A next step revealed – an apartment!

No surprise really, but just the thought of all that has to happen to move across country is a daunting one. On Sunday I was starting to feel the weight of all the unknowns (maybe for the first time) especially as it relates to where we will live and what to do with our home in Arkansas.

On Monday, I called the housing office at Fuller to move up our “first available” date to June 1st to increase the chances of securing an on campus apartment. We originally told them August 1st thinking we’d be willing to pay one month’s rent before actually moving there. But that would be a risky move because the supply of apartments is far less than the demand. On campus apartments are less expensive than other places in the area and also offer the convenience of keeping our geographic footprint small while living in the vastness that is southern California. We’re from Arkansas after all where everything we need day to day is within 2 miles from our home.

So back to the phone call. I called to change that first available date to increase our odds. Immediately, the woman said to me, “We just had an opening become available. Do you want it?” She gave me some more details on what was the most perfect apartment that the school has, one that Ines and I had hoped for since starting our research on the options for on campus housing. I told her that most likely we wanted it, but that I needed to confirm with Ines.

I called Ines and told her what happened, and she nearly burst into tears with excitement! We are pumped! We have a new home waiting for us in Pasadena! God is with us in this journey.

Here’s what the school’s website says about Chang Commons.

Our community in Chang Commons is a great place to live whether you are single or married with kids. There are children of all ages who live and play on our floors and for those who prefer quiet, the walls between apartments are sound-proof, making it possible for you to study without interruptions. We hope you would consider being an active part of our community here at Chang.

We are a community that is made up of people from all different countries, backgrounds, and stages in life. The children in our community often play together in the hallways and outside in the playground and courtyard. We are just a 3-5 minute walk away from classes on campus and our building is right across from the community grill and Chang Commons playground. We love food, fellowship, and fun while sharing our lives together as seminarians at Fuller. We welcome you into our faith community here!

This description calms my nerves big time! My heart’s desire from the moment we set out on this adventure was that Ines would live amongst the community of her fellow seminarians to get the full impact of her studies with her peers and that we could live in an area that would become familiar and close. God has made a way for that to happen, and we are truly grateful for this provision.

Not to make this all sticky sweet because it comes with a price. This is what I’d call an expensive blessing. We paid the deposit this week and will begin paying rent on this blessing starting sometime next week. But we crunched the numbers, and even paying $1530 per month for three months ahead of schedule will be cheaper in the long run. Compared to other places, we’ll make up that difference within a year of living there by not paying more somewhere else.

We continue to pray for God’s provision and wisdom for all the decisions we have yet to make. Please join us in those prayers.

In His grip,

Rob