UPDATE on 12/02: Please stop giving! 🙂 As we mentioned below, our hope was that some of you would help us get past “Running on Empty” or even get us close to the level of “Fill ‘er Up,” but our tank is now actually “Overflowing.” God has provided every dollar of the $22,500 goal!
If any additional funds come in, we’ll put them toward the taxes that will be added on to this purchase, but Sherri and I always planned to pay those out of our salary. That’s not a problem. Our deepest thanks to all those who contributed and prayed.
After some delays, God willing, we should pick up the car on December 4! This is an amazing gift to this ministry that we share with you!
UPDATE on 11/20: As you can see in the graphic below, the gifts are coming in faster than we can update this page. With $21,250 donated or pledged, we are well above anything we’d hoped for. (If additional funds are given, they will “top off” the car fund and go toward several thousand in taxes we will have to pay on this purchase. Sherri and I were planning on paying this and more out of pocket, so we are thrilled to be at this point. Thank you!)
UPDATE on 11/15: In an amazing show of generosity, our partners have contributed or pledged $16,200 in just four days!
We need to replace our car quickly. We’ll track the gifts that come in between now and December 31 by moving the guage below from time to time. We’ll thank God for whatever He provides whether that is just to get us out of “Running on Empty,” to help us “Fill ‘er Up,” or to get our tank to “Overflowing.”
Please use the “Donate Now” botton if God leads you to give, but be sure to also “Tell Us of Your Gift” so we can move the guage (and sign up for our “Prayer Updates” if you aren’t receiving those).
Details of the car saga is below in case you are interested in the whole story.
The Bad News: The demise of our tiny, 11-year-old Nissan Note from the Czech Republic
As you may recall, this car died on the side of the road at midnight last November with engine failure. The mechanics got it running again, but it has been on borrowed time. The engine has been clicking, oil has been leaking, and repairs have been too frequent. During our most recent repair in October the mechanic said, “E’ gravissima!” (“It’s very grave!”) and informed us that he expected our next significant repair to come in about six months.
The Good News: Like in the Godfather, the dealer said he’d give us “an offer you can’t refuse.” He did!
I did some quick research on cheap replacement cars of similar, tiny-sized cars (to keep costs down and so that we can park it in Milan!). While Sherri was serving near Verona for the weekend, I stopped by a couple of dealerships and got two nice offers, but nothing to get excited about. On my 60th birthday, I asked Sherri if she wanted to sit in a Toyota Yaris to see what she thought. (It was on the high-end in terms of quality and cost, but why not try it for 10 minutes since she’d not seen any cars yet?) I asked for an estimate to bring home to compare to my others. I new the going rate was about $30,000 and that was going to be too much.
However, since my birthday was just days before the end of the month and they needed to move about four more cars, they offered us a deal if we would accept one off their lot on the other side of Milan. The price was less than the offers I’d been given on two inferior cars. I responded with silence not so much as a tough negotiating tactic, but because I was stunned at the lowball price. He took my silence as a “No,” so he went and talked to his manager and came back with an additional $1,500 discount, which brought the car down to $22,500. Our 10-minute stop turned into a 2-hour paperwork party, but the deal was struck, the downpayment was paid, and then we had to ask God how we were going to pay for this.
The Practical News: We’re asking God to provide at least some relief for the large purchase
On the one hand, so many people have increased their giving of late to make up for the churches we lost that we are loath to request anymore, so we aren’t going to push to get the full amount covered. On the other, this is a huge outlay for us to buy what we think is our last ministry car.
Sherri and I will pay all of the taxes out of pocket (which are considerable as we’ll be paying tax in both the US and Italy on much of this; they are not included in the $22,500 price). We’ll also cover whatever doesn’t come in through donations. We’re establishing a three-teired goal just to see how God wants to provide, but any amount is fine:
- RUNNING ON EMPTY: Up to $7,500
- FILL ‘ER UP: Up to $15,000
- OVER-FLOWING: Up to $22,500
The Need for Prayer: Not just the funds but the survival of our Nissan for a few weeks
The great offer that was given to us is dependent on incentives from the dealership and government. Those incentives require us to have a running vehicle to trade-in. The value of the Nissan is under $1,000 but it’s value in terms of incentives is closer to $8,000. Please pray our clicking engine holds out for just a few more weeks.