Wow, God moves fast!

Yesterday we got really good news! The church has been approved as a sponsor for religious workers! (There is a much more technical name for it but I don't have any idea what it is and I don't really care to find out this minute.) This means that after a little bit of paperwork we will be able to get our Religious Worker Visas very soon! This is great because it means we can do a few things like breathe easier and get more involved in the community than we have been able to so far. Today we went and watched some softball teams to see if it is something we'd like to do. I am going to do what I can to get on a team in the C league. It is the league most similar to what I've played in recent years. I'm not sure what will end up happening though because all the teams might be full already. Getting involved in this brings an interesting feeling of permanency that I haven't felt so far. Joining a team would make me feel more like I live here and I'm not just visiting. Which I think it would be a really healthy thing. Also, the main reason I want to join is to be surrounded by Australian people. Hopefully it can be an open door for showing people who God is. Please pray that if I get on a team I find people with open hearts. If it doesn't work out this year I have faith that God has something different in mind for me.
Anyway, we are officially living at the Marks' now. I am very grateful there are people so willing and open to house us for a while. It will be great to be able to stay here while they go to the states too. Hopefully I can get pictures up of the view we have here. It is amazing. Sammie and I went down to the beach for a bit after lunch and read and played a bit of frisbee. It was gorgeous here, in the mid 70's, and the best part is that it is only getting warmer! I also remembered to put on sunscreen today because I have noticed my cheeks getting a little rosier than I'd like them to be. That will be a daily routine around here for sure.
Last night we rode the ferry into Sydney which was really fun. We didn't have anything to do so we just walked to the opera house and took pictures, then walked through the botanical gardens a bit. There are these incredible trees here that look like they have saggy skin. Again, I hope to get pictures up soon because they are so great! It got dark and we walked over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The lights of the city were really pretty. I caught myself thinking, "One day I would really like to live near the ocean." Hello! What am I even doing here? Haha! It will sink in eventually I'm sure!

Prayers:
Visas
fundraising
softball situation
positive transition

Thanks!