Yes, we are here!!!!

Good afternoon to you all! I am sitting here at 12:45 am local time (4:45 for your central time zoners), ready for bed, but I wanted to let you all know that we are here safely. We arrived safe, sound and on time on Saturday. We stayed in Johannesburg, South Africa before heading out on the trek to Swaziland on Sunday morning. The drive was absolutely amazing! Any preconceived ideas that I had about Africa flew out the window. Johannesburg is a modern "Westernized" city with a very wide variety of people. We felt so welcome! As we began the drive out of town, it almost began to look like we had not left home -except for the fact that it was still very green and warm! The landscape turned to rolling fields of corn, wheat and beets. The further out you drove, however, you began to see the run down houses and the "squatter" towns. However, they were intermingled with the absolutely breathtaking beauty of the land surrounding them. As we drove into Swaziland, the change was even more dramatic going from fields, to hills, to a pine tree forest, to rocky mountains, valleys, lakes and streams. The dramatic change was also evident as we stopped to cross the border from South Africa into Swaziland. We were warned that if we needed to use the restroom, it would be wise to use the South Africa side, not the Swazi side. It was an incredible difference - moving from a mostly 1st world country immediately into a 3rd world country. The beauty remains the same - from the land to the people, but the circumstances, government and economy are a stark contrast. I cannot wait to tell you all about the experiences that we have had in the 2 1/2 days that we have been here, but I need to be awake to do so! So, we are off to bed, thank you all so much for your prayers, please continue to pray as we plan to go to the government hospital and orphange tomorrow. Love you all!