Jobs and a House

So far things are going well. We haven’t resolved our housing or employment, yet… hence the update. Mary has been praying for the last year that God would allow her to work at a particular local coffee shop. The shop has free wireless internet so it was the first place in town we stopped last Friday when we made our first foray into Buffalo. Mary filled out an application while we had lunch and then spoke to one of the managers. The manager told her to expect a call and that she would be holding interviews for one of several positions the following Monday. We planned on returning for the interview, however, Mary never received a call. We showed up anyways, and Mary got her interview. The interview went very well, Mary is confident she has the job. This would be a unique opportunity for Mary to work around lots of people in a business that she is already familiar with. Pray that God grants her favor with the manager there. (It appears he already has!)

Here are some pictures of the shop, it is called Spot Coffee, and is one of a small area chain including three stores.




















We also have been looking at houses. We have been trying to find a house large enough to accommodate our entire team (five adults and two children) and still maintain a modicum of privacy. The first house we looked at was superb. It was located right on the main strip (more on Buffalo geography in a later post) and only blocks from Mary’s prospective coffee shop. It was only one block from a children’s hospital should Tamy end up picking up a shift here or there as an RN; and the house itself is huge! It would definitely provide a sense of privacy for the three families moving in together (Schenks, Masons, Perkins), the rent is reasonable for the location, however, we would have no problem finding cheaper rent in another part of town, so we looked at a few more houses (unfortunately there is not a large selection of available houses for rent as most homes have been turned into multi-unit rentals).

The other houses we looked at simply couldn’t compare. We looked at several that were illegally built, or just outright disgusting, and then got a chance to see some in the Lower West Side that were in a much lower socio-economic zone. Our heart is to have a presence in one of these neighborhoods in the city, however, at this time we really felt uncomfortable moving into a house that could potentially bring violence right inside our home (there are occasionally shootings on the streets of some neighborhoods). The neighborhoods here do not work the way they do in any place I have lived, there can be a huge disparity on a block by block basis, in terms of property value as well as criminal element. We believe it would be wiser to stay in an area that we know is a safe place until we get to know the city better and can make a wise decision about where we should live.

So we are currently in the process of placing a deposit down for the first house, to move in September 1st! Pray that God would smooth the transactions! We really believe that this house is the one for us.

Finally continue praying that God would provide jobs for the rest of us. There is the possibility that Dre could also be hired at the shop Mary applied at. There appear to be plenty of framing/construction jobs available for Sam, and I have several phone calls out for potential jobs (at this point the leading candidates seem to be continuing with cable, or substitute teaching).

We love you and miss you!