Last Days in New Zealand

When I flew back into Auckland, I was picked up by my friend, Rosemary. She and I met when we were on the same cruise to Antarctica. I spent this weekend at her lovely home near the seaside. We've climbed to the top of Cornwall Park with amazing views of all sides of Auckland. Today we visited an underwater world place and saw penguins (she and I always seem to see penguins when we're together) and my favorite ... turtles. In fact, they were having a special exhibit on turtles this month. Tomorrow morning I'll be on a plane heading to Australia!

Five Stitches!

After all the hiking and climbing and rocks and windy paths, we finally took a break and walked in a peaceful park in the middle of Christchurch. Beautiful flowers (daffodils in September!) and tulips and nice grassy knolls. And what do I do ... I find a PVC pipe hole in the grass and step right in it. Ouch!! I really dug quite the gash into the back of my ankle. I was leaving drops of my DNA all the way to the information booth where they had a first aid kit. It was deep enough that Robyn thought we should go to her family doctor. He just happened to be coming back from a house call and took one look at it and knew I would need stitches and a tetanus shot. Thirty minutes later the wonderfully kind, gentle doctor had me all stitched back up again with an injection to boot! The best was yet to come. New Zealand almost totally pays for goofy foreigners when they have accidents. I ended up paying a total of $28!!! Now I walk with quite a limp but I'm so thankful nothing was broken, twisted or torn ... except some skin. Here's a pic of me being sown up. :)

Christchurch Day 2 & 3

I'm staying with the parents of one of my recruits from New Zealand. Tony and Robyn Posthuma are in the business of spoiling their visitors! I'm in a great room, being fed wonderful meals, and being shown this amazing island. On Tuesday, Robyn took me for a hike along the Port Hills. From there we could see the entire city of Christchurch as well as Lyttelton Harbor where the first settlers of New Zealand landed (at least for the South Island).

The next day, we picked up Lucrecia, a friend of the family who just arrived home from 8 months taking care of orphans in Uganda. She told us some amazing stories as we drove about 2 hours to Arthur's Pass. The streams were all swollen with winter free to run away now (if you can tell me who I'm quoting, extra bonus points for you). The waterfalls were amazing. We also went climbing among some uniquely shaped rocks at Castle Hill. From there we could see the field where the battle scenes for Narnia were filmed.

Christchurch

On Monday, I hopped on a plane and flew to Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. One should always ask for a window seat when flying in New Zealand. Here's a land shot as well as an aerial shot of the same mountain, Mt. Ruapehu, in Taupo.

Tauranga and Taupo

The bus drive from Auckland to Tauranga was beautiful! The rolling hills are a springtime green and dotted with baby lambs soaking in the sun. I continue to be blessed with amazing weather and loads of sun. When I arrived in Tauranga, I spent some time at the Bethlehem Tertiary Institute. Then an old friend picked me up. We spent the next day climbing a mountain in Tauranga and then going to visit the thermal pools in Rotorua (which always makes me chuckle because every time I say it, I think "Rotor Rooter.")

After Tauranga, I took another great bus drive to Taupo. An ELIC alumna, Alicia, met me. We drove up and into the mountains yesterday and hung out at a camp in the hills. The people here are so kind and generous. We had a relaxing day including a delicious dinner. After we came home last night, we put on our "togs" (swimming suits) and went to a nearby park. We tramped (hiked) through the dark with our torches (flashlights) until we came to a stream with a 4 foot tall waterfall. That waterfall was pouring hot water down into the stream. We sat near the stream and enjoyed hottub like temps. Outside it was so cold we could see our breath but we were warm and cozy in this thermal heated stream. It was quite the fun adventure. Once we got back to the car, we were just leaving the dark parking lot when we were pulled over by the police. I was worried that we may have been in the park after hours. But the police man smiled about our toweled heads and asked if we had gone swimming. Then he gave the driver a quick breathalizer test (no alcohol ... no worries) and we were on our way. Quite the adventurous night!

Auckland is Amazing

I am being spoiled by Grace (see pic ) and Amy. These two ladies didn't even know me before I arrived. We were connected by a mutual friend. Yet they have taken me into their home, fed me wonderful meals, driven me around, helped me go shopping, connected me with their church and many leaders, helped me understand how to market to Kiwis, and hooked me up with a tax expert so that I could understand how non-profits work in NZ. Grace even gave me a cell phone to use the entire time I've been here.

In this next picture, you can see me taking a morning walk at a beach about a mile from Grace's house. Absolutely beautiful! No surfing on those little

bity waves. But it was a change for me to see the sun rise instead of set on the water.

I'm actually at a new place now ... the original place I was going to stay at before Grace and Amy swept me away. The Hebron House is a home with 21 residents, most of whom are university students from around the world. We counted 7 nationalities last night and they were excited that I made the 8th. We had Chinese, Ethiopian, Korean, Japanese, Indian and of course, Kiwis! Last night was family night. We had a wonderful meal together and then we met in the great room to sing songs. Everyone grabbed a percussion instrument of some sort. We definitely made a joyful noise! Then I got to speak to them about all the ways God has blessed me. Of course, I could have spoken about that for hours, but I kept it down to a good 20 minutes. We went around the room and with each country they were from, I spoke about how I could see characteristics of God in their country. From the immensity of God shown in the numbers of China, to the preciseness of God shown in the Japanese culture. It was a great evening.

1st day in New Zealand

September 11th is the day to travel! I actually left LA on the 10th but arrived in Hong Kong on the 11th. That 15 hour flight was very empty. Three seats all to myself to sleep! From Hong Kong to Auckland, I actually had 4 seats to myself. I could stretch out completely! It was the longest day of flying and the most comfortable day (actually 3 days in a way) of flying I ever experienced!

Thankfully I was well rested when I arrived as we hit the ground running. My host was at the airport to greet me. We drove straight to the Hebron House where I would be staying. The Hebron House rents about 20 rooms to local college students as a ministry. When we arrived, we went immediately across the street to a Christian school. There we taught upperclassmen high schoolers about the 10/40 window.

After class, I took a wonderful shower and an equally wonderful nap. At 6:00, Grace and Amy picked me up. Such a God story. I recently recruited another Grace to go to Vietnam. This Grace is that Grace's friend. And she has set up a number of appointments and speaking engagements for me here in Auckland.

We drove to downtown Auckland to a beautiful old church. There we heard Paul Pruitt from OMF in Denver speak. I felt like I was back at home. Except the sermon was translated into Chinese as well. Then Grace and Amy and many of their friends and I all went out for Chinese food. Above is a picture of us eating and having a great time. Grace is to my left and Amy to my right.

We decided it would be better if I stayed with Grace and Amy for the weekend since everything I am doing this weekend is with them. So now I'm at their home. I had a great night's sleep. I took a walk this morning in the glorious sunshine. It's chilly here, but very nice!

Friends are truly a blessing from God. He decided to give me these 4 friends almost 20 years ago and I'm so very thankful! On Sunday we spent the day together shopping and having dinner, but what we were really doing was talking, telling stories, laughing, and making even more memories.

Deb's Wedding in Chicago

Chicago rolled out the most beautiful weather for Deb's wedding. She was a beautiful bride and Scott was a handsome, lucky man. :) Theirs was the 2nd wedding in the new chapel at the new Wheaton Bible Church. It was great to see the new building ... so different from the church I remembered during my grad school days. After the reception, we went to a beautiful park for pictures. Here's the bride, groom, and me on a very happy day!

Palm Springs, California for ELIC Teacher Training

There's a reason ELIC trains the teachers in the desert ... it's HOT! So hot that nobody in their right mind would spend money on a hotel to be here. Therefore, the hotels are amazingly cheap and wonderfully nice. I'm so thankful to have spent the last few days in Palm Springs seeing a well-qualified group of new teachers start their training. I've also been able to say many goodbyes as my days with ELIC are coming to a close.

In the picture are a few lovely ladies that I had to say goodbye to this morning. Starting on the left is Marianne, an amazing mobilizer and good friend. Next is Jenny , my replacement. I'm happy to hand over the position to her as she's got many years of experience with ELIC. With the butterfly shirt is Erin, a groovy mobilizer and a runner who enjoyed the dry heat as a change from her native Florida.