Saturday, November 20, 2010

Forever House #2

...our journey to rent free living,
all the entertainment minus the headaches.

We had been praying about a permanent place to live for a while. Once the boys got here and we started to envision the consequences of raising them in our current town, we prayed even harder. We knew God would provide a safe place for our family and He did! We have seen Him in each step.

We needed $30,000 to build our house. We could pay for it as we go, but that would not allow us to keep the same reliable trustworthy mason full-time, we wouldn't be able to buy building materials in bulk which significantly increases the price (just with the block that is a $800 difference), and it would take 5 years instead of 18 months. So... we asked God for it and then just watched Him work.

We can't get reasonable loans here in Guatemala and anything through the States would have to be with a cosigner, which we do not believe in. We had an offer for a loan, but just didn't have a peace about it, so we turned it down. Less than a week after that God's best happened!

Jimmy's Grandparents told us that they wanted to loan us the funds and then a couple days later the money was in our account. We will be paying them back over the next 5 years out of our personal fund. We are living where we are at now so that in just the money we saved from moving out of Santa Elena we have enough money to pay back this loan. Of course we heard a drive-by at the end of our street the other night, but at least we have an exit plan now! This is such a wonderful gift. I am so thankful for what this means for our boys.

So here is an update on our progress:

Our wall is almost finished. This photo was taken a couple weeks ago, so the back wall is done now.
This will be our front door.
I think it is interesting how Lico builds his own scaffolding. I have big plans for all these planks after he is done with them. They are going to be nice and weathered.
There is going to be razor wire above the wall. Another added security feature that was common in Xela, was broken glass. Jimmy went to the dump and bought 200 pounds worth of glass for about $10.
It will go on the top of our wall too. The wood below is a form and will be removed later. The glass is concreted into the top. If we would have had this on our wall in Santa Elena it might have prevent our break-in.
There is a travertine mine here in San Pancho. They sell reject pieces too. We bought this pile for about $16. It will go on the inside of walls that get direct sunlight since the concrete block heats up so much. Aesthetic interest that keeps you cool, what more could you ask for!
We are trying to be patient with the landscaping, so we don't have to move a lot of stuff later. There are so many beautiful tropical plants around here and so many plants that you can just break a branch off of and stick them in the ground and they start growing! We have tons of plants in pots since we have been waiting for our own land to put them in the ground. Our yard won't be bare for long. This is by our front door.
You can see the ivy we planted in the back that has started creeping up the wall. It will cover our concrete blocks that we have no desire to paint or cover with a smooth coat.

Sometime after Thanksgiving we plan on roping off our house walls to get an idea of how it is going to sit on the land. This is getting exciting!!

CUTE ITEM OF THE DAY:
Silas loves hats! This is a hard hat he got for his birthday.

3 comments:

  1. I know how you feel when it comes to finding safe housing. We live in the capital and had a break-in this summer. We are looking for a better place now,,and having children does make that a different kind of search. I think God is also helping me learn just how much everything I have is loaned from Him and not really my own.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Shelley,
    Just in case you didn't know, the word for shortening is "manteca." I always use margarine instead, though, because I haven't found it either. Let me know when you find it!
    Adina

    ReplyDelete

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