Good News, we have found our home

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

It is amazing how everything has worked out for us. When we left

Indiana on May 9th, we travelled the country heading for the desert

southwest, but we originally had Colorado Springs on our mind, but

when we hit walsenburg, Co. we found a nice little house with lat &

plaster instead of drywall, so we filled out an application. The

landlord in Walsenburg said no, we offered an additional $50 because

we were running short on funds and tired of living in a tent and we

really liked the house. We did have fun living in the tent and

staying at some beautiful state parks, but after nearly a month and a

half of digging through a van load of all our belongings for something

we needed, it was getting old. Anyway, the landlord accepted our

offer, but we should have listened to the 'no' as a sign.

The water heater went out and leaked causing mold to grow in the

basement, the furnace was not hooked up, we got fed up with trying to

get them to fix things, so we with-held August rent and refused to pay

until these items were fixed. They basically told us we would not be

happy with the house, the landlord told us he would forgive us August

rent AND give us our deposit back plus $200 for our electric bill

because of the water heater, and he wanted us out on Sept 1.

Sept 1, we were once again homeless, once again wishing we could

purchase an RV, once again living in our tent with all our belongings

in the back of the van. We travelled to Colorado Springs because we

liked it there, and we found a campground west of Colorado Springs

with discount rates for tent campers on a weekly basis. The campground

we were staying at closes at the end of the month for the winter, but

another campground a few miles down the road is open during the

winter, and also has rooms to rent at reasonable rates, so we reserved

a room there for the winter months. Before stopping there, we went RV

shopping at consignment dealers, etc. We found a few we liked, but

they are costly and if you don't have a fixed address, the banks won't

loan on one because they figure you could just disappear. We also

have been unable to find a private party willing to finance an RV.

We went to the campground where we reserved our room for the

winter, and told the girl behind the desk what we really hoped to do

was find a nice RV to buy, and we want to travel and possibly do work

camping, or live seasonally in different area's and climates. As luck

would have it, or fate or divine intervention, she said, really? We

have one back here that belongs to a friend who is willing to finance

the RV. It is a Hitchhiker 5th wheel, with central air and heat, it

is old enough to have already depreciated most of the bulk, but it is

nice, and mold free. According to an RV repairman who knows his RV's,

Hitchhikers are one of the good RV's and made for all seasons

including the winters. So we met with the people and today we gave

them a down payment, they set it on a lot for us, and tonight we are

living in our new home. No more landlords who refuse to fix things,

no more moldy homes to make us sick, and if all goes well we will have

it paid off by the end of spring.

I think we are still in shock and disbelief that we are now one

step closer to our dreams. The RV is roomy, it has two slides, one 16

foot and the other 8 foot, lots and lots of storage space, so now we

can go back and get all our things we left behind. Once we get

settled in perhaps we can take some pics and upload them.

Oh I forgot to mention, we liked colorado springs, but the

campground we stayed at is in Woodland Park, it is a rich area, but

the campgrounds are cheap, and in most campgrounds your electricity,

internet, TV reception, and water and sewage as well as trash are all

included for around $300/month. Heck, we paid that much on top of our

rent for utilities and internet connections. We are in a valley with

mountains all around us, foxes, beautiful birds, prarie dogs, and yes,

even some bears from time to time, mostly black bears. We are close

to Pikes Peak, and we are currently residing at the 8500 foot level

and they are forcasting some snow on Monday.

So to all who have thought about us and/or prayed for us, we give

our sincerest gratitude, and will continue to pray and do our best to

help everyone else who is suffering and fighting the mold battle.