Where do I begin? I knew that I would be moving sometime this year when a new couple would join our NGO. The catch however was we did not know when they would arrive. In August or September I was told they would likely arrive the end of November. So I began to hunt for houses. Either the house was extremely small, completely furnished or not in good condition. There was an American family who lived in a beautiful house that returned to the States back in June. I thought maybe that house would work but it was kind of big for two people. But as we realized there were no other options I decided to see if it was still available.
I spoke to the owner and she said that a family had rented it temporarily while they were building their own house and it would be available in October or November. It was perfect. My team leader and his wife saw the place and thought it would be a great place of rest for me.
I was told that the family renting the house would move out on November 16th; which was perfect since the couple that would take over my current house was arriving on the 21st. I received an text message on my cellphone on the 11th that it would now NOT be available until the 27th. That was my first big disappointment. I had been packing for months and had my mind set on moving.
The couple arrived along with their 20ft container. We managed fine but a house with two sets of furniture made it a little tight, but manageable. They could not unpack their things until I moved out. The contract was signed and I was told that the house would be available on the 28th. The family renting the house could not move out on the 27th since it is bad luck for Chinese to move on a day with a number that is written with the stroke going down (their son-in-law I believe is Chinese Filipino). It is better luck to move on a day with a number written with the stroke going up like “8.” They were going to move out at 3am and I could be there as early as 5am, but I told the owner I would meet here at 8am. We were so excited as we drove over only to arrive and find the family alon
g with all their things still occupying the house. They had not even started packing. The owner said she now wouldn’t meet me until 10am but for me to wait. It was as if she wanted me there to give the family pressure to get a move on it. Needless to say I was frustrated. My friends arranged their schedule to help me clean and move in. All four of us were sitting in a little storage room outside waiting and waiting. The owner still didn’t come at 10:30 so I called her. She said it was the last day to enroll her niece in school. I told her no way and that she needed to come. It was not fair that she kept changing what she said. When she arrived she was also in shock with what she saw.
The family wanted to leave their furniture and things hanging on the wall until their house was finished being built. I understood that their house was not yet livable, but I felt that they knew for several months that I would be
moving in and they should have figured out what to by this time. It took them until 7pm that night to get all of their things including a rottwieler dog in a cage off of the compound. They filled the small storage room with some of their other things.
When we entered the house after lunch (all of their things cluttered the patio and driveway) we saw how filthy the house was. As if they had not cleaned the house the four months they were living here. The grass was up t
o our knees and the water drainage around the house was filled with black water. It smelled so bad we thought the sewage tank overflowed. (Most houses here have drainage around the house leading the street. Not underground pipes for sinks and washing machines.)
The owner cleaned the house with her mother and sister, while the brother cleaned up the drainage problem. We noticed there are many repairs to be done. The owner promised to be back the next day to help with her 3 nieces and get the yard cleaned up. They never came but promised to come Monday. It is now Monday night and they never
came.
That night (Friday) two friends and I stayed up until midnight cleaning the kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom that we could sleep in to our standards. The kitchen walls were so dirty when I mopped them you could clearly see where I had mopped. There was coke sprayed on some of the walls and the cabinets and floor filled with grease from them frying food and boy what a bad stench. When we were finished cleaning it smelled nice and clean and like bleach!
The next day some of my teammates helped me get all the furniture moved over and some of the rooms set up. It was
such a blessing that night to relax in the living room and feel a little bit more settled. There are still many repairs to be made and boxes to be unpacked but I already feel that this house is going to be a place of refuge and rest for me! As I sat and had my breakfast this morning feeling the cool breeze and hearing the birds chirping I was overwhelmed by God’s goodness and blessings!
Soon I will post some pictures of this beautiful place. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of what it looked like while they were moving out and how dirty it was. I was in so much shock and frustration I didn’t even think of it.
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