Birthdays!

We came back to a new season in Cape Town - and we've swimming the past six days! Celebrated both of our birthdays. The Petersons have been our family here, and Diana made us a delicious cake. We celebrated with them at the beach! And we got to go on a spontaneous retreat with to a time share with another couple from our life group. God is good.

Also, the church we've been attending here just celebrated ITS 30th birthday, and it was incredible to be in the service when they released a few hundred balloons! We were singing songs in various languages, the kids were dancing around, and no one was too cool to hit a balloon around - because if you didn't hit it, it would fall and hit you in the head! I got teary with anticipation for heaven.

There and Back Again

We have returned from New York City, where we celebrated Mark’s sister’s wedding. Julie and Benjy had a really fun Jewish wedding, and it was great to see a bit of Brooklyn and visit with family. It felt like we spent equal time traveling and being there, but it was worth it! Very memorable to walk down the streets in Brooklyn in a procession with great music leading the way. J

The week before that was spent mostly getting ready. Mark finished his classes, though he still has a paper to write. Everything worked out fine with my visa, even though it had expired and the extension hadn’t come through yet. We did hike “Devil’s Peak,” which is just behind University of Cape Town campus and are trying to figure out one last road trip adventure to see the country.

Hard to believe we have just about three weeks left here! I’m sure it will fly by. But we are so thankful for our nice little place here, the church we've been going to, the beautiful creation around us, and the nice weather. It's been a good place for us spiritually and relationally, largely because we have TIME.

hiking in spring!

If sunburn is a sign of summer, then it’s here! Mark and I both came home after a great hike with some tell-tale red skin. Apparently, the weather here is not as nice as local tour guides say – friends tell us there are 300 not-nice days between the rain and the wind. Last week, we had winds over 20mph for four days straight.

On a bit of a deeper level, Mark has turned in both of his post-graduate fellowship applications. Phew! Please pray “thy will be done” with us and also for peace for us.

The church we’ve been attending here, Jubilee, has been wonderful and I’m so thankful for our experience here. One of the music leaders is a black 20-something South African gal who is one of the top female Squash players in the world, and her voice is incredible! She led worship on Sunday (with kinda mohawk hair) and we both really enjoyed it. People have been super hospitable to us, and there are lots of opportunities, such as this coming Friday when Mark’s going to a talk about balancing life and work. Also, on Sunday after the Nairobi attack, the pastor encouraged the congregation to engage with Muslim neighbors getting to know them as people, and sharing Jesus with them.