What We Need Versus What We Want

I made a mistake.  I was counting the days of my lease from the day I received the keys, but my landlord was counting the days of my lease from the day we signed the contract.  She showed up on Friday while we were at an awesome graduation party for our friend Bette.  Casey and Abbe were home, and she explained she was the owner of the house and promptly deposited 15 gigantic boxes and bags in the middle of the living room.  She explained that she would be doing some renovations to the house, and that she would come to see me the next day.

We waited, but she didn't come that day, or the next day, or the day after that.  This morning she came to my office and asked when we would be ready to leave, since she was going to come on Saturday.  Saturday?  As in the end of this week, Saturday?  Yes, Saturday.  Leah and I are expected to vacate the premises on Saturday because that's when my lease is up.  Casey and Abbe will leave Dodoma on a bus that morning, and the landlord will arrive at 9am the same morning to take possession.

Leah and I had already determined that we were ready to move somewhere smaller and cheaper, and had one friend start looking for a place for us, but we thought we had three more weeks.  Turns out with have three days to find a new home.

The situation is not desperate.  We don't have too much to pack, since the house was furnished, and several of our friends are looking for possible houses for us to move into.  If nothing works out by Saturday, we have many homes we can crash at for a few days or weeks.  It's good to have community to be a safety net.

Yesterday Leah and I had discussed our needs versus our wants in a new place.  There are the mostly non-negotiables (water on site, power, two bedrooms, secure) and then there are the things we're asking God to bless us with.  Will you pray with us that the perfect house will be found and available by Saturday? 

This is the specific dream we have:
- Indoor plumbing that works
- Working electricity in all rooms
- Easy walking distance from the church and our friends (within 2 miles)
- Quiet, private, secure neighborhood
- 2-3 bedrooms, living room, and kitchen
- Cheaper rent than we have been paying (less than $100 per month)
- A walled compound with some vegetation of some kind
- A nice landlord who will work with us

We're confident that God will provide our needs, and that we will not be homeless.  Please pray that we will have peace of mind and heart, and that we will release all control and worry to God. 

Now we are going home to start packing...