My Phone DIED -- plus Update on Dental and Housing

SUMMARY

Seeking a phone and maybe different carrier.

Need to reconcile differences between 2 invoices from dental school and reschedule dental surgery.

Need to get another 1 month extension on section 8 housing voucher and develop self disciplines with accountability to find a residence.

Please pray for me.

The details follow.

PHONE

Over the weekend my cell phone finally died. It had been limping along for months.

I had been shopping for a replacement phone as well as considering other carriers. Shopping for so many variables at each carrier overwhelmed me. So I kept going until I could go no longer. It was like driving a old pickup truck that broke down often until it just would not start.

Recently I had been with Boost Mobile and before that I was with Metro PCS. I was not pleased with the customer service at either one. But then they are the cheapest ones. So maybe my expectations were greater than their ability to deliver.

Please pray for God to guide me to find the phone and carrier best suited for the next season of my life.

DENTAL

Previously I had noticed that there was a difference in the price of one item. That difference was 494 dollars. Then today as I examined the two invoices more carefully I noticed that there are three items on the February invoice that showed charges of 155, 150 and 155 dollars. Yet those items with the same codes on the November invoice showed with my discount they are zero dollars. Maybe they offer a special rate for homeless people.

So the difference is 954 dollars.

Even with that discount according to my math 536 is due at the time of the surgery. That appointment is set for April 17 at 1 PM.

My schedule is flexible. I can go anytime on any day because I am retired. But I want the discount, if I am eligible. And there is still a large amount of money to be raised in a short time even with the discount. So I plan to reschedule the surgery.

Please pray for God to work with the key persons to reconcile the possible discount. And pray for God to grant me wisdom about rescheduling the surgery.

HOUSING

My section 8 housing voucher expires on April 13. Even if I somehow found a suitable place tomorrow then it will take a week or more for them to process all the paperwork.

I began this process in July last year.That was more than 9 months ago. I had to first go to an agency to deal with all their red tape. Then they sent my information over to the housing authority. There was lots of waiting along the way.

I got my voucher in mid December that expired in 90 days. I was told that 2500 others had vouchers. I was given a packet of 60 pages. Of that 10 pages was a list of zipcodes. There are a little more than 40 zipcodes per page or more than 400 zips to cover the 7 counties of DFW. On the list the maximum rent they will cover for each zipcode for 1 to 6 bedrooms.  

The guidelines given were to find an apartment complex where you want to live that is has rent under the maximum ceiling for that zip code. Contact them to learn if they have a vacancy now or soon. Then ask if they take section 8 housing vouchers. That seemed simple enough. But troubles were ahead.

I sought to live near the Upper Room church that has 2 hour prayer meetings 12 times a week. The rents will a little over the ceiling. Yet in the comments one resident said that they had lowered the rent in the previous 2 years during March. Also at the top of the 10 page list of ceilings said it was revised on March 1st. Many other places that were not near that church were slightly over the ceiling. When I went to get my extension on March 12 then the new list had added 50 to 70 dollars for many but not all 1 bedroom apartments.

But the published rents did not decrease. So they were still out of my reach.

I changed gears to seek senior housing. I was very discouraged and not motivated when I began that search. The few replies I got said the waiting list is 6 months. That killed the little remaining motivation.

There is no guarantee that they will extend my voucher. But I hope that they do and I request your best prayers for this to unfold smoothly.

Hopefully it will be extended and then I must change my approach. I need to set up some simple goals related to my daily and weekly activities for this renewed search. Previously I was not consistent. I tried hard for one day and then did nothing for several days. It would be better to do a little every day.

I had much reluctance to call apartment complexes. But toward the end I found it was easy to just send them an email. I can set a goal for daily email activities.

Previously when I got hits in Fort Worth or cities far from downtown Dallas I ignored them. I can email them during this next round.

What I am seeking is a one bedroom apartment that is in a safe neighborhood. My top priority is that it be quiet. Mostly what I will be doing is staying in the residence to read, write, pray and meditate. So I do not want to be around lots of children, loud parties, or highway noise.

I would not mind living in an apartment community that is for senior citizens. But that is not a high priority.

As I reflected on this complex mess here are some of my thoughts. A friend said that 1500 people move to DFW daily. That puts a huge demand on the housing market. North of downtown there are currently 5 huge cranes building massive high rise condos right next to others that are less than 3 years old. So it is a sellers market.

If I was in a city that was losing lots of residents in the Rust Belt then the voucher would be much easier to use and to find a great place to live.

My best guess is that there are about 9000 apartment complexes in DFW. It is my guess that maybe 1000 take vouchers. And of those most of them have waiting lists or are in high crime areas. I might be wrong.

As I explore options in Fort Worth, Lewisville, Duncanville, Rowlett and other places far from the hub of the DART train system there might be more vacancies.

I request your best prayers for God to guide and provide.

PUBLISHING

The rent at the shelter increased from 10 to 12 dollars per night. I am paid up until April 16 or Easter Sunday. My retirement income arrives on the fourth Wednesday. That is April 26 this month. So there is a 10 day gap to be filled by next week. Pray for God to guide me and provide that 120 dollar need.

What I can do during the next few days is to gather some of the articles I have written about prayer and put them into the format of a short ebook. I can offer that online for a donation.

Please pray for this to come together gracefully.