Once we had found where we wanted to live, all we had to do was find someone to sell it to us. As soon as we got home Moe got on line and looked up the county records, which listed the owners of each parcel. He started at the top of the list and began calling people. When he got someone to answer he said, “I see you own property west of Snowflake up by Freeman Hollow Road. Would you by any chance be interested in selling?”
I thought he was kind of crazy, until the third man he talked to.
“I told myself if anyone ever offered to buy my land, I'd sell it to them for $50,000,” this fellow told Moe. “My mother gave me the property years ago, but the high altitude is bad for my health, so I can't get up there.”
“We want to buy it,” Moe told him immediately. $50,000 was amazing! We had called the number on the for sale sign we saw at the bottom of Malapai Road. The wife had told us she thought her husband wanted $90,000 for their five acres, but later when we talked to him he said he wanted $150,000, and that was at the bottom of the hill, without a view. It was hard to be sure, but looking at the parcel map Moe had downloaded, it appeared that the five acres we had found by calling was on top of the hill. Now, all we needed was money.
I had lived in our double home in Gilbert with mom and dad for seventeen years, paying rent to cover their taxes and utilities. “I'm going to give you $100,000 when the house sells,” dad had assured us when he put it on the market. “You'll need a down payment, and you deserve something for all the work you've done over these many years.” I was floored, and grateful to my generous father. The question now was, when would that be?
“Don't worry, you can live with us when the house sells,” dad had assured me when I worried where we would live until we found someplace else, “at least while you build your own home.” Interestingly enough, the same week we found the land, interest began picking up for the Gilbert house. Maybe we could move up to Snowflake that summer, after all, and the girls could start school up there.
We drove to Snowflake that weekend to see the land we'd found. I couldn't have been more pleased. It was on top of the hill with a beautiful view of the White Mountains in the far south eastern distance and a lovely view of the Snowflake Temple below us to the north east. It was perfect! When we got home Moe called the owner to see if he would take $5,000 down, then hold it until we could pay the rest.
“No problem,” he told Moe pleasantly. “I'd be happy to hold it as long as you want. I'm in no hurry, so whenever your house sells will be fine.” And just like that, we had a place to build in Snowflake!
Then things began to go crazy. People made proposals on the Gilbert house, other people said they were interested, and dad went back and forth between Gilbert and Snowflake while I tried to keep the house clean all the time so potential buyers could walk through. Life became a roller-coaster ride, up one day, down the next. I tried not to complain, but jeesh!
Thank goodness the last Harry Potter book, “The Deathly Hallows” was published that summer. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, and having something to take my mind off worrying was a real blessing.
Then, one Sunday near the end of July, a dear friend of mine spoke in church. She and her family had lived at on our street for five years, and were now being transferred to Ohio. Karen based her talk on a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 123, verse 17.
“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”
It felt like an electric shock went through me when she read that scripture. It was like I could hear the Lord talking to me, telling me that he loved me, and assuring me that everything was going to be OK. I just needed to cheerfully do what I could, then let Him take care of the rest of it. What peace that brought me, and how happy I was, at least for a few days.
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