'Dear, need to get ready with Ethan at hh:mm coz' we are seeing another house...' Well, that was pratically my favorite phrase to my wife for the past month or so.
Ever since Kellie and Ethan arrived in March, nearly all our focus was on finding a place to stay. God has been good to us all this while because JH has graciously allowed us to stay with him and Annie for the past 2 months (3 for me) for a fraction of a rental. They even offered to let us stay as long as we have not got a place of our own... so, no hurries. But agreeing with the wisdom from a friend...'finding a house is one thing, settling into a home takes time', we have always been on a look out for our own place.
We started off looking for a place to rent, but in this 'BIG' city of 1.3 million people, rental get snaps up in seconds. No kidding, every time we spot a place that we like, either it's gone by the time I made the phone call; or when I submit the application, the familiar reply of 'Sorry, that place is taken up' will greet me. Little did I realised, Auckland people like to move house. On an average, people here move every 2 years or less! I couldn't fathom that because moving house is one major stress of life which I will try to avoid unless absolutely necessary.
Well, when news of my KL home is on the verge of being sold and some assurance from a friend who's willing to support my finance till the house is sold, we decided that perhaps buying will give us a better options (not to mentioned, 10000000.... times better services from the agents) of getting a place that we like. We rationalized, justified... we squeeze the tight budget and we prayed... finally deciding this is the route that perhaps God will bless us...
Boy, have I just underestimated the 'competition' in getting a place. It proves just as difficult in getting a good place to buy because again, in this 'BIG' city, people like to buy houses You will be able to see tons of open homes for sales on the weekend, and JH has mentioned that Aucklanders just like to spend their time visiting open home. Well, they don't only visit, they actually buy it... and mind you, it's not cheap either. We are talking about a few hundred Ks for a simple home (to be fair, it's near the city), and some are so old, it's comparable to some of the old 'rumah kampung' back home, err… well with the exception that it has a toilet bowl instead of the squat technique.
We have a list of requirements that we wanted for the new house… I wanted a 3 or 4 bedrooms, wife wanted an ensuite, we both wanted brick and tile (not rumah kampung which is popular here). We like some suburbs in the east part of the city, because it’s nearer to the church that we are apart of, has some excellent shopping and a community which I think my wife will like to hang out with while I’m at work. Everyone was basically shocked by our option coz’ it’s so ‘FAR’ from my work place (err… about 15 kms away) and traffic is horrendous (well, about 40 mins drive). Well, we still decided to be there because I wanted my family to be well and happy since they are spending the whole day there while I only spend 1 ½ hour in traffic back and forth. Further, since the church is near there, it will be easier for us to fellowship and get to know people in the community.
Anyway, all in all, we saw about 20 – 30 houses… some of it that we like but can’t afford… the one that we did put an application for, well… you guess it, someone offer a higher price than me. Everytime we put an application, awaiting for the vendor to pick us is liken awaiting for the results of a major exam… so much anxiety…
So, where is God in the midst of all this hunting? I’ve never doubt that God will always provide but sometimes, it’s the timing that I’m worried about. It’s always my puny little self that shortcut what God’s blessing can be… Most of the time, when the vendor rejected our application, it’s actually God’s intervention. We made a lot of those applications emotionally and thus, we compromise on some of the stuff that we wanted… most notably, the school zone, a save location for Ethan to play in, resell value of the house... I’m not a saint, every time when our application is rejected, I get grumpy and it gets to my wife quite a bit too… till she says that I can see the house myself and coz’ she’s tired of packing the baby and driving around house hopping…
One Sunday, the message was ‘When God does not answer prayers…’, I immediately felt the reassurance that God is still looking out for us, that He still has our best interest in His omnipotent mind… so, I submit the whole thing to God, totally… not half heartedly and taking charge again. I told God that the whole house hunt is causing a lot of stress , and I felt too much time is devoted to that, not feeling fruitful at all… Immediately I felt the peace of God coming over, Rom 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”
Well, 2 days later the agent called and told me he found another house. I utter the favourite phrase to wife and she goes… another one! While driving there, I told her, something tells me that this is it, I think God prepares this place for us. We saw the house and immediately love it… good school zone, cul-de-sac, 4 rooms, ensuite, 2 lounges and heaps of other stuffs… only one problem though, it’s 30k above my budget. I told the agent I will only offer what my budget permits and we went for it. Went home, we prayed and this time, we have peace knowing that God is in control.
The next day, the agent called me and said that the vendor wanted a higher offer, and my heart goes… haaii…. But somehow, 2 hours later, the agent called again and say the vendor accepted our offer… 30k below what they are asking for… praise God!!!
The house hunt is finally over and now, we need further grace to move in and start building a home that’s not just for ourselves, but a home that will ‘Honor God, Advance His Kingdom and Establish His House’
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