A New Buyer :-) and Elk Meat

Hi there. We've got some good news to report!!!

We've got a new buyer for our house as of yesterday afternoon. There are still a fair number of details to be worked out, but it looks like a good offer from a solid lender. The closing date is tentatively set for December 18. We plan on hanging out and not leaving until around January 2. The reason for delaying our departure is that we want to wait to purchase airline tickets to Quito until after the closing paperwork has been recorded. This choice to stay a couple of weeks longer is largely based on a desire to be extra-extra cautious given what happened to us back in July. My guess is that we could come and visit with you and the class on January 11--assuming that this timeline holds. I feel really good about this (peaceful).

We plan on holding off telling the school in Ecuador and my employer/dear friends here in Missoula the good news until after the home inspection which will be at the end of next week. We don't anticipate any significant problems given that the house was inspected just 4 months ago. We just want to play it as safe as possible.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and support over the past 3 months (in particular). They have made quite a difference. It has been a trying time for our family. Please pray that the closing process will go much better this time around.

One last thing to mention is that earlier this week, before the new buyers showed up, I spoke with the school. We decided that I should begin teaching my Physics course online December 1. In hindsight, it looks like this will make a great transition for me. Pretty neat how God works

On a different note entirely, Jonathan got to go on his first real hunt last Saturday. 15 minutes into the season on opening day, he shot a cow Elk that weighed about 530 pounds. It's at the butcher. It looks like we will be bringing a cooler or two full of elk meat to Florida in January. I, Bryan, have been hunting the mountains around here for the past 6 years often driving to the remotest of locations to try to find an elk with no success. This year I drove 10-15 minutes down the road from my house, walk 2 1/2 miles, sit down with Jonathan. The sun comes up and there are 30 elk standing in a field 150-200 yards away from me. To enhance our chances of seeing an elk, I held off on buying my elk license hoping that they would know that I didn't have one. That way, Jonathan could get a shot possibly. It worked!!! Who says that reverse psychology doesn't work.

Making the Most of the Situation

Looking out the window sure makes me grateful that we have been placed in limbo in such a wonderful area with great friends. The fall colors are now at their peak with the Cottonwood and Aspen trees displaying bright yellow leaves. The mountain tops are glazed with a fresh coat of snow. The afternoons are still fairly mild (60s-low 70s). Perfect.

I've taken the time to get out into the woods a good bit over the past week or so. Jonathan and I got to see a big bull moose and cow moose running side-by-side on one of the mountain roads that I frequent. The deer are out and running all over the place. So are the bears, though I haven't seen any yet this fall. (It's always fun to sit back and watch the black bears lumber around looking for food in the fall.)

Jonathan's first hunting season begins later this week. In past years, he has had to watch me hunt. This year, he gets to try for a deer, elk or bear. This should be a lot of fun.

Regarding a status update to our move, nothing has changed since our last posting. The real estate market has begun to slow for the winter months. We will likely take the house off the market temporarily next month and list it as FSBO and on Craigslist through February before relisting it with an agent. Our thoughts are that it is becoming increasingly likely that the house will not sale until spring 2015 given the trends in the market conditions. When the market revives in March, we do not want a house that shows on the MLS listings it has been on the market for a year. (It might turn off some potential buyers.)

As noted in the previous post, we thank you so much for your prayers and support during this very difficult and trying time. If you are a monthly or occasional donor, we ask that you suspend donations until we can sell our house and be en route to the mission field. (It doesn't feel right to us for us to continue to collect support while we wait to go into the field.) Thank you especially to the two families who have allowed for us to use one of their extra vehicles while we wait. It's a bit difficult to get by on one vehicle now days since I work in town, some 20+ miles away from home!