A Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day in Cape Town...about 75 degrees and sunny.  I think we'll head to the beach this afternoon.  We did end up buying that car I mentioned.  It doesn't have power steering or AC, but it is very clean and in good condition.  It was a staff friend's car, and he has maintained it very well.  Christian took me for a driving lesson yesterday morning in a neighborhood nearby.  I got in the driver's seat and thought "I can make it to the end of this street".  I found first gear and off I went...all the way home!  It turns out, driving wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!  I just kept thinking "left"...stay on the left side.  It was stressful and unnatural, but doable.:)  I was excited to have hurdled the obstacle I was most fearful of upon coming to South Africa!  Thank you for your prayers!  I'm still not jumping at the opportunity to get out and drive, but at least I know I'll be able to take Lily to school.
Speaking of, Lily starts Kindergarten next Wednesday, the 11th.  The same day that the rest of our Stint team arrives!  The school won't be open until that day, so it doesn't look like it will be possible for Lily to see her classroom and meet her teacher until then.  Please pray for peace in Lily's heart.  She gets anxious and fearful when she doesn't know what to expect.  If anything, we can go the first day, meet the teacher, see what it's like, and then leave and come back the next day for the first full day of school.  We'll see how it goes!
We made a South African friend!  Yesterday we were eating at a cafe nearby and I commented to this woman about her baby bijorn thing...it was a wide belt with this platform thing on the hip where you can carry a baby or the baby can stand up while you hold on to it.  It was really cool!  Anyway, it turns out she and her family just moved back to Cape Town from England, and she used to work as a personal assistant for one of the national Campus Crusade staff in England!  Small world!  She has a daughter that is 4yrs, and a son that is 7 months, and invited Shannon and I to meet up and let the kids play sometime.  She and her family lived in England for 11years, and just moved 3 weeks ago, so we are in the same boat in many ways.  I'm excited to get to know her!  Oh!  And, we also sat down by at the same table as a pastor, and visited with him at lunch.  God is so good!
I've been learning different words that are used here.   Here are a few:
Refuse (SA)= trash (America)
Napkin (SA)= diaper (America)
Serviette (SA)= napkin (America)
Petrol (SA)= gasoline (America)
The expression "shame" is used like we would say "Oh no" or "Oh wow!"
Night frill (SA)= a bed skirt
Robot (SA)= traffic light
We've been learning that you tip 10% at a restaurant, and a few rand (some change) for people who stand along the streets to "watch" your parked car while you are gone.  It seems these parking attendants are self assigned to areas, but are trying to make a living.
The more I learn about Cape Town, the more I come to realize how popular shopping is here!  There are HUGE malls, and a lot of nice shopping centers.
We also discovered that there is a mountain biking trail right from where we live!  Christian hasn't found a good, affordable bike yet, but when he does, this will be his highlight I'm sure!  And it sounds like there is a mountain biking club on campus, which would be a great way to meet students.
Life is calming down a bit, as we are feeling more comfortable each day.  If you think about it, here are some things we could use prayer for:
~Pray for Tyler and Shannon to find a good car, from a reliable source at an affordable price
~Pray for housing (2 apartments) for our 4 Stinters arriving next week
~Pray for peace in Lily's heart and mind as she starts school next week
~Pray we would be able to get wireless internet hooked up this week

Thank you for your prayers!