With our big move just six day away, I realize that I never did share how the Lord provided this home for us. It is a story of changed hearts and miraculous provision that can only be attributed to God’s hand.
This journey began shortly after our arrival back in January. Our new teammate expressed some concerns she had with us living in different communities and how that would effect our efforts in re-starting a church plant. At the time, this was the last thing we wanted to talk about or think about. The idea was met with great resistance, rather a refusal to even consider the thought. With hearts still healing from the loss of the previous five years of ministry and investment, having to consider giving up our home and the kid’s school seemed more than we could bear at the time.
However, the Spirit began a work in our hearts that could not be ignored. It was through His might that took us from resistance to consideration, that then led to earnest prayer and seeking counsel regarding a crucial decision that would effect our team, our family and future ministry. We invited our children to pray with us about the matter and it was a gift to hear their responses. Samuel told us, “if it means that we can have more Bible studies and church at our house, then I want to move.”
When we transitioned from language school to northern Italy and began our work here with a small group of believers living in Caselle, it was our desire to live there too. However, after 6 months of house hunting that produced zero possibilities in Caselle we took our search to surrounding communities. It was in Leinì that God provided us a home that has served us well as a family and for ministry purposes. But now that we have no central meeting location in Caselle, we see that commuting will inhibit our abilities to get into people’s lives and hold us back in being an effective team.
By the middle of March God had given us great peace and a direction even though the estimated cost to move was overwhelming and there were so many logistical factors that would have to come together perfectly. We stepped out in faith that He would provide for us in a rental market that is virtually non-existent for a 3-bedroom home. One complicating factor with moving in Italy is that you are required to give your landlord a 6-month notice, as opposed to the US standard of 1 month. We had to trust in His perfect timing that would keep us free from being responsible for dual contracts and rental payments. So even though we had no leads, we choose to give notice that in faith we could find something within that set period of time, which would get us moved prior to the new school year.
One week after making our decision to move we asked a friend and resident of Caselle if she knew of any rentals in town. It just happened that she had run into a friend that morning that told her she had moved from Caselle to Torino. They exchanged numbers just hours prior to our inquiry and so our friend gave her a call to see what they planned to do with the house. The owners did not have any clear plans to sell even though the house was sitting empty. She was intrigued by the idea of renting as they had not considered that option. She said she would discuss it with her husband and get back to our friend. A few days later we got word that they would be interested in discussing the idea and would get in contact with us after Easter. In the meantime, we visited nearly all the realtor agencies in Caselle to make our request known.
April 5
We finally got the long awaited call from the owner of the house in Caselle. He called to arrange a time for us to meet and "see if the house would be adequate for your needs".
April 10
We went to see the house and meet the owners. The house is in immaculate condition and is lovely in every way. It completely stunned us how perfect this house would be for our family and ministry. And there is even a garden for this green thumb, daughter of a farmer! We were very encouraged by our time with the owners, and spent over an hour with them looking at the house, discussing questions and sharing about our work and the differences between Evangelicals and Catholics. Jonathan and I both came away feeling like they were happy to meet us. They did not have any figures to give us as to what they would want for rent, but said they would look into it now knowing that we were truly interested. They told us they would get back with us the following week.
April 23
So a longer wait than one week, but we finally heard back from the owners who still had no definitive answer. He said they are contemplating the length of contract and whether an undetermined length of time is something they want to commit to. He said they would get back to us in the coming days.
April 26
A call from the owner revealed that they would like to move forward with renting. Thus they were willing to enter into a 4+4 contract, giving us an 8 year commitment. Still no amount was given for rent, but we arranged another appointment to discuss these details.
May 2
We took the kids with us to see the house as the owners wanted to meet them too. Glad they made a good impression and that the kids absolutely loved the house. All was going well in the meeting up until we heard their request that instead of a regular deposit they would like us to get an insurance policy from the bank to cover up to 1 year of rent. A little skeptical as to whether we could get this being foreigners, we headed to the bank the following day.
May 3
Upon inquiring at the bank about the “insurance policy” we were informed that we needed to have 19,000 euros in the Italian bank in order for us to then pay a 250 euro fee to have the bank write a letter to the landlord saying if we don’t pay they will use our 19,000 euros sitting in a frozen account to cover any missed rent. Good grief! If we had that kind of money just sitting around, we would be buying instead of renting. Crazy--we know!
We immediately called the owner and told him the absurd news and he was adamant that we have this policy. He thought that maybe a guarantee from an American bank would work and asked us to inquire. Another clear “no” was given from the Italian bank upon inquiry. Our hopes dwindled at that point and we started to view this opportunity as a closed door. However, there were some close friends and family praying when our hopes were lost. Somehow everyone just knew God would work it all out.
May 8
Jonathan called the owner and told him of our inability to get the insurance he wants. We expected this to be a short and conclusive conversation based on how adamant he was in Friday's conversation. However, he frankly was surprised that the Italian bank would not accept a guarantee from a US bank. Jonathan explained that we have done all that we can do and if he still insists on this insurance then we must conclude the discussion. He said he was not expecting to hear that news. As a final option and offer we said we could pay a regular deposit amount plus one additional month. That gave him pause and he said he would discuss it with his wife. He called back later that evening and asked to talk in person the following day.
May 9
With much anticipation and nervousness we met together and all went well. Our job situation is an anomaly here to Italians and we had to spend quite a bit of time explaining how our finances work through our agency and with our government. They seemed much more at ease as we answered their questions. It really is a risk to be a landlord here so we understand their need to be thorough and evaluate the financial risk this could cause them if unfaithful renters took residency. We should have a final answer tomorrow.
May 10
Okay, so maybe not a final answer today. The owner called to ask for a copy of our current contract. When that was sent and received he called back to see if we could meet the next day. Seriously, the suspense in this whole process was reaching it’s limits for all of us. When Jonathan got off the phone the kids were jumping up and down asking “Is it a yes, is it a YES?!” There was a loud groan and sighs when they heard they had to wait another day.
May 11
God answered our prayers and we have a home in Caselle! We were all so super excited and even though our move will not take place until September, it was a HUGE relief to know that we have something secured. In the end, we see how the owners intentions were sincerely wanting to look out for us a family, and not just trying to be difficult. They have graciously blessed us with the use of so much furniture from the kitchen to refrigerator to bedroom sets for the kids. This is such a huge help in cutting down our moving costs. They had considered selling us the pieces we wanted, but decided rather to just consider them a part of the house for us. They are setting up the contract and will not charge us any fees to draw that up. They have given us a fixed rental rate instead of one that increases by a certain percentage each year. God has been so gracious to us in giving us 3 incredible landlords over the course of our years here in Italy. That is no small thing.
This is our miracle house story of God’s perfect timing and provision. We give Him all the glory!!
*To this day we have not received any leads from other agencies, even though our request is still active.
