And...here we are!

Ladies and Gents!

A quick update before we head off to bed...suffering a bit from jet lag.

We have made it! Our flights were great and very smooth with only very minor turbulence. Surprising (or not surprising) the worst flight was from Grand Rapids to Chicago. We sat on the plane waiting to take off for about 2 hours before we finally got off the ground. Praise God the only challenge so far has been navigating the South African streets...and driving on them as we have a manual transmission (haven't driven one in many years), and the drive on the left hand side of the road...quite weird! Oh yeah, and the toll roads aren't cheap...we dropped about $20 on our 4 hour road trip from Johannesburg to where we are now in Nelspruit, which is on the Eastern side of South Africa.

Some highlights so far:
-warm and beautiful weather...low 80's, partially cloudy, sunny!
-petting lion cubs and feeding giraffes at a small park
-eating zebra, kudu, impala, and crocodile at Carnivore restaurant (all were way delicious)
beast feast...eat your heart out! (for all you Overisel folks)
-the beautiful scenery on our way from Johannesburg to Nelspruit. Think Utah meets Iowa
meets Hawaii...if that makes any sense
-all the awkward moments due to us not being able to understand people with a thick accent
-finally meeting up with the Helms, the family we will be staying with in Xai-Xai
-a cold shower...it's pretty warm

Prayer requests:
-that we stay healthy!
-continue safety
-that we get some r&r time in Kruger National Park and see lots of animals
-that we are able to cross the border into Mozambique and make it to Xai-Xai without any
major hassles
-praise God for the amazing creation He has made! It is so amazing to see other places that are
just so blessed with natural beauty such as South Africa!
-Praise God for all of His many blessings to us thus far on our trip!

More updates to come in Xai-Xai...tomorrow we leave for our 3 day safari, then off to Xai-Xai.

God bless!!!