Tuesday

Hello friends and family!
It is mid-day on Tuesday, and Kieren is taking a nap giving us a few quiet minutes to update you. We wish you a belated Happy Halloween and hope you are enjoying some great candy stashes! Here they really don't celebrate the holiday. In the malls you saw a few places where you could get some Halloween stuff, but especially in the townships it is ignored and really considered something that worships or celebrates demonic things. They did have some 'festivals' this weekend, but nothing related to the holiday. We sure missed our candy corns – and how cute would Kieren have been as a fat pumpkin or something?? Our church had a 'bazaar' on the lawn which also happens to be our front yard, and they had a jumping castle, games, food, and booths selling small items. It was a great event to meet some people and enjoy the beautiful day. We walked to our community library which was so much fun and got our very own cards! You can get books, magazines, games, and dvds there, so we plan on visiting frequently. It's also just a nice thing to meet more people here and be among the community.
Sunday we visited our new church, Ocean View Methodist Church, for the first time. We were welcomed in and began the awkward process of meeting all our new family here and learning about this church. It honestly made me miss our church in Raleigh, Grace Community, and just how it feels to know everyone and what is going on. But I know this is a new season for us from God and we have to welcome it even when it feels uncomfortable. I went to a meeting of sorts last night at the church, it was some of the leaders and was supposed to be a bible study but ended up being a big discussion about some of the problems in the church. It was striking at how similar the issues are to what I have experienced at our church in Raleigh! I already love these leaders though because they are spunky and have a great attitude, and it looks like much of my work at the church will be helping to lead and raise them up. I am greatly looking forward to it, but again not sure how to start this process – it's just so new and so many new people! I would love prayers as I begin to wade into these new waters!
We are experiencing beautiful weather here right now and trying to enjoy it with walks and runs and sitting out on the lawn with Kieren. Summer is on the horizon and it feels great (don't mean to rub it in!). One strange thing about the weather is that many days it is unbelievably windy, where it can even be hard to walk around outside and the wind howls and beats on the house all night. It is hectic!
With lots of love,
Sarah