She lives! ...

... with the Ivanenkos!

That's right, after praying about it, thinking about it, and talking with my parents about it, I've made up my mind; I'm not going to look for my own apartment.  Instead, I'm going to live "at home" with the Ivanenkos.

You may recall the flurry of building activity this summer following the flood; pouring foundations, putting up walls, all to build a new kitchen.  Or so she thought...

Imagine my surprise when we pulled into the driveway Sunday night and I saw this looming out of the darkness:

Through a series of blessings from God and fortunate events, they were able to expand their kitchen project into a "make-the-house-100%-bigger" project.  Upstairs will be a kitchen and living room, two guest bedrooms, a bathroom all for guests (which they have very frequently) and then a large room with it's own bathroom and balcony.  This last room is RESERVED for a certain Amerikanka!  

This may not look like too much, but it's my room!  I'll have space for a bed, a wardrobe, a table and desk, plus my own bathroom!  The deal is, I pay about 6 month's rent forward so that they can finish the space, but it'll be done in about a month and Ilya promised me I could pick out the carpet and wallpaper myself (girls love that kind of thing, maybe boys do too, I couldn't say). 

That right-hand corner is where my bathroom will be.  The place has lots of windows, it's very bright.

I'd been thinking and praying about whether to live with the Ivanenkos (Ilya offered me this apartment deal right away, they really want me to stay home!) or find an apartment, and I keep feeling like I really didn't want to leave the Ivanenkos who truly are my Russian family and have been such a blessing to me.  Then I talked to mom about and she said "what are you crazy?  Why are you even looking elsewhere!  Live with them, it's an answer to prayer!"  That was the confirmation I needed.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying about my living situation.  Now all that's left is to raise the money to finish the project.  If you'd like to help put a roof over my head,

you can make a tax-deductible donation to the Missoula Alliance Church at 100 E Foss Court, Missoula MT, 59803.  Just attach a note to the donation with my name on it; DO NOT write my name in the memo.  This ensures that the donation is tax-deductable, and that it gets where it needs to go.

In other news, look at my cat!  He looks pretty good for having just had a, ahem, rather sensitive operation.  His mom also had a similar operation, and they put her in this ridiculous cat-sized hospital gown onesie thing to keep her from licking the wound.  I want to take a picture of it so so badly, but she's been AWOL since coming home from the vet.  As soon as that onesie comes into view, it hits the internet post haste.

Also, today there were two guys with monkeys in the mall today.

That's all the news for now, I'll be sure to keep you updated on the housing project and any other big happenings!

Пока ребята, Russian Jane