So, do you want to see our new house?
Well, too bad. I’m not going to show it to you.
However, if you really really want to see it, Rod will show you. He posted a picture of it on his blog, along with a picture of Hannah and his daughter Cathy at his house, and an unfortunate picture of me at the new house (with some of the owner’s belongings in the background. He’s in the process of moving those out).
See the Cottrill House.
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Today we were in Ixtapaluca signing the lease agreement for renting our new house! Yes, indeed, we finally chose one. We don’t have keys yet, but . . . soon, really!
Now, I say most of a house because there is quite a bit of work to be done on the inside. This was the case with most of the houses we looked at, though some only needed a little work. Almost every house we looked at, for example, had no kitchen - meaning there were hookups for plumbing, but few or no cabinets, light fixtures, counters, no sink (ok, sometimes there was a sink, though not always hooked up), and so on.
This is not unusual at all in Mexico. Either we’re talking about a house that hasn’t been lived in yet (common in these fast-growing areas) or a the previous tenants take everything with them when they go.
So you want to know about the house. Well, it’s a 2, 3 or 4 bedroom, depending on how you look at it. 
I would say it has a laundry/utility room, a master bedroom, and a smaller bedroom. The laundry/utility room will become a laundry room/office (type type type - scrub stain - file file file - change loads . . . how handy . . .). That’s the top floor.
On the next floor down, we are converting the large bedroom into two small bedrooms for Hannah and Nathanael. Then we will take the other one.
The bottom floor includes a kitchen, and small dining room and living room.
It is small, smaller than what we have now, and no yard to speak of. However, it’s in a nice neighbourhood, and on a very quiet street. The living area and dining room are small but open enough that we would be able to entertain a group. And we’re in a community with other families with kids. So I think it will be a good place for us, even though it will take some adjustment.
There is a fair amount of work to be done. The house was not totally finished inside. The kitchen needs to be put in, much of the house still needs tile and paint. But the good news is that there are already men in there doing the work, thanks to the arrangements that our coworker Rod was able to make. Thanks Rod!
It’s unlikely everything will be done by the time we move in (over the next week or so, Lord willing, we hope to finish packing and moving), but the tile should be done and it will be easier to get other things done once we’re there (since it’s about 2 - 2.5 hours from our home in Cuernavaca).
So - there you are! Praise the Lord for leading us to what seems to be a good house, a good landlord, and a good neighbourhood. Now comes the next step!
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My deepest apologies to anyone who has been trying to look at photos in our gallery. Yesterday, for some unknown reason, it started having problems. The good news (for me) is that it wasn’t anything I did - I didn’t do anything, actually.
Anyway, trying to fix it has been one problem after another. As you can see, some recent photos are back in there. However, you may still be having problems with some of these. For example, if you click on a thumbnail, you may next see something totally unrelated. Just go to the original version of the photo, and everything should be fine (see upper right corner for different photo resolutions - choose the biggest).
The good news (yes more good news) is that the photos themselves are backed up, and some of the information is backed up, so they’re not "lost". But it may take some time to figure out what’s wrong and get everything fixed.
Of course, it had to happen right when I told everyone to go visit. Does Murphy have access to the server?
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
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Afterwards, we went back to the odd house (that I also mentioned before). We had pretty much written it off, figuring it would take too much work to make it usable for us. But looking at it again and talking to the realtor and with Samuel (a man from the church who came along), we thought that the work to be done may still be in the realm of possibility.
Later, Samuel and his wife took us to look at some houses closer to where they live. Up until now we had been looking in the housing developments in Ixtapaluca, but some of the houses he showed us were outside of these, and so there was more . . . variety.
We only saw in one house, and that was the first one. On the outside, it’s a plain cement blocky yellow thing. The house is on a dead-end street, with quite a few other houses in a quiet area, but this house has no neighbours. Not in back, or on either side! Houses are being built here, so I’m sure that’s only temporary, but still.
Inside, the house was beautiful. Spacious, well designed, well lighted. No kitchen yet, though (and I don’t remember a laundry area . . . do people in this area send their laundry out?). With the large yard in back, it would be a dream for entertaining. Hospitality would be natural here.
The next two houses were side by side in a wealthier area. One looked like a rectangular wood cabin, with lots of yard on all sides. Not sure what it would be like on the inside - the house itself looked a little unimaginative, other than the cabin look - a big one-level square with windows all around.
To the left was a beautiful rustic stone house, with a fireplace (well, a chimney; we didn’t see inside these, remember). Lots of yard on three sides, beautiful flowering trees, great view. If I were going by outward appearance and didn’t care about anything but looks and my own wants, I’d take it!
Across the street from these was a massive building. I asked Samuel what it was - apartments? A large business? No, apparently it all belonged to one family. Ok, this is where the other half lives.
To be honest with you, readers, I can’t see us at this point having an effective ministry here (even if by some miracle these houses were in our price range). We have little experience ministering to the upper class, even if our budget could handle it. Maybe down the road?
You see, Samuel has a real vision to reach these neighbourhoods. He felt we could be effective there, and even gave us some strategies of how we could have an impact. I could be convinced, but so far I’m not.
That being said, the upper class may very well be the least reached stratum of Mexican society. Maybe someone reading this shares Samuel’s vision, and is looking for a house to rent…
Ok, the last house was not in such a wealthy area, but in another housing development. In this area, a lot of the houses had many . . . modifications. We shall call this next house the "chalet".
Also going for the rustic look (though not as successfully as my favourite above), this was a modified town house in a crowded neighbourhood. Each floor had a little veranda running the length of the floor with lamps hanging down for light. It was covered in woodwork, and towered an inexplicable 4 floors. Talking to a lady in the area, we discovered it had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not nearly enough to explain its size. What’s on the top floor? She couldn’t remember. A discotheque perhaps?
The advantage of this area is close contact with neighbours and presumably lots of room to entertain. Also, Samuel and his wife know a lot of people in the area, so there are possibilities for work there. And as Samuel pointed out - it’s not whether the house is beautiful or ugly, it’s how the Lord is leading and how He wants to use it.
So, as we head into this week, we continue to ask - Lord, what is your plan? And where do you want us? Meanwhile, we pack, wait for some questions to be answered, and get ready for our next trip (likely in the next day or two).
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