Pardon my lack of diligence towards my blog!  

All is well, but I didn't even realize how long it had been since my last update!  

It's been quite a busy few weeks, as Matt and I have been spending most of our free time working on the launch of our new youth environment, InsideOut.  We're very excited about this endeavor, but it takes quite a bit of time.  We're so lucky to have a brigade of volunteers who have helped us make this all possible.  Without them, we would probably be stuck back where we were when we started all of this.  

We have had lots of meetings this week with different groups of volunteers in an attempt to create a great culture in our ministry.  We had a meeting with what we have dubbed our "creative team".  Their job is to take whatever Matt wants to say and figure out cool, relevant, and memorable ways to convey those ideas.  Currently, we're doing a theme called "youtube live."  To get ready for our camp in 2 1/2 weeks, we're posting a series of youtube diaries.  They are quite funny.  Feel free to view our first one :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iShIvrKiPek

The house is kind of...as it will be...for a while.  I'm not expecting many changes to the decor for the next 5-6 months.  We're going for the simple look.  Matt and I would rather spend our extra money on fun dates.  We finally told ourselves a couple of weeks ago that we would go on our first official date since we've been married.  It was dinner and a movie...Primi for dinner and Star Trek for our movie.  And I must say, the doctor in Star Trek looks EXACTLY like my uncle Johnny in America.  Their resemblance was so striking that it was almost distracting for me in the movie!

And the last news is that Matt and I have officially bought our PLANE TICKETS to come visit America in December!  WOO HOO!!!  It certainly will be wonderful to visit everyone and celebrate Thanksgiving!  

Well, I've got to go!  It's Friday and there's still LOTS to do to be ready for Sunday morning!

~Rachel

Well, I guess it's' time to update again! 

Updates in the home...

On Monday, Matt and I finally put up curtains!  It's just nice to have curtains in two of our four rooms now.  Unfortunately, they were not the color or quality I wanted, but as I was fuming in Mr. Price Home, Matt and I decided it would be better to just be angry rather than be angry about it and guilty all at the same time if we paid more.  And for the record, I am beginning to get used to them, so my hatred towards them has mellowed to a mild discontentment.  I imagine I'll love them next week.  

Matt and I went on a ridiculous cooking spree this past weekend.  We cooked chicken, pepper, and pineapple curry (Anna, I don't know if pineapple is on your hate list for fruit, but I would highly recommend implementing it into your curry...it was yummy!), and we cooked this amazing chili.  Oh, but my fellow Americans, we did not use cow meat...we used ostrich meat.  You don't see that very often at the grocery store!  Then, Matt and I made homemade salsa AND homemade guacamole which was actually VERY VERY close, if not better than my favorite guacamole from Chipotle (Matt even told me it was the best guac he has ever eaten!).  

Matt and I also enjoyed a relaxing movie night where we watched Stranger Than Fiction (and if you haven't seen it, I would recommend it).  Matt and I both agreed that the movie is a good reminder to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.  

One of my favorite things that has been happening in the Hastings Home lately has been the wonderful conversations Matt and I have been having in the evening.  There is a brute yet relieving level of honesty that presents itself once married.  For many, I imagine this sort of honesty presents itself negatively, as couples yell, scream, and say things that hurt the other deep to the core.  Yet when used positively, it creates an atmosphere of honesty unlike any other.  It is an environment where you truly can say what is on your mind in a loving way that that is not driven by unbridled emotion, but rather by love and security in the permanence of that relationship.  It allows for the couple to get down to core issues and issues of the heart, something not always so easy when there is that fear that the relationship could dissolve at any moment.  These conversations have been an avenue for us to better love, serve, and encourage one another.  

Updates in visa world...

Well, Home Affairs FINALLY emailed me back, after a week, only to find out that I will not be able to apply for residency because you have to be married to a South African for a minimum of five years.  Well, we don't exactly make the cut, so it's back to applying for a relative's visa.  The good news is that the information that we have already accumulated for this is more than enough for what we need for the relative's permit.  So, we're well on our way to acquiring that.  

Book updates...

Matt is finishing up The Unlikely Disciple, which has been a pleasant read for the both of us.  I just finished up Created to be His Help Meet, which was a refreshing yet challenging book that offered a fresh and extremely conservative view on how to be a good wife, which healthily balances out some of the other books and ideologies to which I have been exposed.  Now, I am reading Simply Christian by N.T. Wright.  Although most conservative theologians initially denounced many of Wright's ideologies, I've found that many are now realizing that they "threw the baby out with the bath water" in their harsh assessment of Wright's work.  If read with a critical eye, always going back to Scripture, I think many would find Wright's apologetic for not only a God, but for Jesus being that manifestation of God, as a very convincing and provocative argument.  But then again, maybe that's just me.  I'm finding the book quite refreshing, though.  Think of it as a contemporary spin on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  In many ways, the book has centered my focus again and reminded me of why I do believe in what I'm doing and how I'm living.  I often find myself all to quickly plunging down the spiral of cynicism, wondering if what I believe, how I live, and in what I hope truly are valid.  For me, it's academics like Wright who God so poignantly uses to speak to my heart that refocus and revive my heart and spirit.  

I am now also in a book club!  We had our first session last night, and I'm thrilled for future sessions and to have the opportunity to read more books as time passes!  

Updates in ministry...

Matt and I are thrilled about a team of youth coming to Cape Town in July to help us re-launch our youth program here at Stellenberg!  We met the leaders of the team when we were in America, and we even had the opportunity to briefly become acquainted with the youth that are coming in July.  It is an awesome group from what I've seen.  We are in the process of planning out just what their week here in Cape Town will look like.  It has been a fun process that Matt and I have had the blessing of experiencing together!  

KidStuf is this Sunday and I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with Rachel and the dancers.  It was so much fun, and I can't wait to see how they do with their new dance this Sunday! 

Well, that's all for now!  Hope everyone in America is enjoying the warm weather!!!!

Things I like about South Africa

Rachel here.  There have been quite a few... "difficult" adjustments that I have had to make with my move, but today, I'd like to take a bit of time to tell you about some of the wonderful luxuries of South Africa (all the more reason to visit, right?) 

1)The movie theatre experience.  For one,  movies cost about thirty rand, which equates to about $3.50 in American dollars.  It's a much more realistic pastime here than the 15-20 dollars you inevitably spend for a ticket, popcorn, and drink.  The icing on the cake, though, is this beautiful little concept they have here called reserved seating.  Essentially, you go up to the little computer kiosk and reserve not only your ticket in advance, but the actual seat in which you will sit!  It's like going to watch a play and having assigned seats!  Then, you can just waltz on into your movie five minutes before it starts because you've already reserved your seat!  

2)The public restrooms.  I'm not saying that all public restrooms in America are bad, but I've realized just how much I hate them since I've been here.  Every time we're out somewhere, I always sort of mentally brace myself for the filth and mire I'm about to encounter, only to find that they're clean...very clean!  I can feel myself tensing up at each bathroom trip, only to find that I had no need to do so!  I started wondering why I was prematurely reacting this way, and I've come to realize that it's because I've made a habit of doing that in America...and rightly so...because oftentimes, public restrooms in America are just disgusting.  When I was at the mall the other day, there was actually a lady cleaning the bathroom while I was in there.  Not like with a gross mop and murky water.  She was cleaning the sink and wiping up the excess water...doing all the little things that make the bathroom experience GREAT!  Now, as far as the actual toilet goes, I'm a bigger fan of American toilets than the ones here, but the public restroom experience here has been much more enjoyable than most in America.  

3)Last, but certainly not least, is Butler's Pizza.  It's essentially the price you would pay for Pizza Hut or Dominoes.  It's fast food pizza...but it tastes like heaven in your mouth.  I'm a huge fan of the Thai chicken pizza.  I can eat an entire medium pizza by myself.  The medium isn't the biggest medium I've ever seen, but it's still a pretty hefty dinner, if you ask me.  They have amazing topping choices at Butlers, one being something called a "peppadew", or at Butler's, endearingly titled, the "Butlerito."  As far as I know, peppadews do not exist in America yet, because they only native to South Africa.  Basically, they are these little chili peppers that are sweet.  They are D-elicious!  So, the Butler's Experience (as I'd like to call it) is the following: You call and order from a delightful array of choices on their menu, they deliver it to you, the delivery boy has on a bow tie and a cummerbund (it is Butler's after all), you pay the pizza boy your 100 rand for your two medium pizzas (about 10 dollars, tip included), and then you open the box and stuff down delicious goodness into your face as fast as humanly possible.  Fast food pizza in South Africa beats America's fast food pizza any day, hands down.  

I promise to all those who visit, I will facilitate all three of these experiences for you so you can enjoy some of the many luxuries of South Africa!

Reception number 4

Well, there's officially no more celebration of our marriage!  We had our last celebration at Stellenberg (our church) on Sunday afternoon!  It was a little different than the previous ones, but rest assured, the same spirit was shared in that one as in all of the other ones.  It was interesting to read our vows yet again.  It's funny because during this reading, I found that there were quite a few spots where I'd seen I'd already fallen short.  But on the bright side, I am already blessed to have wonderful memories attached on both sides of how we have kept our vows.  

It's amazing to think that this Friday we will have been married for a month!  It has been quite a month, with lots of traveling, etc.  and it's nice to finally be getting settled down.  

I just wrote my best friend in America,  Erica, about a verse that we both have taken solace in, and I wanted to share it with the rest of you.  "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.  I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.  I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me."  ~Psalm 3:3-5

According to the information above the Psalm, David wrote this when he fled from Absalom, his son.  I can't imagine being in the position David was in.  Lot's of uncertainty and very few people on which he could rely.  His own son was trying to pull off a military coup!  Well...my situation can hardly be compared, but sometimes it is difficult because I feel like my situation has lots of uncertainty with it.  That Psalm really encouraged me because it reminded me that each day, God gives us the strength to make it through the situation which he has ordained for us.  With that mindset, I have been able to make more of each day, enjoying smaller activities such as cleaning, reading, and setting up our house. 

Being in unfamiliar territory for the long haul can bring out the worst in a person.  I found that I have quite an impatient streak when I took my last trip to Boardmans.  For those of you who don't know, Boardmans is an upscale kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, decor store.  It's similar to like Pier 1 or something like that.  Well, I had a lot of trouble keeping my cool when I got what I felt to be below adequate customer service.  I had to leave the store and let Matt finish the transaction by himself!  I didn't know I could get so frustrated at something so simple!  

Last night, Matt and I were in the middle of a rather serious prayer when we heard water spilling onto our kitchen floor.  We rushed in only to find that our draining pipe on our washing machine did not drain, and it was draining onto the floor.  Now, we have the pipe sitting in our sink, when we wash clothes.  The washing machine has been quite an issue....two days ago, we broke a part on it and had to wash a load of clothes by hand in the bath tub.  I never knew wringing out wet clothes could be so tiresome!  

Well...that's about it for now.  Matt has been super busy trying to catch up on his work after being sick this past weekend...I'm sure we'll get a blog post out of him some time soon :)

~Rachel

I can only imagine Pam last night...

You know, you cannot just start a season of a TV show and not finish it out.  Matt and I were overjoyed to find that we are able to watch the performances of American Idol online.  Many of the television show websites do not work in SA that work in America.  So...although we were going to wait and watch it at his aunt's house, I was just too impatient so we watched it on his computer.  Of course, Adam was PHENOMENAL!!!  And then there was Danny, who wasn't bad.  But Kris Allen!?!?  WHAT?!?!?!?!  

I can only imagine my mother, a die-hard Allen fan, jumping for joy last night, as he made it to the final two.  NO ONE saw that one coming.  But I must admit, he did quite an interesting rendition of Heartless.  I couldn't help but reminisce of times where my old roommate, Anna, and I used to have dance parties in our lounge, that song being one of our favorites on our play list.  

A few more updates.  Two days ago, I decided it was time for me to jump out of my comfort zone and go driving!  Obviously, this is quite an interesting experience due to the fact that they drive on the opposite side of the road here.  I drove from the church to Matt's parents' house, then from their house to our apartment.  It is not uncommon to see the windshield wipers going when I'm driving, even if it is a bright, sunny day, due to the fact that the turn signal and the wiper knobs are switched.  For those of you who know about my desire to have incredibly ripped biceps, driving is a wonderful way to get my arms in shape, as Matt's car lacks power steering.  It is quite a sight to see me trying to turn the wheel!

Learning to be a wife can be hard, especially when you are both the nurse and the culprit for sickness.  I may or may not have made Matt sick.  So, as I nurse his tummy ache back to health, I can't help but wonder...'I'm the only one who is cooking for him, so the choices for culprits are few...and it's probably me.'  So, my guess is that it was the soup that I made, and while we have leftovers, I'm not going to give it a second chance to find out if that was it.

Well, that's about it for now!  Will write more later!  

~Rachel

Welcome!

Welcome everyone to our blog!

We hope that this can be a way that our friends all around the world can keep up with the happenings in our lives!  

This is Rachel writing right now, but we'll both be posting here.  I'm sure that the majority of the posts will be from me, though, because just as I have more words than Matt when I speak, I also have more words when I write :) 

Anyway, we are officially here, in Cape Town and we're in the process of making our apartment (or "flat" as they call it in SA), a little more enjoyable.  Currently, it's pretty much just the bare minimum...but with each passing day, we are getting more and more things squared away.  

I had my first trip to the grocery store!  It was very good, except I had to get over the fact that Mexican food is sparse and the little bit they do have is rather expensive.  I looked and looked for a can of black beans, but they were nowhere to be found :(  But I still managed to get quite a good array of food.  And I can't completely be negative about the grocery store experience...there were quite a few positives.  For example...when's the last time you've bought an avocado for 30 cents?  Or a pineapple for a dollar?  Yeah...never in America!  But yes, it's all rather cheap here!  Another random fact...you have to pay for your plastic bags at the grocery store, so it's a good idea to bring your own!  I thought that was kinda cool.

Anyway...that's about all the happenings on this side of the pond.  I promise to blog the excitement as it comes...and I promise to make it an engaging read for you, as well.  I just wanted to start the blog and I was too excited to worry about how enjoyable this post was to read...it's really just word vomit, so don't read it as anything more than that.  But anyway...more to come!  I miss everyone much and I think of you all often!