Made it to Africa!

Wow! Every morning we wake up we think, "Are we really in Africa? Wow, that was fast!"  Thank you so much for your prayers.  Our flights went SO well.  Thank you for the time and love you put into asking God to give us His traveling mercies.  No one got sick.  The girls slept A LOT. It was just perfect!

First things first: here we are at Chicago, O'Hare.  Packed up all our favorite and most necessary items into 14 bags, 5 carry-ons, and 5 back packs.  Robb and I wore 2 back packs each, pulled 2 carry-ons each, and rock and rolled all the way to Africa!

Our first flight was to Washington D.C. So far, so good.  :)

I have to say, A.J. in her pink-head-to-toe outfit was just cuteness to the max.  She worked her magic and received many smiles and compliments on her blinking pink cowgirl hat.

Seeing our plane definitely made my stomach flip. This is really happening!  We braced ourselves for the 18 hours ahead and got on the plane.

It was a great flight! Robb and I had time in the Word, read our books about South Africa and even studied some Afrikaans and Zulu. Thank you Lord!

We made it! We landed in Johannesburg, South Africa around dinner time the following day. It was surreal to say the least.

A few days later God gave us this truck! It was significantly cheaper then we budgeted and, well, it's just so cool!  It's a Land Rover 110 Defender and we affectionately call it our "Landy" just like the locals.  Not only can this haul a ton of aid and relief, but it can fit a lot of people.  We hope that someday you can join us in the Lord's work here and take a spin in our Landy serving the people of South Africa.

The Lord has given us a contract on a rental home, and though it needs a little work, this home is AMAZING!  It has tons of space, an amazing back yard and loads of space!  This is another great gift from the Lord as we see this home is just perfect to house mission teams visiting and serving with us (hint hint). The owners are actually missionaries themselves!  They are the dearest Christians and we thank God for them.  They have lowered our rent since we are missionaries--in fact, they prayed specifically for missionaries to rent from them as they view this home as God's house and they want missionaries to be blessed and be a blessing in this home.  We are so thankful!  If it is the Lord's will, we hope to move in by the end of September. Would you pray with us to that end?

We have really enjoyed being here so far but our heads are spinning!  There are so many languages being spoken around us and there seems to be 2 cultures here which makes it a little more to absorb and make sense of.  Everyone we have met has been so kind and warm.  We've enjoyed putting some of our basic language skills to the test and can't wait to learn more!  Thank the Lord that nearly everyone speaks English as well as their own language and most often another language as well. The people are amazing here!

We have been thankful for the little Chinese we know so that we can speak in code when we talk about money or something we aren't sure we should say in public as there is a high crime rate.  We even speak to the girls in Chinese for urgent safety precautions, how handy is that? 

We are anxious to get into our home and settle. But we are so grateful for the Lord's tender care of our weary hearts. He truly is the Good Shepherd.  Please continue to lift us up as we have many decisions regarding repairs and purchases for our home.  We want to be good stewards of God's money.

We are praying for you and thanking God for you. May you hear His voice clearly and rest in His timing with whatever circumstances you face right now. The Lord bless you as you have blessed us. To God be the glory!

Much love,
Katie (and Robb)