It is getting more and more important to remind ourselves that God brought us here for a reason and that He is in control! Although it has been great to be past the worst of hurricane season, it still feels like we are facing various “storms”. First of all my job has become quite stressful. I was initially so excited to find what seemed to be such a perfect fit in such a short amount of time. However, after the first few weeks, it became apparent that there are quite a few underlying issues going on here that cause it to be a tense and often negative work environment. It is still a blessing to have a fulltime income and I am using new skills and learning a lot, but I am not enjoying it. I don’t want to go on and on with the details, but please pray that God will use me in this work and show me His full purpose for me in this position. I believe He brought me here for a reason and I want to stick it out until that reason is revealed and fulfilled.
Then there’s the housing situation. We have had some interest in our home in Michigan, but no offers yet. Since it had been on the market a while, we decided to pursue the option of renting it out. We figured if we had the relief from paying our full mortgage then we could move out of the hotel and at least get an apartment. But, apparently there have been new rules established since the financial crisis on Wall Street. As of October 2008, homeowners are only allowed to rent if they have 25-30% equity in their homes (which we don’t since we haven’t even owned it a year yet). Also, if we were to try to buy a home here with our home in Michigan still not sold, we would have to qualify for two mortgage loans and we would not be allowed to consider any rent being paid to us as income. So, basically renting was not an option for us and our realtor actually suggested that we begin proactively negotiating with our lender to see if we could set up some sort of a short sale arrangement. This would mean the bank would loose money, we would loose money and we would possible have our credit damaged. We are holding off on this and waiting for God to come through.
On a positive note, we spoke to the district superintendent with the united Methodist Church about the situation with the house and he approved us to get an apartment. The church will pay the rent until we can take it over after the house is off our hands and it will actually cost them significantly less than the hotel. It was crazy trying to find an apartment that was vacant because so many already stay pretty full due to all the plants and factories around here and then there was a huge demand after hurricane Ike since a lot of people lost their homes. It was discouraging for a while, but we knew God had the right place for us. Finally, we found a 2-bedroom duplex about 10 minutes from the church. It was built only 6 months ago and someone had to move suddenly due to job re-location. It will cost the same as our Michigan mortgage to rent it, but the church approved it and we can make it work in our budget after our house sells. It should be ready for us to move in by the end of this week! Now the dilemma is figuring out how to get all our stuff from Michigan since we have no furniture, dishes, warmer clothes, etc. We are still figuring that part out, but we plan to be totally settled in with all our stuff by the end of the month and we are very thankful for this!
The last “storm” has been in the area of benefits. I am nearing the end of my 3 month probationary period at my job and will be eligible for benefits on Nov. 18. I met with the insurance lady yesterday and found out that my job will not cover Jermale - we would have to pay out-of pocket to add him and it’s expensive. Plus, it isn’t even a good health plan- it is actually pretty terrible. My deductible alone before the insurance would cover anything is $3000 a year and then they cover 70%. It is a $30 co-pay for a regular Dr. appt. I know this is better than nothing, but we have never had such a bad policy before so it is pretty frustrating.
As far as Jermale, the church progress is moving a long and the first service will be Jan 11th! Jermale is also getting lots of substitute teaching jobs and that is going well. We are meeting more people and building some friendships, but we still have a long way to go before we will feel like we have a true support network similar to what we had in Michigan.
Again, that is why we have to continually remind ourselves that God is in control. We also recognize that at this point the stage is set for an amazing testimony. It is tough to go through the storms of life, but God is strengthening us through them and we know we will never be going through the storms alone. Please keep the prayers coming and keep in touch with us :)
Love,
The Eddies
