Our church
Our first two weeks in Queretaro weren't exactly what I would consider a walk in the park. It was WONDERFUL to be back "home" and see our friends and everything. But it was also really stressful because we had no physical HOME to come back to. And all our stuff is in a storage unit on the road to Mexico City.
I must say that our friends in QRO are pretty much rock stars, because Ric and Ana let us stay with them and their daughters for TWO WEEKS (we had thought it would be about to 5 days until we found a house to rent), and Luis and Sandy let us borrow a car for that whole time too!
However, it was NOT easy at all to find a place to live! The city has grown exponentially since we left, and home owners can basically name their price and someone will be willing to pay it. There were days when every place we went to was a big fat NO. Some were way out of our price range, others were in bad neighborhoods, others were too far out of town to live at without a car. THREE times, we went to go put the first month's rent down on a house, only to find that during the few hours that we were thinking and praying about whether this was the house for us, the house had been rented to someone else.
After the third time, I was just done. I was ready to throw in the towel and go back to Oregon. Besides, it was ridiculously hot, and we were living out of suitcases in cramped quarters, infringing on our friends' privacy for WAY to long.
I feel like we were definitely going through a "storm" in life. Jonah ran directly away from God, and God made an intervention for him. Our pastor related it to the show, Intervention, where a person doesn't realize he's destroying his life until his family gets the crew from the show to do, well, and intervention. God did an Intervention for Jonah by making the storm come on the sea. I think God did an intervention for me so I would stop being so uptight and selfish (because I really wanted to have a perfect house with all the perfect stuff in it once we got here...) So God put us in situations that were "not up to my standards." (Which sounds really lame now.) Intervention.
We finally found a place (it was actually two and a half weeks later) to live temporarly while we settle into ministry and then resume looking for a house in a couple months. We decided we can stop infringing on our friends' privacy (although they were very welcoming to us!), and save some money renting a room/bathroom for a few months.
Then, I was letting my mind go south again... We're STILL basically living out of suitcases, it's STILL ridiculously hot (and we're not allowed to use the air-conditioning unit that some friends gave us because it will use too much electricity), and we're hand washing our clothes. REALLY?! This is not what I had bargained for.
Remember Jessi, this is what God has planned for right now. Count your blessings!
We live in a very central location (perfect for public transportation), we have our OWN BED!!, I was able to get some stuff out of storage (like pots and pans and towels, yay!!), and the other people who rent rooms in this building are really cool - they don't have parties at night or play music loud, and we have the opportunity to get to know them and share Christ with them too! lWhat more could I ask for?!
So I'm thankful for the intervention. God saves me from myself!
Night view of Queretaro from a hill
