Housing Project in Vanavara

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Missionary Matt Northcutt and I flew up to Vanavara to buy property. This is a big step towards moving to this village to share the Gospel with them. I want to thank every one who has been praying for our  housing needs.

We had a very productive trip. I went up with the intent to secure land, or at least start the document process for securing land to build on.  I was going up on faith; knowing that we had enough finances to secure land, but would need a considerable amount of additional finances to build. The Lord opened up an amazing door. 

We found a large village flat for sale. It is a fairly large flat, 70 square meters (750 square feet).This a pretty big deal. You may remember from our earlier letters, that typically  most of the village apartments and flats are too small to meet the legal requirements for the size of our family. Often times they are more like a dormitory than an apartment. Also, the few people who do own the larger ones hold on to them like gold. So, it is very rare when they are put up for sale. Earlier we explored the option of buying a larger village flat, but because of the above reasons we decided that it was not a viable option; however, when we saw the advertisement for this flat, we thought it was worth checking out. We soon realized that it fits all of our needs, and at a fraction of the cost. ($13,000) The price is very reasonable for this market. It became clear to me that God was meeting a need in our life and ministry with this flat, so we bought it. 


There is some remodeling needed. I am working to get a budget and material list together for the remodeling needs. We need some additional funds for the remodeling project, but this is a considerable savings when compared to its alternative. To build a house we would be looking at around $75,000. We have $13,000 invested now and let's say we put an additional $10,000 in remodeling. That's a difference of $52,000. The  $10,000 may seem  a little high, but please keep a few things in mind; we need to pay to send most building supplies up the winter roads, and building supplies are not cheap in this market. Also $10,000 is just an estimate, I'm still crunching numbers. Please pray with us about the additional funds needed for remodeling. We have a building fund set up with our mission agency. If God leads your church to give to this project,  you can send checks to our P.N.B.M. and write in the memo section of the check "The Dean's house fund."

Something else that should be noted is that a flat of this size is typically viewed as a more permanent dwelling for a family, unlike smaller apartments. This is important because we want people to know that we are serious about being here. Also, there is a plot of land with it for a garden and a storage shed and woodshed. (The secondary heat is a wood stove.) We thank you for all your prayers, and we praise the Lord for a productive trip. We can't wait to settle in and start shining the Gospel Light in Vanavara.
The Apartment Building

Garden and Sheds






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