Another year has passed, so it’s time for another update on our house loans. Thank God, our experiment is still going well.
(Background: As many of you know, we purchased our Atlanta house on March 25, 2016, paying the seller in full immediately, thanks to loans and gifts from nearly 90 individuals or families. Since this crowdfunding effort was the work of Christ’s church, we coined a new term: “churchfunding.” Here is the post that officially launched this adventure.)
At the beginning of 2022, we owed $21,232.50 in house loans. By the end of the year, we owed only $14,507.50.
Here is how that $6,725 difference breaks down:
- We repaid $6,200 in loans, at more than the promised rate of $500 per month.
- We were forgiven an additional $525 in principal and interest by two generous lenders.
In total, our house debt declined by $725 more than expected in 2022.
There are 14 lenders who have not yet received any repayment. If you are one of those 14, don’t worry. Your turn should come soon. God willing, at our promised repayment rate of $500 per month, we should have all our loans repaid by May, 2025.
Each month I use a random number generator to select a lender to repay. But first, I pray, asking God to glorify himself through the selection. So, if you need repayment soon, ask God to choose you! But if you need to, feel free to also let us know and we’ll do our best to repay you quickly.
In the first half of 2022 our house value hit a new high, just in time for the city to update our property assessment and increase our taxes. In the second half of the year, our property value steadily dropped, losing most of the gains of the first half of the year. (Thank you, rising interest rates and slumping economy.)
It looks like we missed our best chance to sell, so we’ll probably stick around here for a while yet. 🙂 To be clear, we have no dreams of leaving Atlanta any time soon. This is where God allowed us to settle, and we’ll stay here until he brings clarity that we should be elsewhere.
I don’t have time for a full family update, but here are some things I’m grateful for from 2022:
- A wife who faithfully homeschools, keeps house, connects with ladies from church, cares for neighbors, reads over 100 books in one year, and endures up to four musicians practicing at once in one house.
- Youngest daughter, who completed my Beginners’ Bible Reading Plan for the first time and is learning to like math.
- Middle daughter, who wins first prize in our family for diligence and organization in daily duties and who dearly loves animals.
- Oldest daughter, who grew by leaps as a cellist and all-round musician this year and is responsibly navigating her first year of high school.
- A new pastor at church, who is also my new boss at Choice Books, blessing me through both roles.
- Fellow church musicians who gladly help the saints worship–and the volunteer soldier below who helped me with my sermon.
- A great fall string orchestra concert (the conductor said it was the best in 14 years!) where our daughters participated and I even got to accompany at the piano for one piece.
- Time for more blogging than in the year before, and for light and peace as I study, write, and interact with my readers and their varied perspectives.
- Random blessings, like a mostly-positive experience fostering a shelter dog, a brand new lawn mower (yay!), vehicles that keep running, a couple visits from my mother, and a trip to Iowa to see Zonya’s family and skate on the farm pond.
Thank you, again, to everyone who helped us buy our Atlanta home, and to all who have supported us in so many other ways. We remain very grateful for "the house that God bought" and invite you to come visit.
Let’s be faithful to Jesus in 2023. He is coming soon!
For Christ and his church,
Dwight Gingrich
