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.