The Monkey House

Many people have already heard us talk about the monkey, but there's actually a very cool story here. Once again, we learn about God's timing and control and providence. We also learn to pray big!

We were very blessed to receive an email last week from does-everything-for-us Jane at HOPAC, with not just one housing opportunity but seven. 7! We were getting ourselves worked up with stress because we hadn't heard anything, and it really isn't HOPAC's job to get us a house. But nope, they came through the day after we were getting very stressed. It's a good thing our pastor preached "Expect to Be Amazed!" We decided it was going to be amazing, and God came through.

So, then, the decision process. And this is tough: there was a house with a lot of good sounding features (but light on details) for too much money. Do we take the expensive option? Is that a good use of our (currently nonexistent) support money? How do you walk to line between a good living situation for your family and "living it up" when you are asking people to help you out?

Three options were much cheaper, and some were walking distance to the school. That sounds pretty good! But the houses themselves were...small. Unfurnished. Surrounded by pavement. Tiny kitchens with tiny counters. We didn't think that sounded very appealing.

Some other options seemed the right balance between money and comfort. None of these were close to the school, though. Some of these had absolutely no details beyond a price. We spent some time trying to discover more about them without being a bother. We wished we had Tanzanian Trulia, or at least could locate them on Google Maps.

We did get in touch with a missionary living at one place. He and his wife gave us details. Communicating across time zones isn't easy, but we'd get a new photo or detail about every day. And the house just sounded better and better: 5 minutes walk from the beach; a huge (huge) yard; furnishings we can buy; household help that is trustworthy, friendly and knowledgeable; a security system; a nice-sized, one the small-scale house; a kid-friendly dog; oh, and a tame monkey. A monkey?!? We were falling in love.

The catch: it was the house the farthest away from HOPAC. 20 - 30 minutes. Now, in NJ that is almost normal. Of course, we don't want NJ normal. It would mean Steph would need to drop the entire family off each day and pick us up, making 4 trips on crazy roads with crazy rules (or lack thereof). Would she even be able to find a job that would work in that schedule? Would we be isolating ourselves from the community we hope to make a priority in our lives?  We decided it was a deal breaker.

Last night, another email from the missionaries: they had other people interested in the house, so we needed to make a decision. The pressure was on now, and we were a bit stressed. We have had a very bad experience taking an apartment sight unseen back in grad school. We wished we had more info, but without being over there, no email or photo really was enough to help us picture it.

Steph wrote them an email, thanking them for all the time they spent, photos they took, and details they gave. But, she said, we just needed the house to be closer to HOPAC.

I'll admit it: I didn't pray enough about this. I mean, having 7 choices was the answer to prayer, right? We knew we would have a place to live, and grateful for choices. But this was starting to get stressful again. What would prayer do? Do I ask God to take this house, lift it up and move it closer to HOPAC? Or ask for more choices: "Hey, God, um, none of those were to my Western tastes and preferences. Let's try again, here."

What I didn't do, despite my pastor, was "Expect to be Amazed!" And yet, I was. I didn't pray to God that he materialize a new road that runs between this house and the school. He apparently did that anyway! We got an email back from the missionary. oh, by the way, a new road was being built over the last year and a half, and it just opened last week. Your commute should now take about 10 minutes, according to the English teacher that lives nearby.

I mean, are you kidding me? What kind of God is this? When I was in Uganda in March, I stood under a water spout feeling blessed by a small stream of water -- I was reminded later that God's love is a waterfall. God's goodness is a waterfall, and sometimes it comes pouring down at you all at once. Today was one of those days.

I hope living in this house for two years is a daily reminder: Expect to be Amazed. Be Ready for the Waterfall. Live in the Monkey House.