Just
in from an educational weekend in Durban, South Africa, buying a
quality used car shipped in from Japan. We have a friend here with a
connection on used cars brought in from Japan, and one of our donors
felt the Lord made it clear to them to bless us with a "dependable"
vehicle. The combination of the three, with the amazing Indian ocean,
made for a very exciting family get-a-way!

After spending time with us here in Swaziland, driving in the vans that
we limp around in, (the one we currently are driving was just rolled
and hasn't been fixed), and driving on the roads we have to be on almost
every day, they felt it very necessary to make sure that Lisa and the
kids had a secure car and one that had four-wheel drive. We found a great
car!

On
our hunt at "Tokyo Cars" in Durban we found an older Toyota Land
Cruiser with only 88 thousand Kilometers on it.

It fits the eight of us
pretty well and has an awesome push bar on the front end in case any
cows decide to take it on! It happens; just ask Jumbo...

We hope to have
the car shipped up next week. Another great family we have gotten to
know gave us their condo for the weekend, five minutes from the beach in a
very progressive area of Durban. We were able to get some serious beach
time, and despite the fear of sharks, the kids and I boogie boarded some
killer waves. (This is Noah and I discovering the depths of the Indian
ocean).

Now,
Durban has some of the most amazing beaches you can dream of, but it is
a dark place, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It also
has the largest population of Indians in the world outside of India and
is as diverse a place as we have ever visited.

Brand new malls, larger
then anything in America, sit right next to shanty towns where the poorest
of the poor live. The white South Afrikaans are still lingering from
the years of Apartheid, feeling superior. The

Indians manage and run
most retail centers and are methodically taking over.

And the true
Africans are still trying to find their place. It's all sad and amazing at the same time.

What an education our family is getting. At bible study this morning, I
think it was said best by Michael: "Sometimes it's really hard, Dad, but
we are living the dream!"