We began praying for our home in Salerno last summer before we had even put our home in Winston-Salem on the market. In the beginning I think my prayers were very general, but as I began to dream about what I would like our new home to be I dared to ask God for specifics.

I need outdoor space to make me happy. You can check my personality test…music and the outdoors make me happy. So I began asking God for a first floor apartment with a small garden area. Somehow over the last ten years I have developed a liking for cooking. In my younger years I couldn’t cook beans out a can, but since I know fancy cooking I began asking God for a kitchen that would be big enough to work in…not excessively large, just large enough to have some counterspace and fit more than one person at a time. We also wanted a space for guests and an office. In Naples, and you know this if you ever came to visit, our guests had to sleep in the living room. Nobody ever complained, but we thought it would be nice for people to have a separate space. And Paul needed a place to work.

It was a lot. I felt greedy at times and in those times I wouldn’t pray about it. And then we had lunch with a couple and somehow the house came up in conversation. The man we were eating with looked straight at us and said that God cared and He could deliver. Right there in the middle of a fish restaurant he prayed to God about our house, with specifics.

The closer we became to our leave date, the more I began praying about the house but I added something to it. We had, at that time, not been in a home of our own for seven months. It’s longer than it might seem. Wanting to get our family settled as quickly as possibly, I asked Him to provide a home for us the first day we went looking.

The Thursday after we landed we went to look at three apartments. We walked with the real estate agent and Justin to one home that had a private entrance. We entered in to a large patio. I tried not to get my hopes up. We walked up some steps to the front door and the terrace. My heart began racing. We walked into a house that had a large kitchen space, an upstairs, balconies everywhere, and space for a office and guest space. My heart was leaping out of my chest at this point. I began praying. The rent was too much. The owner would have to come down a few hundred euro. I prayed while we walked. I prayed while we looked at another apartment. I prayed while I ate. I prayed and prayed and prayed some more. Even as I prayed I knew this was our home. This was everything we had prayed for and more.

Less than two weeks later we signed a contract on the apartment. We’ll move in May 1.

God is faithful…even in outdoor space, kitchens and guest rooms.