Back in March David and I decided to stay in Nicaragua (we were considering moving to Canada). We were renting a house, but we knew that we could not afford to continue renting there. We decided that we needed to either find a much cheaper place to rent, or find a house to buy. Buying might sound like a crazy idea, but real estate in Nicaragua is very inexpensive, and it seemed logical that if we are going to be paying monthly for something, at least we should be paying for something we own, rather than paying to a landlord.
So, we began our search. I looked online, David bought newspapers, and we asked family and friends if they knew anyone who was selling their house. We found one opportunity in the city. The neighbourhood wasn´t great, and the house needed some work, but the price was right, and we were seriously considering it, when….
Joel, David´s oldest brother called and told us about a man that was selling lots of land close to where Joel and his wife, Stephanie, live. He was selling the lots for such an incredibly low price, that David and I could afford to buy three!! We got an even better price because we paid for two lots in one payment (Thanks to wedding presents from Canadian family – thanks!) and we are paying for the third lot monthly. Each lot is 10m x 40m, so all together we have a property that is 30mX 40m, which is 1200m2, or 12,922 square feet. It’s a pretty big space! And a bonus: Joel and Stephanie bought three lots right beside 
ours, so we are neighbours!
ours, so we are neighbours! Now we bought the land, or started the process, back in March and we knew that we couldn’t afford to stay in the house we were renting for much longer. So we gave our notice: we would be moving out at the end of April. We didn´t actually know where we were going to go yet, but we knew God was in control of that detail. We figured if we could live closer to the property David could continue to work nights at Parmalait, and get some work done on the land during the day, but David started having problems at work. Up until April, David has never had problems with his job. Most of the people 
who work his shift get fired within a few months for stealing products from the trucks (David load the trucks that are going out the next day), but David has been there for over a year. He is always honest, and when new guys came in, the supervisors always asked David to show them the ropes. Suddenly, David was hearing rumours among the other workers that the supervisors wanted to fire him. He asked them if it was true, and they said no, but the rumours continued. Next, David asked for one day off to take me to the hospital (because I had a crazy itchy rash, which turned out to be scabies) and they said if he took a day off he would be fired. David was on pretty thin ice, but he needed to take at least one day off in the next week to do his driving test to get his motorcycle license and we were worried that if he asked he would lose his job.
who work his shift get fired within a few months for stealing products from the trucks (David load the trucks that are going out the next day), but David has been there for over a year. He is always honest, and when new guys came in, the supervisors always asked David to show them the ropes. Suddenly, David was hearing rumours among the other workers that the supervisors wanted to fire him. He asked them if it was true, and they said no, but the rumours continued. Next, David asked for one day off to take me to the hospital (because I had a crazy itchy rash, which turned out to be scabies) and they said if he took a day off he would be fired. David was on pretty thin ice, but he needed to take at least one day off in the next week to do his driving test to get his motorcycle license and we were worried that if he asked he would lose his job. God did two amazing things: First, Joel called and said there was a position opening up at the orphanage where Joel and Stephanie live (right next to the land we just bought!), and said that David could have and interview, but not to worry, the job was almost for sure his. Second, just two days after David asked for a day off to take me to the hospital, and they said he would be fired; David came home just two hours after he went to work. As soon as I saw him I knew it – he was fired. But I was wrong; he was giving 11 days of paid vacation!! They told him he had too many vacation days saved up (which is impossible – we went to Canada for 6 weeks!!), and so he was being forced to take a week and a half off work. And it fell perfectly into the week when he needed it most: his driving test, his interview and our moving day!! Plus – it can´t get any better than this – before his vacation was even over he got to submit his letter of resignation, because he got the job at the orphanage!
So with just days left before the move we still had nowhere to go for sure, but when David had his interview he was told that there was a room in one of the houses on the property that we could rent (for a much cheaper price then we were paying in Managua) for a few month while we build our house. And, since there is not kitchen, we can eat for free too!
So here we are! God made everything come together just in time!! We have a place to live and eat temporarily while we are building our house, David has a new job, and we are two minute walk from our Land! I can even connect to the internet, and use a washing machine to wash clothes (Thanks Joel and Stephanie!). David has to work until the 15th in Managua, so he has been leaving the house at 5am, and doesn´t get home until 6pm, but Sunday he starts his new job, and he is very excited about it!
So there´s the story! I guess about half was about the Land, and the rest was an update, but the story wouldn´t have been complete without both parts! We will probably start building next week, and I will be posting some more pictures and, hopefully, the blueprints so you can see what the house will look like!
Thanks for reading! (And congratulations if you managed to get through the whole post… it was long!)
