Want to hear a crazy story???? Check out the below from a message I sent close friends of ours recently.
So much has been happening here in Colombia.
We had a house that we liked in our second day of looking. It was in a great part of the city, it was modern and safe. Most of all we liked it mainly because we befriended the real estate agent (Elizabeth) and she was going to help us by-pass much of the extra paperwork (so so much paperwork)...the only downfall was there was absolutely NO outdoor space! There wasn't a garden and no wheelchair access (our Colombian counterpart is paraplegic)....so we were accepting that it might be just the best choice for the ease of it. We could figure something out for getting him into the house, that can come later.
All of a sudden, our co-worker found a second house on the internet that day and sent it over in the evening. It has all of the missing parts from our original pick... space, a true backyard, did I mention space!!! But also it came with accessibility for our pastor. When we went to see the house, the owners were there and showed it to us directly due to the real estate agent being busy. They wanted us to sit and they talked and talked and of course, loved the girls. They also wanted to make the move easy for them and us, so they would sell the furniture to us as well! We didn't even have that on our radar as we looked for houses. And I forgot to mention, the majority of the family spoke really good English. We visited for almost an hour and a half and left almost speechless.
We left excited about getting it, having the relationship with the owners is huge...they are exactly the upper class we have come to share the Gospel with. It all seemed like the perfect fit. We began the process with their agency and..... Nope. They wanted to do a double fiador (co-signer), 6 month deposit, and several requirements that left us all but non-qualified. We have 1 fiador, SAM's administrative leader here in the north of Colombia. So after talking it through with him, we realized it would be really a hassle to do all that.
So we PRAYED.
We prayed that God would clearly indicate which doors were open, and that morning it was to work with Elizabeth. (I don't know if you saw of Facebook earlier, but she is interested in knowing Jesus more personally, and that was the best fit.) We clearly knew that keeping the relationship with her was and is super important. So we had peace. We asked our pastor and he had the same opinion even though the first house wasn't our favorite.
The next series of events were so quick, the timing so out of our control I don't know that I can even explain exactly how it happened.
We sent a voice message to the friendly owners of the house we really wanted and told them thank you so so much for their kindness. But because the process was so difficult for us as foreigners, we would not be able to rent their house from them. We were sorry, but we hoped to continue the relationship because we enjoyed their company. We had found an agency that would work with us and our situation without all of the extra background checks.
Almost immediately after, the son called us but we were walking to lunch and I didn't hear the phone. He left a message for us. He said that he spoke with his mother (owner) and the rest of the family and they decided that they liked us so much and wanted us to live in their house. His words:
"We will do whatever we need to do to have you stay in our house. We will drop our agency and work with your agent. Just send her information over and we will make this work."
Wow!!! I sat with my mouth open....
God orchestrated every detail. Not only are we saving our relationship with Elizabeth, she will get commission, continue to be our agent for the duration of the rental agreement, but we also have this upper class family that just met us yesterday will be selling more than half the furniture, and will be our landlords!
Amazing!!!!!!
Here is what I am learning.... Number one, praying for God's leading and direction is so key. Praying with our hands open. "Lord, whatever you will for us, we will do." I really wanted the second house, but God gave me an opportunity to surrender it to Him. We could have tried to scramble for a second fiador (co-signer), but it would have been stressful, and asking a lot of our mission leader we haven't even met yet.
I am sitting here completely shocked and in awe of God's provision. We still hold our hands open, knowing that He knows exactly where He wants us to be. There is so much peace in that. I am praising Him for His faithfulness and clearly opening doors for us as we sit in a new city knowing only 1 pastor and his wife.
Now we have 2 upper class families that we know and have already opened doors for us, who they barely know! God be praised!