Once Upon a Romantic African Time...

Alrrright Hello At Last!! (Firstly excuse the format of this whole post...not sure what happened.. i blame everything on cockroaches these days so sorry about the non-feng shui feel of the whole set up but it wasn't my fault!)

Are you ready for this one...cause its a good one...edge of your plether computer chair kinda good one! Ha God is good! Take a break from safehouse seriousness for a moment and lets talk a little rrrromance update from me to you at long last!

Our rather long necked seventh Fast family member

Rick Fast giving the foreign Litchi fruit a Candian thumbs down

Tidal Pool "ing"

So...where shall I begin. Once upon a time there was The Most Beautiful Story Teller ever been told. He had a way of keeping the greatest secrets tucked deep down away in his heart, and at the last moment blossoming open the most exquisite of endings, or perhaps beginnings, one would never have imagined.

Alas...this particular tale involves a curly and might I say not so commonly cute Canadian lassy and a dark and handsome, though shorter of the tall, South African lad.
One not so normal October afternoon in the later of 2012, through the wind and wild waves of rainy Capetown winter, this new in town Canadian lassy at last found what she had been wondering around for at the local YWAM base, free internet connection. Little did she know, The Most Beautiful Story Teller had another 'connection' in mind that not so normal October day.
For across the well worn coffee table where the lassy intended to "focus on the family" and let them know she was safe across the sea, sat a curiously wonderful young man whom indeed immediately began to divide her attention from that day onwards. One minute turned into two, turned into a timeless
  buble of sly laughter and stories exchanged about plumbing to dreaming to back-up BackStreet Boy singing accusations.

Underneath the Almond Cherry Tree with My beautiful mama

All too quickly dinner came knocking and the buble had to burst, yet what now came forth was new, a friendship had birthed, destined for greatness, part of the most grand design unforseen by both lassy and lad. It was if they had met before...

Grandpa and his shark crazed boys

From this day onwards, these two could be seen strolling down the streets of Muizenberg munching on mangoes and speaking slowly of the sweet things of the Spirit at any old hour. Both entirely intrigued by the new worlds they found in one another, richness and poverty, faith and doubt, courage and comfort. Yet there was one wonderful similairty between the two that no matter how great the divide stretched, this stretched over and under and beneath their hearts; they had both been born of the same Father.

Oh "happy everyone on the same continent shot"

 (Though i assure you at this point, its a heavenly family heritage that makes this sister brother thing legite if you know what I mean) His love puts everything together.
 Anyways from  miracle lungs, to how to cook the juiciest african chicken fridays, to epic something something dance lessons, the lassy and lad became inseparable, a permanent bond of the best kind of friendship was slowly growing. A masterpiece of love was shaping out of those red African soils.
Thus a fortnight and then another year and couple months later...upon the arrival of Mama and Papa Lassy this sunny January summer, the young, and was it mentioned imeasurably ruddy and handsome Lad, gathered all his courage, tied it around his waist like a trusty piece of orange twine and asked to court the lady lassy at long last...
And what do you know? Sure enough, the richest of blessings have been granted from the fine parental pair and ...WHOOP THERE IT IS...Charlene Fast is totally the girlfriend of the one and only Mawande Mani of South Africa!

Ta daaaa....I think they are pretty happy...

Giddy up my friends and family, so apparently Jesus had a whole lot more than I bargained for up his sneaky sleeve upon my arrival on these shores than I had dreamt! Ive got a new partner in kingdom crime, in life, in love who makes me come alive to the plans of the Father and his beauty like Ive never understood. What more could a girl ask for? So the great news is we will be coming home in July so Mawande can finally meet all of you my dearest ones, have some hearty Mennonite harassment and send us back on our way six weeks later. How does that sound?
Ingenious Most Beautiful Story Teller indeed huh?!

Oh Mr Vince loving every moment with his Grandma indeed

Lindsey the Loveliest

So just to recap here a bit...my ever so gracious coleagues gave me three weeks off to have the most precious incrediable time possible time with my parents and my cousin Lindsey. Let me tell you, we randevued like Ive never randevued here in South Afirca before. I experianced more of this gorgeous land I live in during this time then I had in the last year and a half. I still have no way of expressing how honored I am to have these dear ones sacrifice so much to come and see and love this place and people I love so dearly.

One big colorful crazy happy family

God has a plan. Know that whatever situation you find yourself in, God has a plan. And it is undoubtedly great. Trust Him. As you have journed with me through some pretty shaky ground already, can you deny his faithfulness through it all?
Not I.
I pray not you.
Heb 10:23, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

Blessings of greatest sneakiest joy be found shaping its way into a most grateful smile on your lips as you recount the goodness of our God with me.

Love, Charlene