HO published an international sitting to start on the 29th, I was the first to apply 8 days ago and he didn’t even see the application. Are you receiving messages and notifications correctly?
There are various glitches with the software. You could reach out to HQ on the chatbot and ask for a human and see if they can help/enlighten you @cisuperci #timeisoftheessence
As the sit starts so soon, the HO could have found a friend or family member to take the sit, and forgot to cancel and check on their listing. Happens sometimes.
I notice you only joined the forum 4 days ago, so just in case you are new to THS:-
You mention you were the first to apply, which implies there were others that applied afterwards, so he may have simply decided one of the others were better, without looking at your application. Also, he may be chatting to sitter that has sat for him in the past, as that happens sometimes, without a formal application until everything is agreed.