Fun Facts about South Africa-Christina

1. They use Ran instead of dollars. 10 Ran equals $1.00.
2. People there, drive on the left side of the road.
3. The time difference is 8 hours ahead. If it were 9am in Kansas, it would be 5pm there.
4. The school that I am attending is called, The American International School of Johannesburg.
5. 40% of the kids at my new school are American, everyone else is from around the world.
6. It is illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving a car.

I am really excited about moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, but am really sad to be leaving my Kansas friends. I am also sad about loosing my 3 year old, aquatic pet frog, "Bubbles". I gave Bubbles to my class as a "class pet" because I could not take him with me, and he recently died in the classroom.

I have been spending lots of time with my friends, saying my goodbyes. I had fun at the Great Wolf Lodge for a Girl Scout Bronze award celebration. I look forward to my next blog post, and sharing more fun facts about South Africa.

Christina

Stan's return

Stan returns tomorrow from South Africa and we are all so excited. Stan is a very "hands on" husband and father and we love and miss him so much. When he is away, we realize again and again how much we depend on him for so much beyond his love and care for his family. We praise God for our father in heaven who continues to care for us and show us His blessings regardless of what happens. Since Stan has been gone:

* Both myself and the kids have been sick with sore throats, sinus and ear infections. The blessing: Noone was sick at the same time, friends have been there to help out when we most needed them. We each took turns caring for each other.
* Soon after Stan left, the toilet on the main floor decided to overflow onto the bathroom floor, hallway, laundry room, and basement floor. The blessing: We own a Shop and Vac and I was able to turn off the water, suck it up, and fix the toilet as well as drill holes in the venting system in the basement (although, Stan had to direct me over the phone from SA while I was standing on the ladder with the drill). The blessing: a wonderful neighbor and friend came over to make sure all pilot lights were still on the furnaces and water heaters.
* Prepare for a medical procedure that required a complete body inner cleansing while still caring for the kids. The blessing: A dear friend took me for the procedure, waited for me, took me home and sat with me for 2 more hours to make sure that I did not do anything silly like pass out, trip and fall, or sign some binding legal agreement. :). The results of the procedure came out "all clear". Friends also helped get the kids where they needed to go, since I could not drive for almost 2 days.
* Call and coordinate with roofing vendors, contractors, etc. Blessing: Lots of phone conversations with Stan from SA using his international cell phone that his company provided. Stan would help me speak to these vendors in an intelligent way, so "they" thought I knew what I was talking about. We just thought we would have a new roof put on house before we left for SA. Really, it is needed, just one more thing to add to the list as well as some house repairs.
* Christina's pet "Grow a Frog, Bubbles" decided after 3 years to die after she donated him to her classroom for a class pet. All the kids in her class had to see his demise as well. Blessing: Christina was able to grieve not just her pet, but leaving a home and community that she dearly loves, and I got to hold her tight, while she did this.
* Angela tripped and slipped down the stairs in our home and hurt her back while producing a bruise and large lump. Blessing: I got to hold her tight until it started to feel better.
* In spite of all of the above, continue to pack and coordinate all the many details needed to leave the U.S. for 1 1/2 years. Blessing: Our God is a God of details and continues to be there every step of the way.

If you are looking for Christina's first blog entry, you will have to wait until Saturday, because of her "way too busy" social calendar. I assure you, it will be worth waiting for. Christina is an excellent writer and we are constantly amazed at her writing skills.

Flying on a jet plane!

Our flight reservations have been made. We leave the U.S. on Tuesday, 2/24/09. The kids' last day of school will be Monday, 2/23/09. Realty is setting in and we are really moving to South Africa! Christina will be doing a weekly "guest" post on Fridays, which we are declaring as officially, "Friday Fun Day". She will be sharing some "fun facts" about life in South Africa and many other "fun" things. Her first post will be this Friday, so look for it. Please feel free to share our blog with whoever may be interested in keeping up with our family adventures!

Prayer Requests for the Shilling Family

We would appreciate your prayers for our new adventure. We can see God's hand in this move and know that he will use our family in a mighty way, if we are willing. If you feel led to, please pray for the Shilling Family as follows:

* Protection for Stan as he travels back from South Africa on 1/31.
* Protection for our family until Stan returns.
* All the many details and paperwork relating to packing and moving to SA.
* Adjustment for Christina and Angela as they start their new school.
* Paulette as she learns to drive on the other side of the road.
* Patience for our family in SA as we adjust to a new slower culture and realize that everything is going to take a lot longer.
* Flexibility for Paulette as the family travels a lot more (Paulette is a homebody).
* Travel safety as the whole Shilling Family travels to their new home in SA.
* Finding a church in SA.
* Adjustment to our new neighborhood and future friendships wherever we may be.
* Spending time daily with the Lord, so that He can direct our paths.

More pictures of the house in Johannesburg, South Africa

The pool is heated by solar panels on the roof. Notice the bench under the bushes in the 1st picture. It is like a secret garden. We hope that you will all come and visit us while we are there, so we can share our home with you.

Why are we moving to Johannesburg, South Africa?

Many have asked, "why we are moving to Johannesburg, South Africa"? Stan had an amazing opportunity to work on the project to build one of the biggest coal power plants in the world., through the company that he works for now, Black and Veatch. We are probably going to be there at least 1-2 years and the girls will attend, The American International School of Johannesburg, www.aisj-jhb.com
Some good friends of ours will be living and caring for our home in Kansas. We will travel with only a few suitcases each and will leave everything else behind in Kansas. We will move into a furnished home that we will lease. Our house will be in the Kalayami Estates community in SA. http://www.kyalamiestates.co.za/ After we return to the U.S., we will move back into our home in Kansas, and pick up where we left off.

I hope that answers some of your questions. We are all excited to go on this adventure. We are calling it, "our 1 1/2 year vacation", since we will be doing a lot of sightseeing during Stan's time off from work. I hope that has helped explain some things to you!

Our house in Johannesburg, South Africa has been found!

Stan did a great job picking out a house for our family in Johannesburg, South Africa. How exciting to actually see our house and imagine our family living in it. The kitchen has a scullery behind it, you can see part of it in the kitchen picture above. "What is a scullery", you ask? Don't worry, I asked the same question, so I have supplied a definition below.

scul·ler·y (skl-r) KEY NOUN: pl. scul·ler·ies
A small room adjoining a kitchen, in which dishwashing and other kitchen chores are done.

The scullery contains the washer/dryer, dishwasher, and sink. Dirty dishes are not left in the kitchen, but put in the scullery. I love that! I wonder if I should keep that door closed or better yet, find someone to wash those dishes. Hmmmmm.

My favorite parts of the house are the pool, outside patio area (next to the pool), a large balcony off of the master bedroom upstairs with an awesome view, a study with a fireplace next to the kitchen, the pond outside of the dining room's sliding glass doors, and the kitchen. I have to admit, I like the idea of a scullery too!

Check out the master bedroom's bathroom picture with both the toilet and the bidet. For those of you that do not know what a bidet is, see definition below. I have chosen to "sanitize" the definition a little to protect those that do not want to know. :)

bi·det (bē dā′, bi-)
noun
a low, bowl-shaped, porcelain bathroom fixture equipped with running water, used for bathing certain areas of your body.

There is a park across the street from our home, which the kids are really excited about. One of the kid's bedrooms has it's own balcony that connects to the bonus room's balcony and you can see the park from the balcony. The master bedroom balcony is a bit bigger and looks behind the house.

Now if I can just master driving on the opposite side of the road. More about that later. By the way, our tentitive move date is 2/20/09, but that can change, although, we do need to be out of our U.S. home by the end of February, when friends move in to care for it.

My first post!

I am finally posting to my first blog. How exciting. I look forward to sharing all of my adventures as we get ready to move to South Africa as well as when we arrive there.

We thank God for this wonderful adventure for our family and we are so excited about what is ahead. We are sad to leave behind so many wonderful relationships that we have made in Kansas, but know that we will return back to our home and continue where we left off, changed by our South African experiences just as we have been changed living in Saudi Arabia, North Carolina and Kansas.