Step by Step

Prices are steadily going up. Heating gas costs three times more this winter than it did last. People ask us for loans and for help. Sometimes we say, "no." We said no to the people who came in a taxi across our small city. They made it sound as if they couldn't do without our loan but had their own money to buy numerous other luxuries. However, sometimes we meet real needs from honest people, like the lady who is at every service when she is not sick.

For the last several years Olya has heated her small cottage with an electric hot plate. Because an electrical fire destroyed her home in the past, she is very cautious with that hot plate. It's plugged in and on only when she is there and awake. She goes to work every day and comes home to a very cold house. She turns it off, goes to sleep at night and wakes up to a very cold house. We told her we would try to help her to have gas heat this winter. We didn't know where the money was coming from. We didn't want to have to get the money for this installation on credit, ourselves.

We gave her enough for the architectural project. That was done. The gas officials gave her a list of what she needed to pay for labor. The prices were unreasonably high but the gas officials put the government stamp on that allows the system to run when it's done. If their crew hasn't done the work, they won't put their stamp on the job. She showed us the list on Wednesday. We didn't know what to do. We simply didn't have it.

On Thursday, another person came to pay back a loan. With what they paid back and what we could get together, we had what was needed to pay for labor.

The next step is buying pipe and fittings. We'll see how God takes care of that one.