Trust without Borders

We have only been in Redding for 12 days and yet we feel totally at home here. Its amazing how quickly roots can grow in the right soil.

Hello Redding....

The day after we landed in San Francisco, we rented a car and drove to Redding. It is such a beautiful drive and we drank in every mile. Driving on the other side of the road took some getting used to, especially amongst the massive trucks and pick ups. (South Africans: you think a Prado or double cab is big? You should see the monsters on these roads! My Hat! I swear they growl at you when you pass them.)
We arrived in Redding and drove straight to our apartment complex. We opened our car doors and BAM! The heat hit us like a brick wall. The car thermometre read 110 degrees Fahrenheit (around 40 degrees Celsius).  We were given our keys and we were greeted by our clean and perfect little apartment with new carpets and new appliances. We took a deep breath... this is our home! Then ran upstairs to turn the central air con on.

We arrived at 3pm and by 6pm we had all our furniture in our home. People we hadn't met before; but who had heard we were coming; helped us move all our stuff in. We were given almost everything! Sheets; towels; a couch and coffee table; a cot; a bed; duvets; a dining room suite; more toys than Amy and Katie know what to do with AND a whole kitchen of appliances, cutlery and crockery - even cookie cutters!! And as if that wasn't amazing enough, our new friends gave us a home cooked meal to enjoy that evening. Pete and I sat at our dining room table, eating the delicious meal and looked at our instant home in wonder..."How did this all happen? And why was it so easy?"
Before we left South Africa I had really been praying and asking God for an apartment and a bed for Amy and Katie within the first 2 days of our arrival in Redding. I didn't even think it was possible to arrive in a foreign country and have everything we needed in one afternoon! The funny thing is that some of the stuff we have been given here is BETTER than what we had at home.
I shouldn't be so surprised because God, You are SO good!

It took a few days for the jet lag to wear off and by the weekend we were somewhat familiar with our location and surroundings. We have set up a bank account, got cell phone contracts, put Amy into Bethel Pre School and are currently looking for a car. Pete starts school in September and I have registered for a ladies group and a few other courses the church offer during the evenings.
We are just loving our little home and we have all adapted so well. We even have some daily entertainment: there is a man that walks around the apartment complex all day and each time he does a round he wears a different hat. His hats are amazing and so creative. He has a gold Aladdin turban, a joker hat, a hat with a parrot on and one hat even has a poodle on it. He also has a green radio around his neck and walks while listening to music. Every 2 hours or so he walks past our window and we all run to see what hat he is wearing. Its such fun and Amy thinks its the best thing ever. :) Poor dude is probably thinking we are the crazy ones. (chuckle)
Grocery shopping is an adventure in itself, the variety is unbelievable and everything is bigger - gallon  milk jugs, longer loaves of bread, bigger bags of chips, shinier apples and yellower bananas. My eyes were like saucers on our first grocery shop.

Sunday morning arrived and we all got dressed up for our first church service at Bethel. During worship it hit me, "We are here. We made it." I actually got on my knees and burst into tears. My heart felt so blessed and overjoyed. It is such a privilege to be involved and to be taking part in a culture and a church that has understood the Kingdom of God. Since the day we arrived we have felt that culture through the love and support of new friends and the people we have met here. They certainly have something right!

Trust without Borders...

I have been listening to a song by United Live called "Oceans". The lyrics of this song are amazing and it honestly is the cry of my heart. Its scary to take a step out onto unknown waters. But throughout this journey I am beginning to realise that when He call your name, you cant help but respond. When He calls, He sustains and you find out who you are meant to be and what you have been created for. We have been designed to trust in His love and to rely on Him, we weren't meant to be independent; we weren't meant to do life all on our own. Sure it takes guts to make that step, but looking back now, we were actually carried the whole way :)
We have never felt so alive. There is something about taking risks, making that jump and finally finding out that the dream you've had in your heart for so long is a possibility.

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet will ever wander, that my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my saviour..."

We have arrived!! Half dead and fully alive!

The last few weeks in South Africa....

Packing and moving home was harder than I thought and by the end of it our minds were frazzled. We had to think of everything - what to store, what to take with, and what to live in for the 2 weeks before we leave. Pete was a machine!!! He moved everything with the help of one man. We have stored our boxes along one wall of Pete's parents garage and organised it so that their 2 cars can still fit in. Pretty impressive if you ask me and a huge saving in storage costs (thanks mom and dad!)
After packing up and moving out, Pete and I felt exhausted. We drove to Joburg to stay with my mum and dad for a few nights and that was a very good time for us to rest up and prepare for the emotional goodbyes that lay ahead

The flight...

The 12th of August kind of snuck up on us, we were at the airport and then we were flying and now we are here. We left on the Durban to Dubai flight at 6:40pm South African time and had bulkhead seats - lots of leg room. I gave Katie some mooti to help her sleep on the flight (I had tried and tested the mooti before flying). But as we took off, she lost it!! We were the passengers that people wished they didn't have to sit next to! Katie got a bit delirious and was crying her lungs out. I got totally stressed and started furiously praying in tongues. After about an hour she passed out! I carefully lay her on the floor in front of us and breathed a sigh of relief. As dinner was served the air hostess told us that a baby on the floor is unacceptable and could we please carry her. I had tried to hide her under a blanket but her feet were sticking out and she was spotted, oh well! As I scooped her up she opened her eyes and, BING!, that was her sleep over!!! (grrrrr) Amy was amazing. She loved the fact that she had her own seat and her own TV screen. She watched movies, ate her supper and fell asleep. We landed in Dubai at 3am (South African time) and had a 3 hour lay over. Dubai was buzzing and we were totally overwhelmed by all the shops and people. We washed our faces, brushed our teeth, changed our clothes and took a deep breath before we boarded our long flight from Dubai to San Francisco; 16 hours.

The flight was packed and we sat in a row of three seats near the back of the aircraft. The plane flew straight up past Russia; over the North Pole (which was the half way mark and such a beautiful sight from 32000 feet); down over Canada and to San Fran. We worked out that we left Dubai on Tuesday at 6am South African time and landed at midnight that night. Thats long man! The girls were so good. They both slept on and off and Amy stayed in her seat the entire flight playing games and watching movies. Katie wasn't allowed to crawl in the aisles so in between her naps we were taking turns to walk with her and entertain her.
At one point on the flight, Pete and I looked at each other and thought, "How did we get here and what are we doing???" I think that was the moment where it all truly hit us. We actually got quite emotional about it and had a little cry. But when we landed and we saw that American flag and were greeted by all the custom officials I got butterflies in my tummy.

We did it and we are here...

The one thing we were worried about when we got to San fran was how we were going to get out of the airport with 7 massive bags of luggage, a car seat, 2 carry on bags and 2 very tired girls. As I said earlier, we landed in San Francisco at midnight South African time and it was 1pm American time. So we had to wake both girls from a very deep sleep and take them through a very busy airport. Amy cracked at that point and was in tears from exhaustion. So there we were, Pete pushing two trolleys full of luggage and me with one girl on each hip. We sailed through customs and the customs official chatted to us and said he has a friend who has just qualified from Bethel School of ministry. He was so kind and could see we looked shattered so offered to push one trolley through to the shuttle service outside of the airport. People must have thought we were pretty important as we walked side by side through the airport with a custom official in full uniform :) Praise God for the right people at the right time. We hopped onto our shuttle, got to the Hotel, all had a good bath and fell asleep at 5pm.

Redding, here we come...

At the moment Pete is at the airport collecting our rental car, and off we go on a 4 hour road trip to Redding. We are going straight to our apartment and a friend has very kindly offered to help us move some beds in and a few other things so we can sleep and set up our home.

South Africa, we miss you and all the beauty, family and friendship we have there. You are irreplaceable.

America, we love you and we are ready to embrace the different culture and add our flavour :)

Lord, Thank You for Your grace and protection. Here we are, we came; like You asked us to; and we are ready....