Yes, we arrived

Family and friends, yes (despite the delay in this posting) we have arrived here in Cape Town safely. Today is day 6, and we are finally feeling more "normal" and energetic and ready to start tackling all the various items on the to-do list. Of course the tension between being patient and being proactive continues to challenge us!

We have received a very warm welcome already from Fritz and his parents and a variety of new friends (who Fritz has introduced us to). Countless people have offered to help us out. Thankfully it is currently the mid-semester break, so the schedules are a bit more relaxed.

Yesterday we began the flat-hunting process, as Fritz has gathered a lot of options and we are now touring through them, trying to get a feel for the different neighborhoods and prioritize our needs. Obviously this is a very large city, so already we must make adjustments from our small-town Wheaton lifestyle (no more walking everywhere), and being challenged to be gracious with the adjustments. Yesterday we discovered that most places don't come with laundry facilities or a stove or a fridge!

Meanwhile, Jim is slowly going through the registration process as a new student, and Jul is slowly gaining courage in her job-search and beginning to make contacts at schools.

Once we get more settled we will post some photos. Though 'winter' here, it is beautiful! Already we have found a potential favorite cafe, complete with wireless internet, delicious muffins and coffee, and really good butternut stew (yesterday's lunch).

Byron's Wedding in Merida, Mexico

Byron Morris, an '01 classmate from Wheaton College, married Lauren Charruf in a beautiful ceremony last Saturday evening, conducted mostly in Spanish. Sadly, my high school Spanish skills utterly failed me in following along. No matter; it was a joy to be there for one of my great friends.


Sean Kelley, another friend of Byron's from Wheaton, and I sporting the traditional Mexican formal shirts the groomsmen wore on the wedding day.


On Friday some of the wedding party spent the day touring the Mayan ruins at Uxmal.

Since the wedding was at 7:30 that evening, I spent Saturday morning bumming around Merida. Pictured above was my breakfast: huevos con jabon, plus toast, coffee and juice.




A couple pictures of Merida's beautiful, old architecture.

Wacky Waco Visit

Katie, Lillian, and Kyle in front of their home in Waco. They live about a 20 min. bike-ride from the Baylor campus (when Kyle is biking in that crazy heat!). We were able to spend 9 days together.

Visiting the Cameron Park Zoo - what an excellent zoo! It is well laid-out and we were able to get quite close to the animals. The highlight was when Lillian roared at the brown bear.

Lillian, now 18 months, is better able to explore the playground equipment and go down the slide by herself. So far her favorite area is the swings. She also loves to run around on her tip-toes - and she hardly cries when she trips!

Rosa's Cafe - 3 tacos for $3.33 on Tuesdays. Delicious!! After this meal, we all went home and sat on the couch and groaned with satisfaction (while Lillian ran around the room entertaining us with her jabbering and giggling). No room in our stomachs even for Blue Bell ice cream (Kyle's favorite is lemon ice box pie; Jim likes chocolate brownie overload).


Isn't our niece adorable?!

One More Time in Durham

Dad and Jim prepare the kayak for a test "drive". We particularly enjoyed time at Jordan Lake and the quarry, as well as long walks through the neighborhood.



We even got to enjoy a Durham Bulls game with Pete (and attempted to whistle loudly with the aid of some grass). There were homeruns on the first and last plays of the game - Bulls win on a walk-off homer! Now that's satisfying.

Thanks, Mom and Dad! See you next time in the southern hemisphere!

The Decision: What's Next?

We are both excited to tell you all that Jim - newly graduated from Wheaton College Grad School with a Master's in Biblical Studies - has decided to enter the University of Cape Town as a student in the Master's of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Education program. The semester begins in July, so we will be flying out on June 26. Fortunately, we now have some contacts there (due to our trip last December), so we will have some people to greet us, host us, and help us get situated the first few weeks. We even have a free place to stay once we arrive until we find a flat (no more saying "apartment").

We are eager to see all that God has in store with this new adventure, and hope that we will be challenged and grown in new ways as we live and study in this place.