It is no surprise that living and serving the Lord in a foreign country, especially in the beginning does have “down sides”. But I must admit that there are “up sides” as well. For instance, we have had the privilege of seeing many beautiful sights and experiencing special things in our 26 years of ministry. We were blessed this past weekend to enjoy the beauty of the Indian Ocean that is just under 200 kilometers from where we are currently living (approximately 124 miles for our friends in the USA). We had not been out of the city since our arrival about ten weeks prior until we received a last minute invitation to accompany our co-workers, Pete and Charity with their three kids to the beach for the weekend. It took us about two and a half hours on mostly asphalted road to get there. Our accommodations were modest yet adequate and best of all very close to the beach. I am pretty sure I have never been in such clear blue ocean water or walked in such fine white sand before. What a beautiful setting to get a little R & R from the city and enjoy great fellowship with our co-workers. Spending time at the ocean always seems to draw my attention to our powerful Creator God; everything from the mighty ocean itself to the many beautiful sea creatures and especially the beautiful sunrises. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and came back on Monday, a holiday here, refreshed and grateful for the Lord’s goodness in allowing us to enjoy a special “perk” of serving Him here in Southeast Africa. Thanks Pete and Charity for letting us “tag” along.