Things to be praying about

We are running into a little difficulty locating housing in Singapore. The difficulty is twofold. First, the cost. The school Josh will be working for is run as a ministry, and although they do charge a tuition, it is significantly lower than every other international school in Singapore. Not only that, but over half the students are missionary kids and receive a significant discount off the regular tuition price. We are excited to be working for an organization that is focused on serving Christ and loving the students rather than making a profit, but that does translate into a very modest living stipend for us. In years past, the stipend allowance has been just enough to live on. However, in the last year, real estate in Singapore has gone up 70%, which makes the once barely-livable stipend no longer livable. We know that the Lord will provide what is lacking, whether it be through contract work that Josh may be able to find or through some other yet-unseen means. Please pray firstly that God would meet our financial needs and secondly, that a suitable flat (as they call apartments there) would open up in our price range.

The second difficulty we are facing is discrimination. Asia is not like America (DUH!). Landlords can deny a renter for any reason. Last week, we were working with a rental agent who had located us a clean 2-bedroom flat that was a "good deal" (albeit, still $300 more than we are currently paying!). We submitted some information that the agent requested but we received news this morning that the landlord was unwilling to rent to a family with an infant. I talked with our contact at the school and asked if that is a normal practice. He said, "Asia overall has practices that are much different. You see ads in the paper: Wanted female worker – age 30-35 only, Chinese Male security officer needed--under 40 years of age. You are asked you age, religion, husband’s job, etc. Things that would not be legal in the US are the norm here." (I replied that obviously the landlord hadn't seen pictures of Caleb, or they would have known that he is the cutest boy in the world and would have loved to rent to us!) So the third thing that we would ask that you be praying about with us is for a landlord who would be willing to rent to our family, infant and all.

We'll keep you updated. =)