We have been in Canada 9 days. In 9 days God has answered 9 months of prayers in the most remarkable of ways. Within 24 hours of landing we were able to renew our driver's licences and re-establish residency on a temporary address. Within 5 days of landing Pietro received an official job offer at his previous place of employment, and it met every one of our prayer requests. Salaried position, flexibility to work from home, health insurance family plan, flexibility to schedule own hours around his class schedule. The job offer came with a few benefits that were above and beyond and are a huge help to us. Company vehicle, so we don't need to buy a 2nd vehicle for when Pietro is away for work, company phone, so we can get by with just one personal cell phone plan for me, and company equipment so I can inherit Pietro's laptop and finally have a working keyboard! Woo Hoo!
The same day Pietro accepted the job offer we were able to purchase a 2007 Honda Odyssey with all the specs we were looking for, and for the price we prayed for (no used car tax!). It also came with many perks we did not ask for such as winter tires and rims, blue tooth dvd player and sunroof. Because as I say, you can't outgive God and God takes pleasure in giving incredible gifts to his kiddoes.
On day 7 we took a road trip down to Caronport to look at houses. We looked at four houses, and it came down to two. Before I tell "the rest of the story" I need to go back and share the backstory on our house hunting in Caronport. It was probably late January or early February when we started watching the market in Caronport. There were only 2 houses listed at that time, and for quite some time after that; a 1974 4 bedroom bi-level with single attached garage, and a 1300 square foot 1 1/2 story character home that had been divided up into 3 suites, no garage.
A special someone taught us to be specific in asking God for our needs, and also for our desires. We invited people to do this with us when we moved to Italy and God surpassed our every need AND desire. We brought our needs and desires before God again and asked that His will would be done. Our needs were 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, single attached garage (Pietro says his age has earned him the right to make this a bonafide need, lol), large foyer or mudroom, sufficient dining room space for our large family and guests. Our desires were 5-6 bedrooms, suite potential, 2 bathrooms plus ensuite, home office, double attached garage with direct entry, yard that offered privacy.
As March approached we felt we should start knocking on some doors and since no other properties had come on the market, we made an offer on the 4 bedroom bi-level, praying that if it was not God's pick for us, He would shut the door. Another offer came in after we made ours, and they went with the other offer. A clear no.
To avoid making a long story even longer, suffice it to say this exact same or very similar thing happened to us with two other houses, and then one other house we didn't even get a chance to put an offer on because it was sold before it was even put on the market. By this time, there was really only one house on the market that could potentially work for our family. It was a very old, dated rental bungalow that didn't have much in the way of our needs/desires, but we are the kind of people who would settle for much less, and happily make do. So I began to pray about whether we should attempt to put an offer on that house. I remember this moment as clear as lightning and Pietro can attest to it because I recounted it to him right after it happened. I was sitting in the van waiting for him and as I presented this older bungalow to God in prayer I felt him clearly impress upon my heart "Why do you believe me for so little? If you only knew what I have in mind for you, it is far greater than your imagining and the meager provision you ask of Me. Believe Me."
I told Pietro this as soon as He got in the van while we were driving back to His mom's house. No sooner had we parked and were entering the house and Pietro received an email notification about a new house listed in Caronport. He opened up the listing and as he looked over the specs for the house I saw his eyes get big and his head go back in reaction. He said, "Here it is." He passed me the phone and without even looking at the specs I started just scrolling through pictures. My knee jerk, split second response was to laugh like Sarah must have laughed when she overheard the strangers discussing her prospective pregnancy. Quite literally. I laughed just like that, and responded just like that. "In. My. Dreams." And handed the phone back.
And that was that. I didn't even entertain a single thought about that house or open that listing up again although it has been on the market for three months. Until.... about two weeks ago. I was presenting another not ideal property to God in prayer and I felt this strong impression: "I have already shown you the house of My choosing. You rejected My choice, why do you keep asking Me?" With this thought I envisioned the moment Pietro showed me that house, and my reaction and I felt a wave of conviction and realization that it was true. It was SO clear, and we dismissed it without giving it any consideration because it was greater than our imaginings. Again, I told Pietro about this right when it happened.
We decided to just "wait and pray" until we could go to Caronport in person, which we did on Wednesday. While we were in Caronport we found out that one of the houses that had been conditionally sold for some time, was going back up for private sale in the coming days. We went to see it, and it became a definite potential house for us to put an offer on. It was a 1200 square foot 1970's bi-level with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms plus ensuite, single attached and double detached garage, large foyer and back entry mudroom, private office and walk in closet off the master. Beautiful outdoor space. It was the first house we looked at that we really LIKED. They were asking $350,000.
The same day we went to look at the "In my dreams" house. If we liked the other house, we loved this house. A 1476 square foot bungalow with walk out ICF basement with in floor heat, 4+2 bedroom, 2 bathroom plus en-suite, 1 or 2 bedroom walk out suite with the option to keep the one bedroom with the family portion of the house or the suite portion, double attached garage with direct entry, situated on the edge of town just off a quiet crescent cornering the school field and overlooking the prairie sunset with no houses behind or on the one side, even a town road allowance between the house and the closest neighbor on the other side. Perfectly situated next to the elementary school, and just a block and a half from the college. The clincher for us was the price. Even $350,000 was more than we had planned on investing in a house, and this one was listed at $375,000. The sellers of the $350,000 house were not entertaining lower offers as they already had a conditional offer at that amount.
The morning after we looked at the houses, we got the surprise notification that our container had arrived in port quite a few weeks earlier than expected. Like Shasta and Bree in C.S. Lewis' story of the Horse and His Boy, we felt that this was "the lion at our flanks", pressing in and urging us forward. But which house to make the offer on? After praying, thinking and discussing we felt that we had nothing to lose in putting an offer for $350,000 for the newer, more expensive home with revenue potential and more space and flexibility. Again, we committed it to God that if this was His will for us, He would open the door, and if not, that He would close it. We were happy with either house and confident that we were placing it in God's hands. They accepted our offer well before closing time without any counter offer or amendments. As one dear friend put it, "Houston, we have a house!"
We prayed that we would be confident and that God would be glorified in His care and provision for us as and boy, oh boy.... He is never one to disappoint those who put their trust in Him. Once again I am humbled and astounded by His mercy and grace and His "greater than" provision towards our family.
