I clicked on the listing and this house had everything on our list, but I couldn’t tell how many bathrooms it had so I decided to message the seller (bold move) to ask. At 3:00am, mind you. And she responded at 6:00am saying there were two bathrooms: a main bathroom and an ensuite off the master bedroom. That’s exactly what we prayed for! The seller told me that they were having an open home between 4:30pm and 5:30pm, and to come along if I’m interested in having a look. I replied letting her know I was keen.
I sent Matt the link and let him know that I thought this was our house. I told him about the open house and that I was planning to go. He was on board (keep in mind, this is the same dude from the other story that I couldn’t convince to move to New Zealand! It’s never this easy getting him on board with any new idea). He wasn’t sure if his work schedule that day would allow him to attend the open house with me, so I was prepared to go with the kids on my own and report back. But nearing 4:30pm, Matt was suddenly available and in the area so we both went to the open house. I picked up the kids and told them we’re going to see our new house.
To preface, I don’t usually let the kids in on anything that’s not official for fear of breaking their hearts. They had been asking for a house for a long time and I knew telling them would be a risky move, but I did it anyway because I knew this was our house. Plus, telling them strengthened my own faith. Hyping them up hyped me up even more. It was fun dreaming with them! They were so excited and had that childlike faith Jesus talks about in the Bible. They had no doubt during this entire process that we would get this house, and I leaned on them whenever doubt tried creeping around the corner. The kids even started praying for the house. One of the most touching moments was when little Diane thanked God for giving us a house. What a profound prayer! We hadn’t even gotten it yet and she was already thanking Him for what He was going to do, as if it had already happened.
After a short drive, we arrived at the house and met up with Matt before approaching the door. When I walked in, I personally felt like an absolute fraud. Mainly because I knew we had roughly $35 in our checking account at that moment (until our next payday) and the house was listed at $750,000. So we had to fake it. You know the saying, fake it ‘til you make it! That’s exactly what we did. We walked in, met the sellers (who are some of the nicest people, by the way. They were so lovely to work with), and had a look around the house. It was perfect. There were so many small details in the house – all things I prayed for. Everything was there. Absolutely nothing was missing. I wanted four bedrooms, and they were there. I wanted two bathrooms – there. A skylight – there. Loft, infinity water heater, big deck, shower dome, big backyard, office, gas stove, ceiling fans – there! There’s too many to list! I just KNEW this couldn’t be a coincidence.
When we left the open house, I was on a complete high. I was so excited, so expectant. I just knew in my heart this was our house, but we had an impossible task in front of us: we had to find a way to pay for it. Although we had no debt, we had just started building our savings so we only had a modest amount in our account. We did the only logical thing we could think of: we reached out to our pastors for advice on what to do next.
Our pastors, John & Kiri, were so excited for us when they heard that we found the one. John recommended that I call one of our church board members, John, for negotiation advice as he had ample experience. I was eager to take this next step, and the following week we were set to go on our family holiday to Auckland for a week. I knew that would be the perfect time to make the call and get the ball rolling.
Click for Part 3:
The Cullums Immigrate 
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