How Donated Vehicles Empower Survivors of Human Trafficking - Ep. 76 w/ Ross Peters, 3in1 Mechanical Ministries

So Ross is the founder and CEO of 3-in-1 Mechanical Ministries . He's a committed and involved Christian husband and father .

Ross is on the engineering team lead , or are the engineering team lead for Caltech's Oil Tools , an oil and gas service company , and , aside from regular duties of life and ministry , you can be found woodworking , restoring his home or performing myriad of other building projects , from chicken coops to cars . Oh , yeah , yeah I love that .

He'll go out in the chicken coop and just pick up the chickens , walk around with them , set them down yeah , you'll have to give us a picture of your chicken so we can put that in the cover photo .

Let's get them in a safe home . You know a lot of people that are trafficked are homeless as well , and so housing is a big thing . So , you know , we're like getting a safe home . You know let's , let's help you get your life back on your feet . And we'd always get to the final step of like , all right , you're ready .

You know , you got got a job , we got a place to live , but the biggest barrier for us every single time was the car yeah it was like you don't have a car , so you know there's the bus and and that works sometimes and they're uber but that's like crazy expensive , I don't know if you've taken a five thousand dollar car like yeah , I took an uber the other

day and I think it was like 40 bucks or something silly , ridiculous . So that's not sustainable means of transportation at all yeah , and so it was always this like obstacle and we never really knew how to .

I mean , we would ask for cars , but you know , not many people wanted to donate , or we had people that would donate cars and that process was just like it gave us a headache trying to figure out how to do that , and so you've started a ministry .

That that's the focus , and so maybe tell us a little bit more about what drew your attention to the human trafficking issue ?

I've always been very pro not putting God in the box with who we're going to serve , but he's very , very clearly led us to y'all and to the need that is within human trafficking , especially being in Houston , need that is within human trafficking , especially being in Houston .

You know , unfortunately we have quite the industry for traffic , for trafficking , and so there's a big need there , and so we met . I met Jessica . She expressed the exact same thing that you just expressed to me , or just expressed .

Yeah , because it would have been December of 22 is when that concert was , and you know this was for us it was a huge answer to prayer because we were very much in the grinding it out , starting the nonprofit stage , getting getting paperwork put together , figuring out how all of this was actually going to function .

What was really really heavy on my heart at that time , and what was frankly pretty discouraging , um , was the client care side of things . It's like how I'm trying to figure out how to transfer vehicles and figure out what the paperwork looks like . How do I get them repaired to ensure sufficient reliability ? Um , how am I going to care for someone ?

At this point , I don't even know what it looks like to do a day-to-day operation , and so it was pretty discouraging . And then meeting Jessica and going through that and praying through that , it was really an opportunity for us to hand off a big portion of that . It's like , well , client care is what y'all do . Yeah , y'all are really good at that .

And so it was like , okay , well , this is a really really good starting off point for us to ensure you know working with y'all . It ensures that we know the clients are taken care of , because we know who y'all are and we know now , after building a relationship , what y'all's practices are , your heart for your clients that y'all are serving .

And then the follow-up . And that was a big thing for us as well , because there's a lot of I wouldn't say a lot . There's not a lot of automotive nonprofit space where people are giving away cars . There's not a ton . I was talking with Blake Jennings , the founder of OnRamp Texas , and he's been our mentor .

They've been absolutely fantastic with just helping us figure out all of it at every single stage .

And he had mentioned that there was a study there in College Station and they had a study done by one of the A&M schools that I don't recall , and of all of the nonprofits centered around automotive things , and there was less than 20 in the country and only two of them had any sort of follow-up after giving the vehicle .

Yeah , we didn't do our job , we just enabled you to stay in the same position and maintain yeah and so and so , coming on , um , and partnering with y'all , y'all have that follow-up already in place . Yeah , when , when your residents graduate , there's a follow-up yeah , case management exactly so it's like , man , this is , this is a perfect scenario for us .

And so , yeah , that's kind of how praying through all of that . And then with the introduction to y'all , it was very , very clear . God was like here you go , this is the partnership y'all are going to start with , get things figured out and , you know , stay focused on Elijah Rising right now .

And so hopefully we grow and expand and we can incorporate other ministries and other opportunities , but right now , yeah , we're pretty focused on y'all and it's been awesome .

That's why we , you know , we often think to ourselves and tell people that our program is really just step one , like you think you're . You're coming in and you know you're going to leave and everything is just going to be roses and easy and you know you're totally 100 healed .

You really got to walk alongside people for and it's about relationship and that's what I really appreciate about you , and even in who we partner with . That's something we value . You know , yeah , are you gonna care for our ? You know the residents that we're caring for in ? the same manner . So I just think that's amazing .

It's it's just a great example of the body of christ coming together and meeting different needs .

I was involved in the auto tech programs and all of that , and God just kind of always had on my heart like , hey , you're going to do something benevolent with cars .

And here I am in oil and gas my life . And here I am in oil and gas . And uh , but uh . So my thought at the time was it was going to be a like I would own a mechanic shop and then we would have some sort of service on the side , um , to help folks who can't , uh , who couldn't afford it . Uh , something very , very similar .

Um , christian brothers has their National Day of Service . Basically , that was what was in my head as a kid , and then , so it .

So then , as it just continued on , god just kept revealing a little bit more . And then there was a my wife and I moved into the house that were in in December of 19 , and there was a moment , summer of 2020 .

It was like I had , I had all these different puzzle pieces , and then the house we moved into , we have a little bit more space , and so that was another big final piece . And I was like I remember sitting in the pool with my wife and just asking like hey , I'm really curious to see what God's going to do with this .

Like I clearly have something on my heart Don't know what it is , but there's something there that he's drawing me to . I know that without a shadow of a doubt . We now have the space and I've got abilities , so we have it all . I mean , I think , for whatever my eyes can see .

And she looked at me and she was just like well , why don't you just start it ? Okay , start what . And so throughout 2020 , and this is where it got pretty regimented in year blocks . So 2020 was like okay , what are we going to do ? This sounds cool , but what are we going to do ?

Because I don't own a shop , I'm not in the car business at all , but I have a really bad habit of buying and selling cars , and that's not great financially or on a marriage . So it's like okay , well , let's do it for Jesus , then she can't say anything . But so 2020 was the year of like okay , what is this gonna be ?

And then we got a clear vision Okay , you're gonna give cars away , that's what you're gonna do . There's a huge transportation need , so do your part to solve it . And then 21 was the year of like okay , well , you have the vision . What would that actually look like ? More logistically speaking , how would this actually go ?

So we got that kind of fleshed out in 21 . And then in 22 , it was all right , gear up , get all of your legal things , all of your bank , get all of your systems set up so that you're ready to operate . 23 , last year was the year of starting to operate . We did two clients with y'all , gave away two vehicles , learned a ton on what to do there .

And then here we are this year . It's kind of a foundational stage , if you will . It's like kind of the . The phrase I would use is like we're making our systems now work for us .

We kind of have an idea of how we want to do work and , um , we now need to make sure our systems are helping that , as opposed to we're working so that we fit into our systems .

It's like that's not efficient , that's not scalable , and so we need to take we're taking our systems now this year and actually making them work for us , and so all that to say you mentioned you know everyone doing their part in the body and it's just like there are . You don't know what God has planned for you .

And then all we've got to do is show up and say what do I need to do with these things now ? Because here we are , I've got this . I know how to work on cars , I love buying and selling cars , and now I have space . Well , currently I have six additional vehicles at my house and it's like it doesn't really impact our day-to-day life .

Yeah , so it's like okay , god , I see where the space was coming in , I see where that portion is coming in and I put a fence up so my wife doesn't have to look at it . But it's just really really interesting to me , one of the things that really really puts me in awe of God , and this is probably just because I'm a mechanical engineer .

I always look at the systems , and so when I see the things that God is doing on a system level , it's absolutely fascinating to me .

So an example God is a God of fractals , and if you're not familiar with what a fractal is , it's effectively , it's an infinitely continuing pattern that looks the same at pretty much all scales , and so easiest example of that is you're in an airplane and you're flying . You look down , you look at the trees . What do the trees look like ?

They look like broccoli , and then the broccoli , you know . You go down even further . What does it look like ? Well , it looks like the bronchi in your lungs , and so it's the same image . And you see it all through the Old Testament too , which is the way that the biblical writers structured all of it . It's very fractaled , and so it's the same thing .

It's like we have this image and we're called the body of Christ , and so that's all of us as people . So , okay , we'll zoom that into the body . If we're taking this idea and this image of fractals , zoom it into the body .

Oh , the body is a fascinating feat of design that requires a whole bunch of different , very independent , very specific systems doing their job to the best of their ability in order for the entire body to function . It's like , okay , well , now zoom that down to the cell .

It's the exact same situation and so , at all of these stages , having that mindset , it's like , okay , well , I am an integral part of the body of Christ , and so for people to succeed in a way that is honoring to God , it's like I have to look at how God has equipped me .

I don't have to understand where I'm going , but I know that I have a job to do , that he has put me on a task to do , and in order for everybody around me to succeed , I have to do that job specifically as best as I can .

Don't even think about this blessing that I have .

It's the same thing . You walk in your house , you turn the lights on , you don't even think about it , and so . But we're so spread out . It's like you know . I like to think about like when was the last time you had to put your car in the shop , you know , and you're out of a car for a few days ? Yeah , it's like that is miserably inconvenient , yeah .

They're there's chemical systems , there's complicated there , there's chemical systems , there's mechanical systems , there's electromechanical systems , um , full-on electrical , like they are super complicated pieces of machinery that we're giving away , that we don't think about because they've been fantastically engineered just so that they have longevity and and we've , you know ,

they've done as much engineering controls as they can they still require maintenance and so , like we want to give a blessing , not a burden , yeah , you know . So our target is five years , if we can ensure to the best of our ability , like I can buy you a new car and it's going to fail , it just is what it is .

Then statistically , that's how long it takes them to be in the position to purchase their vehicle , their own vehicle . So that's our target there , and so we want to do our best to ensure that level of sufficient reliability .

Yeah , you know , if we can introduce you to someone who is reliably sound all the time , who promises he's going to meet your needs like that's it when your car breaks down , he knows that . Yeah , he knows when that car is going to fail down . He knows that . Yeah , he knows when that car is going to fail . Um , and so , yeah , that's we .

We want to be a blessing , not a burden . And it seems kind of backwards to imagine giving a car away can be a burden to someone .

But if you , if you give someone a vehicle that hasn't been the vehicle hasn't been vetted and you don't know , so that person , now they were in a situation they were able to get a job and now , two months later , that vehicle is broken down and it's in the shop and oh , by the way , that's $2,000 worth of repairs .

Have you really left them in a better situation ? yeah like no , yeah , that's , that's difficult for anybody to handle , you know , absorbing that . So that's , um , yeah , we , we want to .

So didn't have a network of you know , like this was me just running around trying to figure out , how do I ?

It was a 2006 mazda 3 , had 125 000 miles on it , and I found it on uh facebook marketplace and thankfully it was like less than five miles from my house wow , okay , cool awesome , I'm gonna go look at this thing .

And um , told the guy a dude was asking like 5500 and uh , went test drove it seemed always well , and so I was talking to him hey , I think this is gonna be a fit . Yeah , sure , let's , let's go for it . Told him on the test drive we were talking about you know what we were gonna do , what we were doing with the vehicle .

I was purchasing it and and then we got out of the car and he was like you know , I really like what you're trying to do , so I'll give it to you for $4,500 . Wow , okay , done , I'll be back tomorrow with a check , how about that ? And so we got it .

And then , you know , I did as many of the repairs as I could , just on the floor of my garage , yeah , and got it . You know , to a to a point that it was good . And then , um , and then , yeah , we , we delivered that vehicle to our first client . And , um , it was really really surreal .

I remember getting in the car , um , I mean , I drove the car to , to where we were delivering it , and then my wife came and we were riding home with her and I remember getting in the car and just being like we did the thing .

Yeah , like we've done a lot of work and there's been a lot of brain power and a lot of effort put into this , and like we finally actually did a thing yeah you know , this isn't . This has now become something tangible . This is no longer just I'm generating documents in our online system . Yeah , to explain how we will do work .

We're actually now doing the work and , um , it was really cool . You know , I just I feel really , really blessed because , like I don't deserve to get to do this , there's no way . Like I know my heart , I don't deserve to get to do what I'm doing . Yeah , I'm super , super blessed and thankful that God has asked me to do it .

in . You know I'm not in the program side of things , but I know there comes a point when it's like , okay , they're going to get to this final phase and it's like I know you know where's the car going to come from or how are they going to . You know , sometimes the bus works and that's great .

Sometimes you know they're able to make the situation work , but a lot of the times you know you just need a vehicle . And so I remember you know us always praying Lord , please send a vehicle , provide a vehicle for this person . And so when I first heard about what you're doing , I was like , oh my God , this is a miracle .

There is , you know , learning , but I think , you know , once the idea gets out there and people know , you know , I can see this becoming , um , you know , a a huge help to not just a trafficking space but , you know , victims of domestic violence , single moms .

You know , like you know , I grew up in a a single mom household and it was like , like you're saying , when the car broke down , it caused , yeah , all sorts of , uh , crazy situations for us .

So , um , if someone's listening to this and they're like I want to get involved , or like you know , I have a car that maybe they could use , kind of , we'll take it . What's the process for someone like who's listening that either wants to learn more , get involved or maybe donate a car ?

We actually just did another vehicle . We had a donor come and they kind of served as the donor and nominee type thing . So it was our first vehicle , not with y'all . So it was our first vehicle not with y'all and kind of came out of nowhere and it was . You know , that process is very , very simple .

So that was a purchased vehicle because they came with funding .

But so , on the form , you know , you'll be able to input all of the give me the VIN , give me the year , mileage , why are you donating it ? What's give ? Give us as much of an idea of the mechanical condition , the physical condition of the vehicle . What's the title status ? Do you want a 1090C , a 1090AC , so you can , you know , have .

Do you want a 1090C , a 1090AC , so you can have a tax write-off and then that'll happen . Reach out , then I'll reach out to them and try and get some pictures , especially if the vehicle's far , far away , it's like , okay , if I can get pictures of it , videos of it running , pictures of the vehicle really give us an understanding of what we're getting into .

Yeah , um , that's , that'll be very beneficial . And then , and then from there , if it's , if it's a fit , which kind of right now we're in the place where everything's a fit , because even if , um , like , we have a vehicle right now that , uh , we're not going to do any repairs on . It's financially it doesn't make sense .

So we'll either just punt it , put it on Marketplace and see if we can bring in $1,000 or $1,500 in the ministry , or try and find . There's a few other groups that we've been working with that are training .

One specifically is a nonprofit called Petra Cares , and we've been trying to figure out how we can work together so we've been chatting back and forth , but they train students who have just aged out of foster care to be mechanics .

they benefit us because whether it's we're actually going to turn it around and give it away to a client , which that's what everyone wants right , you know everyone's like man , I have this car and I want it to bless somebody , and so I guess my job in that is saying like , hey , this is going to bless somebody , even if it means we're selling it to pull the

value out of it so that we can repair this other vehicle .

Our systems are generated by people . Our technicians are all people and so we're going to break something , we're going to screw up . Yeah is what it is , that's totally fine . How do we handle it and how do we set ourselves up so we can minimize that ?

And so , guys , if you're listening or watching , you know , go find three-in-one mechanical ministries on their website , follow them on Instagram like they're new Facebook as well . They're pretty new . Y' they're pretty new .

Y'all guys are pretty new , very much so , and so if you guys could help us spread the word , share about them with your friends you know , you just never know , you know who you're going to connect with like you were at a concert and you met one of our uh employees or one of our staff and you know , it kind of led you on a path and , and so you never

know , just share it and see what happens .

And if you found this show encouraging at all , I would love for you guys to just leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Those reviews help us reach more people . And , ross , thank you so much for being on the podcast .