Saturday, May 17, 2008

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!!!!!!

WE'RE MOVING!!!

Shocked??? So are we!!!

This week, one of those "God-things" happened to us.
Bear with me, this might be the last blog entrance for a while...:)


As you may remember, the owners of our house want to sell it. Which means it's time for us to look for another home, since we are in no position to buy it (nor would we want to).

We could stay until our furlough in November, but the owners would really like to start selling before that time, AND - with Rich's travels, the best time for us to move is end of June or beginning of July.

Soooooooo - Rich and I prayed on Tuesday - once again - that GOD would guide us to the home he has prepared for us. We really don't have the time to look around - it is SO time consuming!Last year, God promised us a "undisturbed dwelling place of peace" and I have started thanking him for that house, just like a child in anticipation of a promised trip to Disneyland :).


We weren't sure if it was going to be a long-term rental or our own home. With the rental market the way it is in NZ (very short-term oriented), we thought the only way to have that undisturbed home would be to buy.

But it just wasn't happening - even though we PRAISE GOD for an incredible gift we received for a deposit. However, interest rates at 10% just don't cut it...

On Wednesday, I ran into a former YWAMer at the store parking lot (I was in the car, leaving, she had just arrived). I hadn't seen her/talked to her for well over a year. We had a 3-minute conversation, during which she told me about this Christian lady who is getting her house ready to be rented out and I should call her.


Long story short: we will be moving into her house in a month!!!

It's AMAZING!!!!!! Although she can only PROMISE us 2 years, she thinks it could very well be longer.

It's in the absolute perfect location. We won't need to change kindergarten or schools. It is close to friends, who we will be able to car-pool with for kindergarten, school (when Kylie will go in August), soccer and youth group. It is walking distance to our church and the Prayer House.


It is beautiful, cosy, older home - with - ready for this??? - 6 bedrooms!

The owner first said it is 5 bedrooms, since she wanted to block off one to keep her furniture in. But it just so happens that we can really use her extra furniture and she's happy with that - and thus leaving us with a 6th bedroom!

We will find a boarder (very common here) - hopefully someone from the House of Prayer and with the normal pay we would get for a boarder, our rent would be the equivalent of a 2-3 bedroom house - AND we'll be able to have 5 bedrooms!!!

YAY!!! Shayden will finally be able to move out of Rich's and my bedroom ('bout time!) and Leilani won't need to share a room with Kylie anymore - OUFF!

Nathalie may need to share a big room with Jeremie just for a little bit, until she leaves for her Discipleship Training School.


Wait - not finished: the owner recognized me from the camp last January, where I took care of the children in Great Barrier Island. She has been involved with YWAM, her son IS in YWAM at the moment, she has prayed for a christian family and already refused other possible tenants, although she hasn't even advertised the house yet. She is very happy to have us, without references (!) and we're very happy, too! She will even let us keep our dog!

For the last 20 years, there has been a prayer meeting in that house once a week!

What a heritage!!!

One more thing: there is an avocado-tree on the property that gives fruit 6 months out of the year and a bunch of other fruit trees and just a bit of country/nature feel, even though in the city. Even a place for Rich's veggie-garden (he enjoys gardening!)

We are absolutely in awe of how God orchestrated this and are so excited!!!
If you knew about the rental market here, you would know how incredible this is!!!!!!!
Rents are getting very high and it is very difficult to find a decent rental, big enough for our family and accepting a dog!

Oh, there is also a piano in the house that she wants to leave there!!!! It's been Y E A R S since I've had the chance to have a piano!!!


I am NOT looking forward to packing up our whole household once again - it's so much work - and I will probably have to pretty much drop the home schooling for the next little while to make it.

Please pray for GRACE and STRENGTH and that this move won't be hugely stressful (like it always has been - arrrghh).

Don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while. Blogging is the first thing that gets dropped when time is short :)

2 comments:

Andrea said...

I just giggled as I read this. God is so Good! What a great story.
The move will not be hard. You will be excited. Sounds like this place is just perfect for your family.
Happy for you.

Andrea

Kristi Walsh said...

Hi Isabel! This is wonderful news! So glad to hear of the Lord's faithful provision and care for you and your family. I'm so, so excited for you ~ yes, this really is a miracle for it to all work out so stress-free, especially in comparison to your last move. Praise God!!