Church

Over the Christmas holiday we went to the Bay of Islands. It is a favorite vacation spot around here. We went on a cruise and saw the hole in the rock below as well as dolphins. It is a beautiful area. One of the most interesting facts for me was that this is where the first Christian sermon was preached. The gospel was first preached on Christmas day 1814. It's hard for me to think about a country that was so long without the gospel. The church where the sermon was preached is still standing and has services. This area also had the first mission. It printed religious material for Kiwis. It is an interesting country from a church perspective. From what I can tell people value their family and the great outdoors but don't think much about their spiritual welfare. We have gone to a couple of churches and one man came and visited us. He explained the church system here . Churches in general are very small and not near the amount that we have in the states. The Anglicans , Presbyterians, and Methodists have all joined together. In fact, you will see more that one of their names on the building, You have the Catholics , the Baptists, and the Pentecostals. They are all separate groups but you don't see more that one type of Baptist or Pentecostal church. They have all banded together. The rest of the Christians who are not happy with these have banded together and formed a group. They are mutually accountable to one another for basic doctrine and helping do projects. The number of people who go to church is too small to get too divided on small issues. They just stick to what they consider the big ones. In general the attitude of New Zealand people seems to be live and let live. One of my neighbors and I were having tea on her patio when a Mormon can by and wanted to talk about the Bible. My neighbor quickly got rid of her, but it opened the door for me to talk to my neighbor about faith. She 'was raised Methodist but religion as she put it was not important to her family. Her husbands family , however, were fanatics for lack of a better term. They decided to just let their children guide themselves in this area. The children did go some to church with their grandparents because it was important to them. My neighbors just wanted to let their children decide what they wanted. This seems to be the way here. I had the opportunity to share about a relationship versus religion. I don't know that my neighbor could comprehend this but at least the door was open and our relationship continues. Please pray that God will open the right doors for Evangelism and true Christian fellowship.


Hole in the rock

Vie from the first mission

First Mission

Happy Christmas

It is Christmas Eve here.We are a day ahead. I pray that all of you have a blessed Christmas. We are planning on taking a small trip here since Steve now has 5 days off. We had Christmas with the Children on Thanksgiving so we are kind of skipping Christmas this year. It is interesting to see the similiarities and differences in the holidays. Stores and traffic are hectic here for the holidays just like home. They have Santa here although some call him Father Christmas. Some churches have Christmas Eve services. Yes, they do have fruitcake here. Who knew that you couldn't get away from that one. They have Christmas lights on some houses but it is really pointless since it doesn't get dark until about 10:00 pm. It is a time for family just like at home . There are some distinct differences. There are less Christmast decorations. People here are very layed back. They will put up a tree but that is about all. They buy fewer presents and are just less fussy about it. They do have a Christmas dinner but it is usually cold food since it is hot here. They have a ham and salads. After dinner everyone goes to the beach . The evening tea is usually a barbeque on the beach. Some may barbeque as their Christmas dinner if the family prefers. The most interesting tradition is the Christmas Craker. You see the pictures I put up of it. There is a string that runs in the middle. One person has one end and another has the other end. Both pull hard. There is a popping sound and the string breaks leaving one person with just a string while the other gets the cracker. Inside there is a prize. It can be small or fancy depending on the price you paid for the cracker. Most comnonly though there is a crown, a small prize. and a dumb joke. I'm not sure who is really the winner. Well as the New Zealanders would say I wish you all a Happy Christmas ,

Random things

yes that is a frog on top of my clothesline


only hang-up closet in house and it has no door

world's smallest sink and no mirror in bathroom except the hand one I put there

on top of toilet enough said

switches on outlets

We have been here almost two weeks. We are starting to adjust and get into somewhat of a routine. I take Steve to work and pick him up since we have only one car. That is different but it really helps keep us on the same schedule. I also go in to pick him up and that lets me get to know some of his co-workers. They are all very friendly. We also walk almost daily to the beach or drive somewhere to find a new place to explore. Things are beautiful here. We are settling into the house and it was pretty well stocked. We have only had to purchase a few things. One thing was trash cans. They only had one in the whole house. I guess we Americans have more trash than New Zealanders. Whenever you move to a new house there are always somethings that puzzle you. If you add a new country that just multiplies the unusual. I have taken some random pictures of things around the house that are unusual to me. See if they are to you.

Water , Water everywhere

Whangarei Falls

West Coast

East Coast

Steve had a couple of days of so we did a little exploring. We went to an East and West Coast Beach to see the difference. It's amazing. On the East coast you get the white beaches that you expect to see. The water is relatively calm and people are actually in the water. We saw a few surfers trying out the waves. The waves weren't too bad and we felt like it would be a good place for a beginning surfer. Just for kicks we went to a West Coast Beach. It takes about an hour or so to get across the country up here. The west coast sand is dark and the water looks treacherous. No one was in the water and there were signs warning of dangerous undertows. Clearly it was not for the faint of heart. If the ocean isn't enough water there are always the rivers close by. We decided to stay in town one day see Whangarei Falls. It is the most photographed falls in New Zealand. I thinks that may be because it is so easy to get to. It is lovely and is a nice place to go and sit for a picnic. The path out of the falls is heavily tree laden and beautiful. I am putting up some pictures for you to enjoy.

East Coast

Pictures

My friends at Blue Ridge saying good-bye

Pictures and view of our house

We're Here

We've had such a crazy time trying to get the internet that I haven't had time to blog. We have taken pictures and have stories to tell but that will have to wait until we get internet at our home. We had an unevental though long flight. I got through one novel and wished I would have had a second. The people have been very friendly and helpful. The learning curve in a new country is so high. We stayed in Auckland so Steve could do some paperwork. I was on my own to explore a quaint suberb. It was full of small pricey shops. There shops are small and without much selection. We came to Whangarei on Friday. We have since been trying to get cell phones internet, etc. Cell phone plans are 40 dollars for 30 anytime minutes. There are no free minutes. We have it cheap in the US. We have met one set of neighbors. The wife took us to the local farmer's market, butcher chop, and showed us general places to get good deals. She is very sweet. She gardens and gave me some of her produce. She also planted a garden in my yard with the landlord so I will have some fresh vegetables. Growing season is year around here. I guess one of my new hobbies will become gardening. I will let you see pictures of the house and garden when we get internet in our house. It is quaint and well furnished. We have a gorgeous view of the bay and lovely flowers all around the house. We can walk down to the water and walk along the beach. They picked a lovely house for us One unusual thing is that there is only one closet in the whole house. It also has overhead lighting and no lamps. Plugins are few and none are in the bathroom. There is also no airconditioning.It isn't needed except for midday when it gets quite warm during the summer. I wiil try to write and put up pictures when we get internet. I love you all.

Final Days

It has been a very emotional week for me. I have been busy saying good-bye to all my dear friends and family. I have been blessed in knowing so many great people here in Roanoke. All of you will be truly missed. I have also been trying to condense my life down to 2 suitcases. How do you do that? We will be moving in to a 4 bedroom house that they are furnishing for us. What does that mean and will I wish that I would have brought some household things with me? We chose not to concern ourselves with that and just trust that we could buy whatever is missing when we get there. That leaves two suitcases for clothes, shoes, purses, books, cosmetics, electronics, DVDs etc. It has really been an interesting process to look at all my possessions and ask what do I value enough to make space for. I hope that I'm packing correctly. If not , then I guess that's what MasterCard is for. My next post will be from New Zealand. I still can't believe it. We leave at 4:30 tomorrow and 28 hours later we will be there. I will start taking pictures when I get there and will hopefully post them(my tech skills are sometimes lacking), I intend to fully embrace this experience and hope to share some of it with you all.

My Year in New Zealand

husband's

My ^ Midlife Crisis

(My Year in New Zealand)

Six month's ago my husband stated he needed a drastic change in his life. With our last child graduating college in December, I suggested he look at changing his job situation. As a physician my husband can get temporary work in the United States. With our major financial obligations done he could work part time and rest and evaluate. With that he began looking at temp jobs. He noted you could do things out of the country. I went away for a vacation with my oldest daughter. When I got back he was ready to sell the house and move to New Zealand. This was very out of character for my husband. That was may. It has been a whirlwind every since. It is now December. Our house is sold. Our jobs are done and on Dec 7 we are on a plane to start a year long adventure in New Zealand. I want to invite you to come along on the adventure with me. I plan of uploading pictures and talk about my experiences as an American living in New Zealand. Only God knows where this will lead.