It's all coming together

Praise God that He is in control of even the smallest of details!
Our shipping container arrived yesterday and so many little details needed to fall into place. Because of the steepness of our driveway, the container had to stay up on the road 300-400m from our house. Because of a 90 degree angle into our private drive and a ditch in the middle of the angle, most trucks couldn't manage and a trailer wouldn't work. It was suggested to call Wiseman, a fellow missionary's gardener, and see if he could come out with 10 other men. He said that he though he could do that.
The next concern was the weather. It had been raining a lot and wet pavement would make carrying our stuff down the hill impossible! But morning came with beautiful warm skies. The men showed up early and the container came on time (all quite variable here in Africa). The men worked diligently moving our belongings down that horrible hill!
We provided lunch and have learned that it is customary to send them home with what is left. So, one went home with the bread, another with a bag of chips and so on.
We had promised each of the workers R50, but gave R70 (about $10) and gave Wiseman a little extra for organizing it all.
What a huge praise to have everything unloaded and safely in our home. Now begins the huge process of unpacking! I've almost forgotten what is in all those boxes . . . it was over 2 months ago that we packed up!

Details, Details, Details

. . . and little details at that!
Praise God that the big things have been falling into place. People are offering guidance and Kyle is figuring out a lot of things as we go. It's been fun watching him enjoy the challenge of getting our family settled in a new country!
The shipping container is still in customs and we're not quite sure when that will get released, but it will give us time to figure out how to unload it! Our driveway is so steep and with a 90 degree turn, so there will need to be some creativity involved in getting our stuff down the hill and into the house.
Today the challenge at hand is ordering our big appliances and having them delivered. It shouldn't be too big of a problem, you just never know when they will actually be delivered.
I almost forgot . . . . yesterday, I drove for the first time (on the other side of the road). 25 minutes of Kyle clutching his armrests as I tried to stay on the "wrong" side of the road! It was so funny to watch me try to turn on my turning signal and instead turn on the wind shield wipers! We laughed the whole way there.

We've arrived!

Praise God for the ways He continually sustains us and moves in ways we can not see!
We are actually here in South Africa working hard to get settled. So far, the adjustments have gone well and we've felt comfortable with the tasks we've needed to accomplish.
Today was our first "family day" out on our own in South Africa. We drove downtown to an open market; shopped, played on the playground, the girls got their face painted and ate icecream! Next we purused the nearest shopping mall to see all the different kinds of stores and try out some lunch.
At 4pm our "Welcome party" started and all of our team members gathered for a time of fellowship. It was great to meet some new people and reconnect with some of them that we already knew. An incredible joy for me was to watch Abby make a special friend. Elli and Abby spent the whole evening walking around hand in hand. My heart was bursting for her . . . I knew she was so happy.