September 18, 2010

• I've been wanting to update here for a while...I've become such a poor Xangan friend. I'm sorry. Sigh.
  
  On Wednesday, the house foreclosed. It was a very strange happening. We found out about the proceedings an hour before the event. We rushed over to the county courthouse, where the owner also appeared, but only because he heard about it after we told our realtor what was up. Crazy. It all happened on the courthouse steps. Literally. Very unprofessional. A young kid, in shorts and a t-shirt came with a fistful of papers, which he then proceeded to read to the air. No one was there to witness any of these transactions, but the three of us. It was surreal. In regards to our house, after he read the letter overflowing with legalese he asked us if any of us were prepared to offer cash for the property, at an inflated, required  minimum, btw. We said no, and he said, "Going once, going twice, gone." And that was it - the poor man who had once owned the house lost it all right there on the spot. It was totally weird and bizarre. One of the strangest things we've ever witnessed.
  
  So, the house reverted to the bank, who in turn handed it over to Freddie Mac, the federal agency that insures mortgages. They are now our new landlords. Yesterday we had our first contact with them via a local realtor assigned to the case. She came out to see if the property is occupied. (You had better believe it!) The good news is that I really liked her. She seems reasonable, compassionate and is very aware of the economic climate in the area. The next step is that a paralegal will call us to set up a new lease agreement. The realtor is going to do all she can to help us nail the deal and actually buy this house, but she's only one voice in a potentially lengthy process. Freddie Mac will have the final say on both asking price and the sale. So....this all may lead, at last, to a closed deal - please, Lord! - or it may lead to a hassle culminating in our need to move. We're really not holding out to "steal" the property, but we feel it is important that we not pay more than its true current market value. We need God to soften the heart of someone at Freddy Mac, and receive our offer with favor.
  
  We so, so appreciate all your encouragement and prayers. I'd say, on the whole, that we are doing well with all this, though we fall into discouragement from time to time. No panic yet, thankfully! We are trusting Jesus that He knows just what we need and will move on our behalf whether it be here or elsewhere. We're leaning on His love, that's for sure.
  
  

  I am very eager to fully unpack, though. Lord, give me Your patience!
  

  
  

  *********

  "Gracious God,
   My heart prizes Thee for the wonder of the love in Jesus...
   In Him Thy grace has almost outgraced itself...
   Bring me...to rest in Him and Him only...
   I am not ashamed of my hope...
   I trusted in Thee in an hour of distress,
        and Thou didst not fail me, though faith trembled."
                                                                   ~ The Valley of Vision
  

  
  "His grace is out of all proportion." Rom 5:15
  "Our Lord Jesus...and God our Father...loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through His grace." 2 Thess 2:16
  "Grace....flowed out superabundantly and beyond measure for me." 1 Tim 1:14
  
  Trusting in His grace. That's where we stand, though sometimes trembling.
  
  

  *********
  

  Still on Day 3, from Council Bluffs, IA,  through Nebraska, and landing in Greeley, CO:
  504 miles, 9 & 1/2 hours:
  
  It always amazes me how much of the country is rural.
  

  
  
  
  
  Don't you wonder what they contain?

  
  
  
  Serious cattle collection here, part of a meat packaging operation. It reminded me of
  The Jungle, only in northern CO, not Chicago.

  
  
  
  I wonder what stories this ol' place could tell?

  
  
  
  I love the clouds, I love the mountains.

   
  
  

  
  

  • 12:36 pm
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