Housing Update

Thank you so much for your prayers for us this past week as we traveled to Bicol and looked for a house again. We are thrilled to report that we found 2 good options this time!!! But since they are not officially for rent, it is going to have to be a God thing if they work out. SO WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!! Let me give you some details so you know how to pray...

House #1

The previous elderly owners of this home recently passed away, and their children, who live in Manila, now own it. According to the neighbors, the family has no immediate plans for the home so it is sitting empty. Because the neighbors did not have a key, we were not able to see the inside of this home yet. So once we see the inside, it may become apparent this is not really a good option after all - but we won't know until we see it. The home looks worn down on the outside, but in decent condition and about the right size. The amazing part is that it is on a HUGE gorgeous lot - probably about 4 acres. We think part of the lot even borders a little pond! There are tons of trees, and it is has such a peaceful feeling. Here is how you can pray. 1) That we are able to get the contact information from the neighbors to set up a meeting with the owners in Manila (they are reluctant to give us that information). 2) That they would agree to meet with us - we would love to meet with them on Thanksgiving morning as we are going to Manila anyway that day - PRAY with us! 3) That they would be interested in renting it out. 4) That once we see the inside, we would still be interested and everything would go smoothly from there. Sorry, I forgot to get a pic of house #1.

House #2

This one is in the same quiet little neighborhood (it is on a quiet road with very little traffic and it is so CLEAN!) as the other one. While it is dirty and run down inside, it shows a lot of potential and would be a wonderful home once it was cleaned and fixed up a little. While the lot is not as big, it would still offer lots of space for the kids to run off all their energy. It is owned by a Filipino who works abroad. The problem is that he is not very interested in renting it out again because he had a recent bad experience with some renters who didn't want to pay rent and didn't keep the place up. Here is how you can pray - 1) That we are able to contact the guy living abroad to ask him about renting his place. 2) That he would be able to come here in December/January as planned and that we can meet him at that time. 3) That he would be agreeable to letting us rent it. Here is a pic of this one:

We are so encouraged after this last trip with these 2 possibilities; they both seem like great options. Thanks for praying with us about this! If one of these is the house that God has for us, please pray that He would make it obvious which one. Please pray that the MANY details would come together quickly.

In addition to house hunting, we also got to explore the gorgeous area. We visited some hot springs, hiked to a waterfall, went to a little zoo, and made some new friends. Be sure to keep checking back here for pics over the next couple days.

Oh - and here is one to tide you over.

Mikayla managed to bang her chin on the concrete while swimming in a little pool and got another cut! It was gaping as well, like the one she had before by her eye. However, a trip up to Manila to see the plastic surgeon was not an option this time. We were worried about taking her in for stitches to a Dr. down there for fear that if he didn't do a good job, the scar would be worse. So we just butterfly bandaged it and are praying it doesn't scar. She was a trouper through the whole thing, and it seems to be healing well. As you can see we put a lot of tape on to try to keep it still - it kept opening up when she talked.

It seems to be healing well though with no signs of infection. We should be able to take the bandage off on Thursday. Please pray with us against infection.