We Found a House!

For those of you who don't know, the place we've been living in is only temporary and we knew that when we moved in last June. We've been house-sitting for an American missionary couple who have been in the U.S. since April last year. They are coming back in the next few months, so that's why Andrey and I started looking for a house to rent a few months ago.
We are so happy to have found a place to live! We didn't expect it to be so difficult to find a place in Cebu but when we started looking we realized that good, affordable homes for rent were not nearly as ubiquitous is they were in Chiang Mai.
There were 4 main things were really wanted in a home: 1. Location - we hoped to find something near to where we are now. 2. Furnishings - we just can't afford to furnish an entire house, nor is it worth it since we may only be here for 2-3 more years. 3. A good place for guests - we want our visitors to be comfortable when they come to stay with us. And 4. A decent kitchen - I cook a lot so having a more modern-style kitchen with an oven and a moderate amount of counter space is a must.
How does the house measure up? 1. It's in a neighborhood right down the street from our current place which is so perfect for many reasons. 2. The house is almost completely furnished. There are a few things we'll need to buy but it has almost all the needed appliances and furniture. There are beds and A/C in all 3 bedrooms, couches, tables, a fridge, a stove, etc... 3. The house is BIG! (bigger than we need actually) which will be perfect for when we have guests (NERDFEST 2009!!). The living room/dining room area is massive and there's another living space just off of the main area (the office?). All 3 bedrooms are spacious as well with built in closets and plenty of storage. 4. The kitchen has lots of counter space, cabinets and a pantry. Plus there's a maid's room (more storage!) with an adjoining extra bathroom plus a laundry area. It's an older house made of painted brick which I believe helps to keep things cool in the heat of the day. (Dana & Andrew: it actually is reminiscent of your house in Torreon, isn't that fun?)
We were recently encouraged/reminded by our pastor that it is God who prepares and provides a place for his children to live. With that, we prayed that God would bless us with the right house. Since we first heard about this place I had a good feeling about it. We just saw it last night and today we told the owner, "We'll take it!"
I really believe God arranged it for us because the owner of the house actually had another couple who was interested and who offered to pay more than she was asking. Andrey's co-worker & his wife live next door to the owner (that's how we heard about the house) and because this woman liked them (our friends and soon to be neighbors) so much, she told them she'd give us first priority! Last night when we went to see the house, the owner had us over to here place which is across the street (in fact she owns all 8 homes in the small subdivision) and we stayed and chatted for over an hour.
We weren't actually wanting to move until March at the earliest but in order to rent this house, we'll have to move sometime next month, which is fine with me. We could move as early as this Friday if we wanted. We'll probably have to pay for both places in February and therefore we'll be able to just move in slowly throughout February and be fully moved in by the end of the month. Praise God!!! I'll post pics when we get moved in.