Housing Boom

Super busy week. We’ve got about twelve days or so before we’re flying back to the States. And there’s tons to do before we go. This will be a six week trip, our first time back in the States since we landed here in China almost a year and a half ago. After our services on Sunday, we held our first of three training times for our members, explaining what the plan is for the time we’re gone. They’re pretty concerned about it – but I think that time is helping a little bit. Most of the stuff on the notes that I typed up is stuff that they’re already doing and already know. But hopefully seeing it on paper and talking it over will help. Biggest test is of course for the four guys that we’re counting on as leaders for this time. More on that later.

Major prayer request! We’ve got only a couple days left to find a new building and move into it. As I said before, they raised the rent really high on the place we’ve got now. So we’ve been scouring the area for the past week, looking for a suitable new location. We’re also looking for a place that we’ll be able to start a business. The business has to fulfill two main goals: first, to give us an excuse for having an auditorium and large group meetings; second, to give me and my wife visas. If we can come up with a business plan that will allow us to do this, it could really give us some room to grow in the future.

The problem is, like in the States, there’s a noticeable price break between residential and commercial rentals. So it looks like if we actually go along with this plan, we’ll end up paying more than the place that just raised our rent. But if those two goals are taken care of, plus we can find a place that we’re sure to not disturb the neighbors, it would probably be well worth the money.

For example, the best deal we’ve found so far is in a shopping center just down the road from a key university. The street is crowded with people all day. But there’s a staircase going up to a third floor plaza with more storefronts that has virtually no people whatsoever. Perfect environment (for holding illegal church services, not attracting window shoppers) really. And because of its relative remoteness, they’re giving a second year free to anyone who pays a year of rent. Pretty desperate. Still not cheap – for China anyway. For a place the size of what we’re renting now, the price tag would be around 7,000 American a year, but we’d have to pay the second year up front as well. And that’s about the best deal we’ve found so far.

So please pray with us over the next couple days. We really need some wisdom, direction, and provision.