House Hunting

We have had a busy couple of days here in Shell, as we look for a house to rent. Shell is a very small town, but there is a lot of activity here as there is a military base and many transients, it seems. There seem to be many options for us, but nothing is ready for us to rent at the moment.

House hunting here is very different from how we would go about it in Florida. There are no real estate offices here and no classified ads. The process is to drive or walk around looking for signs on houses for rent or sale. Some houses for sale are also for rent, so we called on all of those with no positive results.

After that method was exhausted, we started asking around if anyone knew someone with a house for rent. We found 3 houses that were under construction, but not quite finished that were possibilities. We will be in discussions with their owners in the next couple of days to see if we can come up with a reasonable agreement. With two of the houses, it seems the owners do not intend to finish until they have a renter in hand. This means that they will ask the future renter to finish the house and then give some credit for rental.

This seems to be a fairly standard method, and if we are able to come up with the capital, might be a very reasonable solution for us. We know God has something in mind and we have time on our side to find the right house for us. We still think that we have about a month to a month and a half left of paperwork in Quito so we are looking at about August for needing a place here in Shell.

We have had very good conversations with the ADSE leadership about guidance for what our next steps should be and what our focus should be for our time in Quito.

My residency paperwork, of course, is primary as everything else hinges on that. We hope to have all the documents to submit the package by next week. We will need prayers to have patience and to be smart about where to go and how to accomplish everything. The next step is going to be application for the commercial pilot's license.

This, as you probably already know, is the sticking point of our transition to Ecuador. The government has the right to deny my application until I have full citizenship. That may take two years or longer. We hope and pray that they will recognize the fact that I am married to an Ecuadorian as grounds for giving me the license right away.

ADSE really needs another pilot flying as one of the MAF pilots is going on furlough next week and then is being transferred to another assignment. We depend only on the Lord to invervene in this case if it is his will for me to be flying right away. We will probably know something more next week.

We will return to Quito either tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning to be ready for a full week of dealing with government agencies for these two issues. Thanks for your prayers for us and the encouragement you show by your posts and comments! They really mean a lot.