along it.

But the reality is that he devoted his entire life to caring for Hana, supporting her financially, emotionally and physically, 24hr a day at certain points in their marriage, and nearly complete care more recently, cooking, cleaning, working, shopping, he did everything full stop. When he needed to clear his head he would go out on his skateboard or motorbike and come back refreshed.

I have spent the last few days with Rob and I have been blown away by his strength, humour (?!?! yes honestly humour) and commitment to Christ. Just as an example of what I mean, after the officials etc had left their house and Hana had been taken away he went immediately to Hana’s side of the bed and sat and listened to an audio sermon. Its what Hana spent a lot of her time doing towards the end …this is Rob.

As part of Rob’s commitment to Hana he changed his work to suit her needs, to help them financially and so he had more regular hours, as he was a nurse working shifts. He recently trained and qualified himself as an electrician. Hana and Rob started a fledgling business called “Ebenezer Electrical”. I wasn’t too sure what Ebenezer meant either when I first heard it but it was a name Hana and Rob came up with together. Which tells you a lot about them as a couple……Ebenezer is a biblical reference which refers to 1 Samuel Chapter 7, where after a victory over the Philistines Samuel erected a stone so he would have a tangible reminder of the Lords power and protection for them. Ebenezer means “stone of help”.

Ebenezer electrical is something Hana played a big part in creating and wanted to succeed, she designed the branding and helped Rob, with the banking and paperwork from her bed. Rob writes 'Ebenezer Electrical' on all his tools, partly so he doesn’t lose them but partly also as he explained to me so he can share what Ebenezer means with other tradesmen on the site and the story of the gospel. Despite losing his wife hours before he was enthusiastically telling me how he shares and will continue to share the gospel with other tradesmen on the site....in between drilling noises....this is Rob.

A business and an electrician are only as good as their tools. One of those tools is a van. Rob and Hana have a 2004 Vauxhall Astra which Rob has diligently taken the rear seats out of it and boarded it out so it functions “like a van”. I have seen it. It doesn’t function “like a van”. It functions like a car which has had the seats taken out and a piece of wood stuck on the bottom!

In passing conversation about cars (after all that’s what I like to talk about) Rob mentioned he wanted a van for work but was saving for it and was a way off finding the money. The one he had said he had his eye on was a second hand Nissan Van, which was £6000, which is why I thought I would be ambitious and set the limit as that. With the cost of an unexpected funeral, the reality of a works van is even further away.

TELL US WHAT YOUR ASKING FOR Ok ok here is it here it is……Rob - Ebenezer Electrical NEEDS a van!

This isn’t about helping someone start a business to make lots of money this is about supporting someone to earn a living.

Please dont share this on facebook or anything like that, haven’t sent this to a lot of people, so if you felt you wanted to help please do, as a bit from each of us would make a big difference to Rob and honour a project my sister started and desperately wanted to see succeed.

Thanks Phil.