Iquique: House (Bump)

11/6 Edit:

We have run into a "bump" with our house situation and would appreciate prayers for wisdom.

The current owners are waiting on their new home being built in Antofagasta and were recently informed that there is no possibility of their moving in December. In fact, the construction company cannot give them a fixed date for when the house will be available and most likely it will be February - but it could possibly be even later.

Of course this leaves our family in limbo, especially because of having been forced to purchase new airline tickets by October 30 or lose them (the ones we exchanged due to Owen's injury.) We purchased them for January 6 based on the information we had at the time and we have even considered moving up and renting a furnished place for a month or so. However, everyone I have contacted has informed me that January/February is the high season (summer in Chile) and we would have to pay the daily rate to rent an apartment then. The "cheapest" we have been quoted is $1,000 for the month!

To be perfectly honest, I am feeling tired and frustrated about the whole thing tonight. Do we lose the $1,000 paid in tickets and not go?? or do we spend $1,000 for a furnished apartment for a month, still with no guarantee that our house will be ready in February?? We really can't complain, actually, since our co-workers ran into the same snag with their house last year and spent four months living in the cramped upstairs of our rented church building while they waited! They are better people that I can claim to be. :) :)

As I said, prayers for wisdom ... MUCH appreciated right now!!

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I know that many people were praying for us concerning our housing decision, and for that we are very grateful! Long story short, there was not much of a decision to be made as our options were very limited. Believe it or not, in a city of 250,000 people we had exactly four houses to choose from. Two were out of our price range (one of which was also in sore need of a face lift and in a neighborhood that did not feel safe for our family), the third has some interesting quirks, so that in the end there was only one that was truly a feasible option for us.

There are many positive features to the house, including its impeccable (move-in) condition and the safety of being a gated "condominio" ... oh, and should I mention a beautiful view of the ocean from our back porch?? The only major down-side is that with two more children on the way (as well as out of town visitors, hopefully!) we had wished for another bedroom but will have to settle for three. An important note here is that Chilean houses are typically much smaller than American homes. Most children's bedrooms are sized for a twin bed and not much more. Also, the kitchen is even smaller than our already-small kitchen (this part got a gasp out of my mother when I told her, I think!) But, we will make it work and the invitation to come visit us is still open! :)

looking down our street

the peach house on the right (minus the cars) is ours
it is a duplex so it ends where the brown wall begins

this living/dining area is spacious and beautiful

our kitchen - what you see is what you get :)

lovely back porch

and last but not least, our view of the ocean