We need help

Imagine what it would be like if your pastor didn't have a car.  Obviously getting to work would be a problem (unless of course you're Pastor Jeff, but we can't all live across the street from church now can we!), not to mention visiting people across town, giving people rides who need them, picking up and dropping off people at the airport two hours away, going to nearby towns to give disaster relief...you get the picture.  Imagine if your pastor lost his car and didn't have any insurance.

Here's the Nissan at the start of the flood; eventually it was totally submerged and would have floated into the neighbors house if not for the fence.

I found a snail in this engine

What's left of the interior

Friends, we have a lot in America, including insurance which trust me, is a blessing.  The Ivanenko family has lost a car, and it sorely needs to be replaced.  One of their two cars, which was only partially submerged, miraculously works but is unreliable, and no good for long distance.  I personally witnessed the other car floating during the flood, and it's done for; Ilya already had a mechanic friend take a look at it and there's not way to resurrect it.  For his ministry, Ilya often needs to travel to neighboring towns, and needs to take people from place to place.  In Russia it isn't as common for everyone to have a car, so being able to give people rides or take them around town in a reliable vehicle is a big part of ministry here, so much so that I will likely get a drivers license here sometime in the future.

The Ivanenko's also want to help their neighbors.  The neighbors' houses are lower than ours, and the flooding was really devastating for them.  One neighbor was trapped on his roof during the flood because the water was so high and the other neighbors had similar experiences.  During the flood neighbors on both sides were yelling "Ilya, save me!"

The problem is, we have a ditch that runs through the back yard and between our property and the neighbors to irrigate water when it rains.  Or section is cement reinfroced, and theirs is not.  When the flood happened, the neighbors side got clogged with debris and didn't drain properly, which exacerbated the flooding on their property.  The Ivanenko's want to reinforce their part of the ditch and cement line the neighbors portion so that this doesn't happen again in the future.

Our cement-lined section and the neighbors debris-lined  section

Our ditch

Friends, I want to ask you to please prayerfully consider donating to the Ivanenko's.  I know things are tight at home, but you all have already blessed me far beyond my needs, so I know that through him all things are possible.  We need to buy them a new car and pay for the ditch.  They live on a pastor's salary, and the concept of "savings" has yet to take root in Russia, so they have no effective way of paying for this.

If you would like to make a donation to the Ivanenko family, please send a check to Missoula Alliance Church at 100 East Foss Court, Missoula MT, 59803.  Make the check out to MAC or Missoula Alliance Church and write "Russia" in the memo.  This makes your donation tax-deductible.  Because the Ivanenko's are Alliance workers, we'll send the money through the Alliance and 15% will go to the Great Commission Fund to fund Alliance work worldwide. 

Thank you for your help.  Without you, a substantial portion ministry is at a standstill.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane