It's been real New Zealand

So, obviously it's been awhile since I've blogged. My apologies, a lot has been going on over here. We went to the South Island two weekends ago and got to see some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life. Yes. We're talking Lord of the Rings kind. It was an exhausting four days because we flew out early Sunday morning and had a full day, went hiking and swimming the next day, another hike that night, woke up for a sunrise on the Pelennor fields film sight, hiked around the base of Mt. cook and woke up early the next day to fly back only to be met by loads of Chinese homework with a quiz the next day. We were all exhausted by the overwhelming sights and full agenda, but it was an incredible weekend and we all loved every minute of it.

The past couple days have been crammed with trying to finish all of our assignments/papers/tests before we head to Australia. It stinks that our last few days here were mostly spent inside, (besides the beach day on Saturday--I'm sooooooooooo burned) but we can't complain, our time here in New Zealand has been absolutely life changing. This land is incomparable. When God declared "It is good" I'm convinced He was mostly talking about New Zealand. If you're ever thinking "hey, I'd really like to go the most breath-taking place on earth before I die"...this is the place to book your ticket.

We had our first big Chinese test on Tuesday, so Monday everyone was studying like it was their job. So much junk food. There were almost two hundred characters to learn with their pinyin, so yeah, there's a lot of information in my head. The test turned out to not be very hard, so we were all very thankful the Dragon Lady (our teacher Wei Laoshi) showed some grace. Everybody got their grades back today, but I can't decide if I'm willing to risk ruining or making my day at this point. So I still don't know what I got. We've watched almost all of the Lord of the Rings movies this week, currently watching the third one as I write this. We also watched Australia last night and probably Finding Nemo tonight. We have to get all our cultural influence in before we leave! This is the best way. Somehow we will watch Mulan before China. I'm learning so much haha.

I'm starting to get a little nervous about China. It's going to be a huge culture shock. Not being able to understand anyone or read anything is kind of a scary thought. I'm not good at talking to people in general, so having to talk to people in a language that I can't pronounce is even scarier. Also, there are a lot of restrictions for us once we get there, and what if I forget and get deported? Good story...but I'm not sure if I want that in my book. Speaking of, this is my last chance to really talk to you guys honestly about Jesus. Last night Brent told us all the precautions we have to take and the restrictions we have on what we write or talk about to you guys back home. So not only will I not have Facebook, but even if I email you I can't say anything about what Jesus is doing! Doesn't that stink! Good news is, He will still be working even if you don't hear about it. Also, if any of you happen to want to reach me, you also cannot say anything relating to Christianity or ministry or missions or Jesus or praying etc. If you do, I will get taken to the police, and my visa might out of the blue have a problem and I will have to go home. I know you miss me lots and will do anything to have me back...but please, refrain.

That said, please continue to pray for me. I think our team will need a lot more now than ever. Pray for continual unity, patience and good attitudes, and that we'll all continue to allow Jesus to speak into our lives and let Him work through us during our short time there. What if some of us get to really share with people about Him?? That's like a dream.

He has awesome plans, and none of us want to get in the way.

Anyway. I started thinking about how scared I was for China. And I was telling Jesus about it. And then I emailed my dad about it, because that's usually the steps I take when I'm stressed. And together, Jesus and my dad make quite a team. The Lord has been challenging me with being fearless for the past few months, and I guess I've usually just applied that to my sleeping issues, but I'm thinking China might be a part of that lesson too. This is going to be way out of my comfort zone like a fat kid in gym class. Then my dad emailed me back with pretty much the way I thought he would, saying I would love it, to just dive in and enjoy the adventure of a culture like that. So I started picturing what my dad would do if he went to China at my age instead of me, and the way he would approach everything. And he would be a boss, and make the most of every moment, every conversation, every stop. He would try everything, he would make everyone try it too, all the Chinese people would see him and want to be his friend, he would find the best restaurants hidden in the city, and he would barter with the people in the market like it was his job. And he would do all that because He has allowed Jesus to take over his life and when you meet Bill Ury all you get is Jesus and that kind of spirit, heart and power. So, I'm gonna learn from the best and let the phrase "find your identity in Christ" be for real in my heart and life and let go in China. Not really, I'll be normal, but I'm so sick of fear getting in the way of the woman I know Jesus wants me to be. Prayer in that area would be awesome too. Cause obviously I'm going to need lots of help.

Wow, that was quite a rant.

I'm not even sure if I'll be able to blog once I get there, it may be blocked as well. So Skype me if you get a chance, my name is meredithury on there. And my email is meredith.ury@asbury.edu if you want to chat it up.

I love and miss you all! Thanks for your prayers, Jesus is really showing up on this trip. So thankful for His constant faithfulness!

I Miss Coffee

So Ash Wednesday was yesterday for us over here in New Zealand, and I've already gone two days without my favorite things. That's right guys,  I'm giving up coffee and tea. All caffeine actually. Yes, I am struggling with withdrawal and extreme headaches. But I know it's my biggest addiction, and I was supposed to give it up last year but was really stubborn and ignored Jesus. I'm really excited about this season of Lent. I don't feel like I've ever really dug down and really tried to understand everything I could about this preparation time before Easter. I've always known what it means, and what to do, and I've worn the ashes on my head and given up something and read a passion devotional, but since this used to be the most significant time in the early church's calendar, I feel like I should be researching and challenging myself as much as possible. I hope that everyone else who is choosing to sacrifice something for the next 40 days experiences an intimacy with Jesus while you try to share in his sufferings. I'm already pumped for my cup of coffee on Easter morning while I celebrate my Lord's resurrection.
Also, it's already Valentines day here in New Zealand, so I get extra love a day early! I usually always do something with or for my friends back home, but this year it snuck up on me and I didn't get any valentines! But this morning I woke up with a sweet note and chocolate from my new sweet friend Melissa Love. Is that not the most perfect name for a Valentine?? Then I walked to the dining room for breakfast, dreading the morning because our next Chinese quiz was in less than an hour. But when I opened the door, there was a wonderful surprise waiting for all the girls. Our sweet boys on the team woke up EXTRA early for us and made us a delicious breakfast with yummy fruit, hash browns, eggs, bacon and pancakes. They also set the table beautiful with roses for each of us girls, chocolate bars
(I got the caramel one...duh), and some sweet personal notes from the guys. Not to mention Aaron drew each of us as a disney princess...yeah, that's real life. Maybe it was because it was morning, or I'm just a girl...but I almost cried like 10 times. Our guys are so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. I knew that I already respected them because of the way they love Jesus and are seeking Him daily, and because of the way they have treated all of the girls this past month with respect, but what they did for us this morning made me want to hug them lots. So I did. Not lots but I did get to hug them all. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful guys, and I'm not taking it for granted. Perfect beginning to a Valentines day. Now we're all watching A Walk to Remember together while we do homework. I love these people so much.

Overnight Cruise!!

Let's be real. I wasn't really sure how to feel about this weekend. We had a really hard week of  classes, and my brain was dead and I knew we were going to be in the sun a lot and I was going to get sick on the cruise and basically....I was being a butt head. Nobody else knew that all these thoughts were going on in my head, but they were definitely lurking.

BUT. Turns out, it was one of the best weekends of the trip so far! Classic.

First we stayed in a Hostile in the Bay of Islands near the Waitangi Treaty grounds. For those of you who don't know New Zealand history like I do...It's the place where the British and Maori chiefs signed a treaty saying the Crown would have authority over New Zealand, but the Maori's would still have some input and a place in government. There is a lot of controversy over the treaty, because some people think the British cheated the Maori's in a lot of different ways. But the way I see it is...at least the English treated the natives in a civilized way opposed to the way it went down in America. Okay I'm done. It was cool to see all the places we've been talking about in our Area Study class.

Alright, fun part. The next morning we woke up and met some legit Anglican deacon, Patricia, who is over 80 years old and has been following Jesus full heartedly all her life. She talked to us all about how the gospel was first brought to New Zealand and the progress it has made up until now, and her part in it. She is a baller and hardcore servant for the Lord.

Then we actually hiked to the place where the gospel was first proclaimed, the beach where the ship landed with the missionaries, and the hill where the Maori village was located that first heard the gospel and protected the missionaries. It was neat. That turned into a beach day, but I was super exhausted so I found a shady place in the rocks and fell asleep in like five seconds. It was the best nap ever. Then I woke up and found chocolate in my purse and almost died from happiness. (That's for you Sarah Price Wright). Then we headed back to the city part to meet up with our cruise boat! When we first saw it we were like wow, that is not the most impressive boat. But then we met the crew and we knew it was going to be an amazing night.

We started out the cruise with a quick tour of the boat...it was a short tour. The whole bottom deck was a hang out space with a bar in the middle, couches around the sides, a pool table, piano with lots of different instruments, and most importantly the two bathrooms. Yes, they were in the center of everything we did, that was great, I loved it. There were about six rooms upstairs with six beds in each room, we were nice and snug.

Next, the crew set up a competition for all the passengers, the twenty of us plus 10 randos. They hooked up a plastic duck named Matilda to the back of the boat and we each had three shots with a paintball gun to hit her. It was actually really hard because of the waves and inaccuracy of the gun...those are my excuses for not hitting her once. The winner got a free chocolate bar so I was really bummed and jealous. Then we all went fishing off the side of the boat, didn't catch anything impressive, most of the fish were tiny but pretty. I almost killed the one I caught because I squeezed it to death. Oops.

Then we ate a really great steak and potato dinner all together on a looonnggg table, it felt like Thanksgiving. After that we separated into groups and went night kayaking near one of the islands with a special algae that made the water light up with phosphorescent lights. So while we paddled the water would start sparkling, it was like a Disney movie, I felt like Pocahontas creating magic in the water. haha yes I just said that. The stars were crazy beautiful that night too so Katie and I just laid in our kayaks for a while singing love songs to Jesus and thanking Him for where He had us that night. It was getting pretty late, but some people jumped in the water when we got back because the water would light up whenever you moved, but I was freezing so I chilled by the fire.
Around eight the next morning some of us jumped in for a morning swim, and it was FREEZING but it made my coffee taste better. After breakfast we all geared up and went snorkeling together around another island. That was pretty unreal. We were supposed to catch sea urchins to eat later, but there was no way I was grabbing one of those things. But I did eat them :)
Last stop was at a beautiful beach where we got to take a hike and see most of the bay of islands again. It was incredibly beautiful. After we spent some time on the beach again, Travis, Blake and I decided to swim allllll the way back to the cruise boat instead of riding back...and at the time, it was the worst decision I could have ever made. I'm not a good swimmer, I thought I was going to drown, I'm scared of sharks and anything in the water, and I was already exhausted from the weekend. BUT, I did make it, and the water felt amazing. It was a small but rewarding accomplishment. Then we ate lunch together on the boat while we hung off the side soaking up the last bits of sunshine. To finish off the wonderful trip, we saw dolphins. So no big deal.
We all walked off the dock agreeing that this weekend was all of ours favorite part of the trip so far. Not only did we get to do a ton of fun things on the cruise, but the crew was absolutely incredible. They were really good at making everyone get involved, and so upbeat and hilarious.
So what I thought was not going to be a fun weekend, turned out to be my favorite. Figures.

Mission Bay

After a long week of studying Chinese all day every day, we were determined to get out of Laidlaw at least once this weekend. So a few of us decided to check out a new beach we had gotten ice cream by a couple weeks ago. Did we pick this beach because the ice cream was so good we wanted to get more? You'll never know.

We hopped on the bus and rode for an hour or so to Auckland and then found another bus to Mission Bay. I wasn't in the mood to try to figure out the impossible puzzle known as the Auckland bus system, so we left that up to Kuo and Luke. Riding the bus was actually not that bad, except for the fact it stopped every 10 ft. I liked watching all the people get on, yes I'm a creeper. Everyone else could read while riding, but I would have gotten sick, so I had no choice but to stare. Most people were Chinese, which I thought was interesting. 

The day at Mission Bay was absolutely wonderful! You guys, I'm going to school in New Zealand and on the weekends I go to beaches that look like this.

 We all just laid in the sand for the first hour, then some people played beach volleyball, but I just laid :) because I'm a beach bum. Then Blake came back from his walk and we just got to talk for a while. It's fun cause our group is finally at the place where we can be real with each other, and get to know one another better so the conversations are a little deeper. Like for example, Blake bowled for four years in high school instead of playing basketball because the coach was bad. Which if you knew Blake is hilarious because he is probably the most athletic person I've ever met, and to me, bowling doesn't require too much. He has his own bowling bag and two bowling balls and his highest score ever was a 289. Now, I bet you didn't know that. When the other four got back they kind of joined in and we started asking each other "deep" questions and everyone had to answer, like "what's something nobody knows about you", "what's your biggest regret?", and "what's the coolest thing you've ever done with your family?". It was really fun. We had packed a lunch at Laidlaw so we got to eat that together on the beach FOR FREE. We also read a lot cause we're swamped with work.

I finally managed to force myself to get in the water even though it was freezing, and then we walked over to the most amazing ice cream place in the world, Movenpick, and I got my newest love, vanilla brownie ice cream.

The fun really started when we tried figuring out how to get back...we may or may not have missed our  bus a couple times. We were all sun drained and hungry so we were not super pumped about how long it took us, but it was definitely an adventure. The rest of the group was mad at us when we got back because we apparently left without telling them we were going, and we took all the bread, chips AND cookies for lunch :)

But we made more delicious cookies that night and had a couple dance parties and watched The Dark Knight Rises together, so it was a great ending to a great day. Except for the fact that I have the weirdest tan lines in the world thanks to Christina Welch.

My Portion

I don't have any new cool pictures or stories to tell you guys because the last two days have been dedicated to catching up on sleep and Chinese. I think I'm starting to catch on to this fearsome language and that makes me happy. Or maybe it's just because our last chapter was numbers, and those are the easiest characters in the world. I'll take it.

I've had some really great time with Jesus the past two days. We were on the run 24/7 last week so even if I did get a chance to read I never had time to reflect or listen. I've had a lot of that the past two days and it is GOOD. Some of the other girls are also having trouble sleeping, so if you want to keep us all in your prayers that would great. Last night we got to pray for each other, and that is a sweet way to go to sleep, hearing other's prayers for you repeating in your head.

I started my soccer workouts this morning, and I'm fully expecting man-arms within the next week. Thanks again Jon. It was actually an extremely heart-filling morning becaussssse I found a high class, stadium+track open to the public just around the corner from Laidlaw, so now every morning I get to pretend I lived out my old dream of running track in college. I put my Christian rap on (thanks to Brooke Denke's cd's...you da best) and attempted sprinting just like the old days. It's a unique way to spend time with Jesus, but I think He's a fan. I'm almost positive it was a present from Him anyway.

I've been reading a lot of the notes my friends from school sent with me (Thanks to Andrea, you are also the best) and every time I am overwhelmed by how awesome my friends are. Clearly all following Jesus and allowing His love and encouragement to just pour out of the pages. I may have cried a few times. So many good things. The Lord is so wonderful. The theme this morning was to think of Him as my portion. I wanted to find out what that REALLY meant. It's a difficult but rewarding thought.

"Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; YOU hold my future...I will praise the Lord who counsels me--EVEN AT NIGHT my conscience instructs me. I keep the Lord in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also rests securely. For You will not abandon me to Sheol; You will not allow Your Faithful One to see the pit. You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures." Ps 16

So much confidence in the Lord, because He is my portion. That's some guuuhd stuff.

What A Week

The only way to start this post is by saying, wow that was probably one of the best weeks of my life. 

We left our host families Wednesday morning and it was extremely sad. It was like

we made little families for a week and then our hearts got ripped out when we said goodbye.

Tuesday night most of the hosts made us each a traditional Kiwi (that's what we call New Zealanders) dish, roast lamb with vegetables and for dessert, Pavlova. Probably one of the

most delicious things I've ever put in my mouth.

Christina and I played Ticket to Ride with our family and got a tiki tour of the other side

of the bay in Wellington. It was a sweet night with Kim and Ricki, our gracious hosts.

Wednesday morning all the kids ran after our vans when we drove away, and that just about killed us.

So how do you cure a broken heart, do you ask? On this trip, the answer is skydiving! yuupp that's right, immediately after we left Wellington we drove to Taupo Lake and went skydiving. 16 out of the 20 of us went, and it was probably one of the coolest things we could have done as a team.

Now if you know me pretty well, you probably would have guessed that I would be one of the 4 that stepped out. But guess what...I did it! One of the theme words the Lord has been challenging me with over the past few months is "fearless" and somebody who is fearless obviously has to be able to jump out of planes. I actually first heard the idea from my soccer coach Jon, and he was just talking about how you play on the field, and I don't think he even knows that his pep talk has stayed with me this long and had this much impact. Anyway, I digress.

Not gonna lie, I was panicking the whole flight up, they don't give you any time to back out once you sign the paper so a minute later I was suited up and in the plane strapped to my "tandem master". It would have been extremely scary, but my guy was Australian and extremely attractive, so regardless of the fact that he was the "new guy", I felt pretty safe :)

I couldn't breath the first 30 seconds out of the plane, and now even looking back at what I did, I myself can't believe I jumped out of a plane. Once the free fall was over and the parachute opened it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Everybody should jump out of a plane one day, preferably with a chute. And even though I was nauseous the rest of the day because of my weak stomach, I don't regret it for a second.

The past few days we've stayed at different hostiles in Rotorua and Ranglan. In Rotorua we went to a really cool Maori center to learn more about their culture and history. We even got to watch some of their old cultural dances and songs and some of team got involved and learned them. 

We ate lunch in a beautiful forest that looked like the Redwoods and got to take a small hike. We did some shopping and I bought a SWEET coffee mug with sheep on it. There are sheep EVERYWHERE here and maybe you knew that was New Zealand's thing but I had no idea. There are like 100 million sheep on this island. Wool everywhere. Sheep by the droves. And since I buy mugs from everywhere I travel, I thought it was fitting to have sheep on mine.

That night we went luging! If you don't know what that is, no worries, I had no clue either. All I knew is that someone died doing it in the olympics last year. Basically you fly down a huge mountain on a plastic board thing with handles and you try to maneuver it around the curves with breaks that barely work. It's like go-carts on steroids. Everyone was flying around me and I was taking my sweet time. I definitely got made fun of for being a grandma, but I'm still alive, so I'm okay with it.

A funny thing about New Zealand is you can't sue people, so if I had gotten hurt luging, there would be no repercussions for them, so they didn't give us any training or warnings or make us sign anything. I'm surprised I was given a helmet to be honest. It was the same way with skydiving. You've just got to roll with it and hope for the best.

Then we got ice cream. Obvs. We are like children.

Friday morning we drove to HOBBITON!!!!!!Yes, I've been on the same set as Peter Jackson, walked on the same paths as Gandalf, breathed the same air as Bilbo Baggins, and drank (ginger) beer at the same pub as Sam Gamge. It was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Having grown up loving and knowing the ins-and-outs of the Lord of the Rings getting to see part of the set and being in the land where it was all filmed was overwhelming and heart filling. The only thing that would have made it better was if Seth Ury was there freaking out with me and pointing to each thing saying "oh this is that part when! Do you remember this scene? I know exactly what happened here! Errmerrgeeersh!" with me. He's my little wealth of knowledge/other half and I miss him dearly. One day we'll go back.

The next day we drove to Ranglan and stayed in a super sweet hostile with a bunch of hippies/surfers/foreigners/people way too cool for us. All the rooms were stacked up on a hill with paths intertwining all the way up with trees and plants surrounding it. There was a bunch of art on the walls and pretty signs. Everybody was smoking and chilling and being surf bums and I was like, I want your life. Summer if you ever read this, you would have fit in perfectly.

The next morning we woke up and went surfing! Three other students and I took lessons in the morning cause we really wanted to learn, and I can now say, I have huge respect for surfers. As if I didn't already. That junk is hard! I was really scared about sharks, but thankfully we didn't see any. I got to wear a legit wet suit which was pretty neat, I felt like I belonged out their with all the serious surfers. I wouldn't say I'll be in the next Blue Crush sequel, but I got up a couple times. I would probably do better if so many people weren't watching.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach frying our foreign skin, but it was so relaxing. New Zealand beaches are the best.

At night we drove out to a beautiful cliff and had a worship service while we watched the sunset. It was a great night for our team. I love hearing what the Lord is doing in other student's lives at the same as He is working in mine.

This morning we had pancakes!!!!!!Perfect ending to a wonderful week for me!!

We drove home (Laidlaw) so I finally have internet access again.

First thing we did was play netball. Figures with this group.

Chinese starts back up and I'm afraid I'll be stuck in my room all day tomorrow trying to prepare. I guess no school for a week will really get you behind. No complaints here though.

Missing and thinking of everyone back home! Hope you're not all freezing :) I've got a nice sunburn.

I Know It's Long. It's Been A While.

Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. But there is no way I’m going to remember all of it so I’m just going to word vomit on this post and hope it suffices. On Friday we left Laidlaw to go to the other side of New Zealand, Wellington, to stay with some people from a church that our leader is friends with. We all got separated into pairs and put into different host houses. They call it billeting. It has seriously been the best four days. There are about five different families we are with and some of them have kids, but when we’re all together it is a PARTY. One of the families has a great house with a huge living area with giant glass doors for a wall connecting to the outside with a great yard, and pool, deck, BBQ and lounging chairs. I mean, it’s kind of unreal. And just like all the rest of the time, we play sports constantly. The owners of the house, the Tennets, taught us a new game called crazy catch and rebound. I’m not going to try to explain them both because that would be dumb, but it involves a soccer ball, a net that bounces the ball back at you, only throwing and lots of strategy. The first night we got there, we didn’t even talk to anyone, we just started playing and that was the beginning of all our friendships. The dad of the house, Graham, is VERY competitive and some would say he always seems to give his team the advantage, but he would never admit it. He is awesome though and always makes the games more intense and gets everyone involved. Every night the group separates and goes back to their host families’ home, but during the day we are always together. In the morning we have our ministry class with our leader’s friend. I wish everyone I knew could listen in on this class. The curriculum and teaching is simple, but the significance and impact of the message is life altering. It’s a class about the six priorities of Jesus’ life, based off the verse 1 John 2:6, “Whoever claims to live in Him, must live as Jesus did”. So Matt, the teacher, led us through countless verses about the six things Jesus DID, not taught, but how he actually lived and let us have our own insights, but after each one he gives us time to ask ourselves, okay, so if this is how Jesus lived, what impact does that have in my life? What changes am I going to make? It sounds so simple, but guys, it has seriously changed my life. I love the way he teaches too, so laid back and humble (and hilarious), but so knowledgeable and scripturally grounded.

We haven’t had much time to ourselves the past couple days, seriously we have gone NON-STOP. We are all exhausted. Getting to know the host families has probably been our favorite part, the kids are all so interesting and want to be our best friends which makes us feel pretty good. The son in the Tennet’s family, Joel (11), has become one of my favorites. He tries with all his heart to annoy me, but I know we’re friends. Tonight he even let me hug on him and he sat on me for a good hour, trying to injure me most of the time, but he never got up, so I consider myself a winner.

All they do is feed us!! I think I’ve gained 10lbs in the last three days. Ice cream and gelato is at every corner and we get it just about that much.

We’ve done some cool things as a class too. Today we went to their Parliament and history museum. It was neat to learn all about their systems and culture and art and history. A lot to take in in one day.

On Saturday we went on probably the most ridiculous hike in my life. It was on a beach, so when we pulled up we thought, okay sweet a walk on the beach. Then we got out of the vans and were literally picked up by wind and thrown in the ocean. That was dramatic, but you understand. We walked down to the part where all the seals live by the huge rocks, but the whole walk we were attacked by tiny rocks being picked up by the wind and thrown at us. It hurt so bad!! Any part of your body exposed felt like it was asleep/ being attacked by fire ants/ had 1000 needles piercing it. I mean, it was probably the most miserable experience. And can I just say, this was a time in my life when I wanted nothing more than to shave off all my hair, because this kind of mane cannot be controlled by a hair tie when it comes to this type of hurricaneous wind. After we got back on the van, it looked like I had had dreads for about five years.  Seeing the wild seals chilling on the giant rocks was pretty sweet. But after a pros and cons list, I think I would skip that trip next time. Not to mention it was a 6-mile walk back with the wind in opposition to us. That’s a freaking workout. I’m 83% positive that if I threw a small child up in the air, the wind would have taken it away. If I started running, I had major hang time. It was ridiculous. Anyway, I digress.

On Sunday, the family I’m staying with, Kim and her daughter Ricky, took Christina and I to a really nice restaurant after church called Dockside, and it was right on the Waterfront looking out on the beautiful bay with all the sailboats. It was pretty incredible. Everyone here dresses so well and edgy I felt super out of place, but the restaurant was great and I wasn’t mad about the live music. We met up with the whole group plus the families later and they taught us how to play rugby and cricket. Now if that’s not cool, I don’t know what is. We even played tackle rugby, and let me tell you, even though I was 1 of 3 girls playing with about 15 men, they had no shame and gladly tackled me. I have the battle wounds to prove it. Even my uncle threw me to the ground, we still aren’t talking.

Maybe it’s just because we are staying with awesome families and doing a lot of fun stuff, but I really love the way people live here. It’s so much more relaxed and enjoyable. The families are so patient and loving, but real people and get competitive and joke at each other and things just go on. Everybody just loves to be together, surrounding food of course, and even the different families just stay at each other’s houses for hours and it’s no imposition. They are relaxed about time and show a lot of grace. Trying to figure out their phrases and terms for things is hilarious, but I’m starting to pick up the way they say things and it’s embarrassing. Even now as I’m typing this, the voice in my head has an accent.

The team is getting closer and closer, right now we all just love hanging out together. Nothing has gotten super deep yet, but we honestly haven’t had much time to just sit and talk with each other about where we are in life. I know it will come though and I’m really excited to get to know all their hearts better. I must have been pretty dumb, but when I signed up for the this trip I didn’t realize it was mostly for people who are mission orientated, and I’ve been feeling this past semester and even now some pulls towards that kind of thing, but I don’t know what that looks like at all and I’m excited that other kids on this trip will be searching for the same kinds of answers with me the next few months.

Oh and did I mention that we are supposed to be learning Chinese right now? Yeah, right.

So Much Love

                                                So much of everything this past week.

Chinese started, and what everyone has heard is true, it is by far the hardest thing I've ever tried to learn.

After our first class, we all studied together and practiced writing characters and pronouncing the strange tones. And I swear for two days, all I did was Chinese. And I still managed to fail the first quiz. Well, we all did, so I don't feel too bad. I'll be working on that for sure this upcoming week.

We had a BBQ with some of the staff and residents here at Laidlaw during the summer, and the food was amazing! But first, our cook Garth and our main contact Jenny, taught us all how to play the New Zealand/Australia fav sport Netball. They have a special court and everything here. It was so fun! Our group is pretty athletic so we all got into it. It's like a mix between ultimate frisbee and basketball with weird positions and restrictions. I'm sure there will be many more afternoons full of that.

It's really just been a lot of school this week, which I guess is okay, since this is for school, and it's been good for our whole team to get to know each other while we just live day to day. It forces real conversations instead of "hey! wow! look at that! take a picture! oh my gosh! New Zealand is amazing, let's move here!" If you catch my drift. 

I am really enjoying getting to know everyone. As far as I can tell, everyone is getting along, and even more than that, I think some pretty solid friendships are being formed. The 8 girls are amazing, we're already best friends because girls are that cool. The guy and girl line is finally being crossed and we are all starting to mix and hang out. Don't worry Dad, we all signed a contract swearing to only be friends with each other, so all the normal weird tensions that would exist are completely out the window. No pressure. We have some pretty incredible/funny/passionate/intelligent/kind/encouraging people in this group. Recipe for a successful semester.

Anyway, tonight we all drove to another side of the Island to watch the sunset on a black sand beach, it was pretty incredible. Here are some pix.

School?

It's official. I have found my spot for devotions in New Zealand. It's in a little courtyard right outside my room, but it's to the side where nobody really goes so it's pretty secretive

making it a lot cooler, obviously.

This morning Brent started the group off with a reading for devos at breakfast, and it was from Psalm 121, which talks about looking to the hills, to the Lord, for help, for He alone is the Maker of heaven and earth. And I'm gonna be honest, I really didn't take the Psalm well while 

He was reading. I have had trouble sleeping for over a year now, never feeling

fully rested or safe. The devil has really attacked me in this area, and it has been torture. So when Brent

read that I was like, "okay, that's awesome, and I'm sure He does protect me sometimes, but why didn't He those few times while I was sleeping so I wouldn't have to be afraid all the time now?" When I was alone I really started wrestling with this with the Lord. I'm embarrassed to think how honest I was   about it with Him.

It's been a huge struggle for a whole year now, where is my victory?? Even here in New Zealand

I have a room to myself and every night I dread sleep a little. 

I read through Psalm 121 again just making sure I didn't miss something when Brent read it, some part that said, "but sometimes things happen".

Of course it didn't, it just kept repeating PROTECTOR PROTECTOR. I was still struggling.

Then I glanced across the page to Psalm 125, and I can't remember exactly what it said, 

but it was about Israel remembering how the Lord had protected her, 

and how if He hadn't her enemies could have swallowed her whole with how great their anger was against her. And that verse hit me in the gut.

I'm still here. I've learned so much through this sleeping issue.

It could've have been so much worse. Who am I to say that the Lord doesn't protect me every night, and that's the ONLY reason I am here today reading His word in New Zealand.

This revelation obviously didn't solve everything, but it did push me back into a childlike spirit.

He is my Protector

My Shelter

My Comfort

My Rest

"The Lord gives sleep to those He loves"

That was in a Psalm somewhere :)

Anyway, school started today, and it's safe to say, that I am not ready to work yet.

Everyone else is over achieving and reading books and writing journals in advance, and here I am, napping and playing soccer tennis. I'll get to that stuff later

So if you want to pray for me, my biggest things would be sleeping through the night, and developing a diligent spirit and better work ethic, while enjoying being here :)

Sunday Funday

Sunday morning we headed out as close to 7 a.m. as possible to venture back up Mt. Eden    for our own personal "Sermon on the Mt." from Uncle Hutch. The sun had already risen but it was still cool while we worshiped with just a guitar and our voices. Early and quiet, but worship nonetheless. Uncle Hutch did a narrative version of Luke 18 and 19, combining the two stories into a challenging message about allowing the Lord to take the scales from our eyes hindering us in anyway during our time in New Zealand, and doing whatever we can, like Zaccheus, to simply glimpse at the beautiful face of Jesus. We were then given a chance to spend time alone somewhere on the mountain to ask Jesus to remove the self-inflicted (or not) blindness in order to see His plan for each of us this semester. It was a unique and beautiful way to start our Sunday and our trip. 

Next, some of us ran (slid) down to the bottom of the crater in the middle of the mount which was totally off limits and explicitly clear from numerous signs, buttttt we're foreign so we took advantage of the fact and ignored the warnings. We then proceeded to get yelled at but, you know what, YOLO.

When we got back to campus we had a wonderful brunch with pancakes, eggs and bacon and the rest of the day we had a lot of unplanned team bonding while playing volleyball,  going for a run, knock-out, spoons, euchre, and finished up the day with a movie. Not much physical rest, but I think the Lord was honored by our day.

PIXXXX

Here is the entrance to Laidlaw College where we are staying. Isn't it beautiful??

                                               Miriam checking out the glorious flowers.

Downtown Auckland

Next we went to the top of Mt Eden to have a Kabob picnic while watching the sunset

                                                               

Yeah, that's real

     The Ladies (minus Miriam)

Looks a little too much like Mount Doom

And todayyyyy, we went to this incredible beach.

The locals are so awesome. EVERYONE was at the beach and out in the water. So many different kinds of people, ethnicities, nationalities, languages, accents, speedos.

And as you can see in the picture, there is a ton of grass above the sand, so hundreds of people were just laying on blankets, taking naps, having picnics, reading, or just watching everyone in the water. The people here are so cool! And I was loving the short shorts on guys haha...it's coming back.

We mostly played frisbee and volleyball games in the water. 

Some friendly guys with awesome accents taught us a fun game where you essentially end up slamming each other with a volleyball, but...we didn't argue.

We're all exhausted now and look like little tomatoes because of fair foreign skin.

But tonight we're grilling out with some chicken and corn on the cob, so none of us are complaining. Not sure what the night holds, but a few of us are planning on some kind of ping pong tournament.

It's been a fabulous day!

Saturday Morning

Just kidding! I figured out a way to post pictures, they'll be up soon!!
This morning I went on a run with my new friend Christina Welch and it was absolutely beautiful. The guys went on a run yesterday so we asked for the trail they went on but their directions were insane so we decided to just wing it. We ran down to the river with a crazy name and started on the trail that we thought would just follow around it, butttt no such luck. We ended up going all the way into the city and through neighborhoods and creeping through people's backyards until we eventually found a park that said it was connected to the crazy named river again. Turns out, we made the best decision ever not following the guy's advice, because we got to see what all the cool Henderson, Auckland locals do on their Saturday mornings. They are so much cooler than Americans. Some people were kayaking down the river, tons of bikers and runners, and best of all there were people fake Samurai fighting with huge swords and jumping and rolling around on the ground with daggers, so we walked by to watch that, and then there were about 20 old men in white competing in a legit bocce ball tournament and some women playing in a croquet tournament, and last but not least we ran by probably the coolest play ground I have ever seen, it looked almost unsafe because of how high the towers went. Not to mention, the weather was perfect with the sun peeking out and just enough breeze to keep us breathing. Even though for half of the run we never really knew where we were going and could have gotten really lost, it turned out to be a wonderful way to see the area and the locals on a beautiful morning. No regrets.
We rushed back to shower and change because the whole group is heading to the beach in about half an hour to spend the day. Hopefully I don't turn into a lobster, because the sun is about double here, they don't sell sunscreen less than 30 spf. Don't worry mom, I've got 50 on.

Devastated

I just found out I brought the wrong chord so I can't upload any of my pictures until I get home. That...is the worst.

Oh my word. There is so much to tell you guys, I don't even know how I'm going to put it into words. Right now I'm a little crazy because of jet lag, so forgive my strangeness.
We had orientation back at Bethel for two days, it was really great to meet the rest of the group. Lets be real, it was super awkward at first. But after a few meals, some classic ice breakers, and team bonding...we began to feel more like a team.
During orientation they had a lot of great sessions teaching us about culture adaption and the culture shock we would go through and how to adjust and appreciate the changes etc. It was all pretty common sense, but definitely necessary to address before a trip like this.
Then there was a session on spiritual warfare, which really challenged me to work out some things in my own life before the trip began.
The next two days were spent entirely in airports. It was kind of dramatic because one guy found out he didn't have a ticket so we weren't sure if he was going to make it at all, then some man started having a heart attack in front of us during security. We had to separate on the first flight into two groups, but then met up again in San Fran for our 13 hour overnight flight to Auckland. Many movies were watched, and barely anyone slept because of the strange time difference. I've never gone through customs faster in my life so that was great, and as soon as we stepped out the doors of the airport we were greeted by the most beautiful sunny summer day. We all pulled out our sunglasses and basked for a few glorious minutes. After an hour in the vans we arrived at our home for the next 6 weeks, Laidlaw College in Henderson, Auckland. It's a pretty small college but right in the middle of a lot of great stuff. The drive to it was beautiful, there are so many beautiful trees. It looks kind of beachy, but it also reminds me of Kenya somewhat, at least the mountainous parts. The houses are all small and surrounded by lots of trees and brush and pretty close together. The cars are small and European looking with the sweet license plates. Best of all, its summer time, and flowers are everywhere and everyone is in cute summer clothes. Also, the style here rocks.
The college here is really cool too. We all get our own room, all on the same hallway with a bed, desk and closet. They all look out into a courtyard with a basketball court, and there are lots of community rooms with awesome decorations that connect to more courtyards with fountains or just an open green or shaded over with beautiful trees. I mean, its kind of unreal how pretty it is. We're about to eat lunch so that's all for now. We explored downtown earlier, but tonight we're going out to eat somewhere nice and sight see. basically, I'm extremely happy, and I may consider moving to New Zealand.

Beginnings

Yesterday I said goodbye to Jo and Matt, and met up with 2 guys I didn't know from Asbury to drive 8 hours back to school. A situation that could have been terrible turned out to be one of the best car rides in my life. They were both extremely kind and hilarious, and it only took half an hour before we were all comfortable enough to belt out Adele songs together. That's extreme bonding. We stopped at Five Guys for another AMAZING burger, but we ended up having an entire bag of fries left over, so we tried to give them away to homeless people, butttt that didn't really turn out too well. It was sad to make two new friends and then say goodbye for a whole semester, but we promised to best friends when I got back to school.

As soon as I pulled into Wilmore, I met up with my friend/soccer coach/small group leader Becca and we made a necessary Fro Yo run. I'm so thankful for her, and the mentor she has been for me this past semester, Asbury is a better place because of her and I'm going to miss her a ton.

Then I went to my other small group leader's house to stay the night. And can I just say, without Leigh I would have not been prepared for my trip. My bag was WAYYY over 50 lbs. and she helped me take everything out and decide what I really needed in each bag. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but since I have been going from house to house without much help for packing, it was awesome to have someone really care and sit down to go through each item. She also gave me a ballin' fanny pack which I will be reppin' proudly. Anddd she made me monkey bread in the morning and prayed for me and took care of me like a sister/mom. Seriously, I've never been more grateful.

I didn't get to say goodbye to many of my friends at school because it was such a rush, so that was sad, but I'm kind of glad I didn't because that would have made leaving a lot harder. Seeing Andrea one last time was hard enough, but thanks for all the texts and calls you guys!! I will all of you dearly.

At noon I met the group and we boarded our super fly mini van and headed to Bethel! It was an interesting car ride to say the least, especially trying to fit all our luggage into one van. I'll take the blame for the largest, heaviest bag. Whatevs, I'm prepared. I love seeing how the group dynamics are evolving...it's going to be a great trip!! 

We're only at Bethel for a few days for orientation, and the 7 girls are all staying in one little apt with 3 beds. So...you do the math. We're gonna get up close and personal to say the least. It'll be like a mix of The Real World and Pitch Perfect. Can't Wait.

Right now we're feasting on gas station finds and I'm waiting for Downton Abbey to start!! It's been a great day so far and I'm getting even more pumped for the trip!

Also, favorite quotes from Miriam of the day...or past 10 minutes

"hey, do you think I can take a knife on the plane?" and "hey Meredith, do you want to wrestle later?"

DA ASBURY GURLZZZ

The Last Supper

Well, it's 12:54 am on Saturday morning. Which means I have about six hours until I wake up to leave Jo and Matt's house. It's been a WONDERFUL two weeks with them. They are the best. Tonight we celebrated our last few hours together by eating my favorite meal: Hamburger, fries and a peanut butter milkshake. Heyyooo. If that's not American, I don't want to be. It was my "last supper" before all my exotic foods. Not really I have like four more days in the states, but this was like a REALLY good fancy burger from their favorite burger joint, Chucks. Anyway, we finished up with watching The Dark Knight Rises to pump me up for the trip...not really, it's just a great movie. This is us during the most important part of the story, Jo's idea to take a pic.

hahaha and this gem is free.

I FINALLY FINISHED PACKING!! It was like torture. How in the world do they expect me to pack for a four month trip in winter and summer weather in one bag under 50 lbs. It's not realistic. But the deed is done, here is my halfway stage.

I head back to school tomorrow to say goodbye to everyone one more time! Pumped and not pumped for that. I am the MOST awkward person when it comes to farewells. And a weeper. Wish me luck. I probably won't sleep tonight because I'm so exciteddddd about the trip! Every time I read through the itinerary I get more stoked. Even the trivial reminder emails about meeting times are like little nuggets of joy. Yup, that's where I'm at.