A fire and subsequent flooding causing massive damage has had the county deem my home as unlivable and has had my family of 5 displaced for the last 8 months.

Praise: we were put in a rental that has enough space for us. We all are safe. Our car subsequently broke down but we have a new van.

Prayer for my kids: my kids have struggled living in the rental home we’re in. Although we’re grateful, we’ve chosen not to decorate or obtain more furniture we need, only bare necessities. This has driven my oldest with ADHD crazy and my kids have been fighting a lot.

Prayer for money decisions: We were renovating before the accident but did not have the money to do everything. Everyone has told us to do the renovations now while we’re out of our home. But insurance and rental fees/deposits have grown to $10k, which has us worried about being able to pay for everything.

Prayer for the process: we got a mitigation contractor to remove the flooding debris, fix the fire damage, and clean the remnants of smoke. The contractor said they could rebuild it. But they weren’t adhering to the county permit process so we got a new contractor. The new contractor is now on the last step of the pre-phase, which is getting the architectural drawings done.

Prayer for the timeline: The new contractor has been working for the last four months and hasn’t even submitted everything to the county yet. The engineer has been working on the drawings for the last month. We renewed the rental lease to the end of January. We would love to be back in our home by Thanksgiving.

Prayer for me and my wife: this has been a lot for us mentally and emotionally. The thought of going through the holidays without our home has my wife in tears. It’s been hard to keep cool with the kids acting up, although we understand. Being patient through this without knowing every detail has been gut wrenching. We know God is growing us through this and hope to be ready for whatever He’s preparing us for.

Prayer for joy: finding joy has been a struggle but I have been seeking God through this. I want peace and joy and not bitterness.