Summary

"Where have you been?!"
I bet that's what you're wondering. I've been meaning to write for a long time now but life has kept me busy. And I've had so much to write that I just didn't know where to start.

So here goes....

Christmastime in New Zealand.
How do I describe the differences? Fewer tacky decorations on the houses. Not that there are no tacky decorations in NZ, because there are PLENTY. It's just that not many people choose to put them on the outside of their houses. I think I've seen a totally of five decorated houses in all of my driving around Hamilton this year. Christmas cookies = chocolate chip cookies. Cara and I had to travel to a number of stores in order to find any cookie cutters, and even then we had to get a gingerbread man cutter in a tiny, random shop in a small town outside of Hamilton. Christmas Carols? I worked in a retail store for the whole holiday season and they only played christmas songs about 1/2 of the time. The Christian music station I listen to here played christmas songs about a third of the time. Usually by Christmas I'm completely sick of hearing christmas music but that was not the case this year. I actually longed to hear more. Barbeques were the Christmas dinner of choice. 2 week vacations. A wonderful thing happens in NZ around the holiday time. Major businesses shut down for two to three weeks. I can't tell you how many people from church are going away for vacation because their job has closed for a few weeks. Even our church, City Bible Church, has closed it's office for two weeks. The other day I was driving to work (I work in retail, they NEVER close) during morning rush hour and there were hardly any cars on the road. It was weird. Finally, heat and humidity. Hamilton is humid in the summer and I'm experiencing that this holiday season. Cara and I laugh about the fact that we have a beautifully decorated tree in our flat And a fan running constantly. The differences between Christmas in NZ and Christmas in the States are odd to us but not necessarily bad. Each country creates it's own tradition of Chritsmas based on the character of their country. It's cool to experience.


Jobs, money, etc...
I can't describe to you what it feels like to be broke in a country so far away from your own. To desire to have a budget but never make enough money, in a consistent flow, to follow one. To live paycheck to paycheck and still not have enough to pays bills here and bills at home. To be forced to use your credit card more than you ever thought you would. To desire to work, but because of limitations in your work permit and your transportation be unable to work many available jobs. To literally not know if you will be receiving a paycheck in the next month, meanwhile the bills still come. I can't describe to you what it feels like. You'd never truly understand this situation unless you lived it. Tomorrow my temporary job with the Warehouse ends. Once again I will be without an income. I am only permitted to work temporary or casual jobs. After months of searching for a more stable job I've come to the conclusion that my only source of income can come through the jobs temp agencies give me. Sigh. I thought a month of working 30 hours a week for the Warehouse would help me to catch up with bills and use my credit card less. Not so much. I still feel like I'm playing catch up with bills here in NZ and at home. There always seems to be one more bill left that I don't quite have all the money for. Is it frustrating. YES! Do I sometimes feel like quiting? YES! But if I quit and go home then what? I'll still have bills, little money, and no job. I might as well be broke in New Zealand.


The Lord...
When I first came to NZ, I wanted to learn to trust the Lord in a completely new way. I believe God has granted that desire of my heart. It's been extremely difficult. I have failed many times in my attempts to trust and have despaired more often than I like to admit. But Jesus is teaching me that He died for me. He's showing me that no matter how much I stumble He's always there to catch me. He's not keeping a tally of how many times I fail. My failures have already been forgiven. When I doubt and despair I can run to Him and stand tall and confident in His love and forgiveness of me. When I think about my future in New Zealand things appear impossible and hopeless. Then I remember that my Father in heaven is involved and suddenly things don 't look so grim. Is this what it's like to trust the Lord completely? On the outside things appear desperate, but behind the scenes God is working, and he reveals his work little by little. Just enough for me to make it through another day.







Frustrating: 1) The glass around our living room ceiling light randomly fell and shattered while we were outside for a few minutes hanging laundry. 2) I did a monologue at church about the inner struggle between selfish desires and the desires of the Holy Spirit in me. 3) Marshmallows burn easily in our oven.






Encouraging: 1) Christmas in NZ. Our tree. 2) Nativity scenes in the Hamilton Christmas parade. Jesus is represented. 3) Beautiful natural surroundings.

I'm Not Usually Into Bands But...

Yesterday, I heard the music of a band called Kissed By the Moon. They were playing at an outreach event that my 18ups group put on. The guys in the band were Christians but they played clean secular songs. I was impressed by the talent of this band. Their songs were full of energy and passion, and their skills on the guitar, bass, and drum were amazing. This is the second time since I've been in NZ that I've heard a live Kiwi band. The first time was the first week I was here, when a new friend, Luke, invited Cara and I to his battle of the bands competition. He was in a band called the Holy Rollers that I discovered also had a really great sound. Recently, I've wanted to hear the Holy Rollers again but hadn't gotten around to calling Luke to find out when they play in Hamilton again. Well, yesterday, speaking to the lead singer in Kissed By the Moon he informed me that they and the Holy Rollers will be playing in Hamilton in December. Sweet! I'm there! It's funny, I'm really not a band person (especially not a groupie) but I love music so this had to come out at some point. I'm looking forward to the fun.

Driving in New Zealand - A Wild Ride

New Zealanders are bad drivers.

I'm sorry, but there's no other way to put it. Everytime I get behind the wheel I say a quick prayer that God would protect me from the crazy driving that I will no doubt witness. Some of the bad driving is due to New Zealand driving rules. Some of it is due to the drivers.

First off, speeding seems to be pretty much the norm. Going the speed limit or even 5 Kilometers over the speed limit will result in you being passed by the majority of the cars on the street. Nevermind that there's a pretty hefty fine for speeding. Even mountainous, curvy areas don't cause people to slow down. They hit the curves without the slightest pressure to the break, sometimes resulting in their car going way across the roadmarking line. Speeding is such a problem that the police have created commercials that graphically show drivers the fatal results of speeding, especially around curves. I have to admit, I am a bit disheartened by the number of crosses I see along the road whenever I drive out in the country.

New Zealand drivers also make a lot of poor decisions when trying to turn or pass another vehicle. Roads are wider here than in the states so whenever a car slows down to turn all the cars behind it just go around it. The problem with this is that many times they have to swerve into the opposite lane to pass the car. Many times when they do this they don’t slow down and come pretty close to the cars coming in the opposite direction. I’ve seen accidents almost happen due to this bad driving. Also, drivers make many quick turns that leave just a split second before they are hit by an on-coming car. Once again, there are commercials on TV warning people about making stupid turning decisions.

Finally, some NZ driving laws add to the cause of accidents. The “Give Way” law says that the person closest to the curb making a turn must allow the car coming from the opposite direction turning onto the same street to turn first. (I know confusing.) In other words…if this law were in the States the person making a right turn must allow the car in the opposite lane to turn (left) first onto the street before they turn right onto the street. The problem with this law is that because cars will go around a car that’s trying to turn, it’s hard to tell if you should just turn or “give way.” A recipe for an accident if both drivers trying to turn aren’t extremely aware of what the other cars around them are doing.

There’s tons more that I witness on a daily basis, but this blog is already long enough. Just so you know, not all NZ drivers are bad, but more than should be. Lord protect me when I drive!

It's Good Having Friends

A couple weekend's ago I went on a young adult retreat with my church. That was one of the best decisions I could have made while here in New Zealand. Living in close quarters for a couple of days partaking in the same activities has a way of bringing people closer together. I feel like I really got to know some of the other young adults in my church. We had great conversations (some that went late into the night). We went tramping around the base of a small mountain. We spent some time on the beach. I learned how to play touch rugby (really frustrating when you're used to playing touch football). We played a ton of card games. Watched some movies. And of course spent some time in the Word reading Galatians and talking about law verses grace. It was wonderful deepening friendships.

Now, as I head to my weekly young adult small group, I feel more comfortable talking with people, and we know more about what's going on in each other's life. Also, it's fun sharing cultural differences between America and New Zealand (and sometimes Canada). I'm glad people feel comforable about asking me things they don't quite understand about the US, and I in turn ask them things about their culture. I want to keep in touch with many of my friends here in NZ even after I leave. It's good having friends!

Being Slothful

You ever have one of those days when you don't feel like doing anything?
Your alarm goes off at 9:00am, you reset it for 9:30, and then fall into a slumber that lasts until early afternoon. You wake up realizing it's late but can't seem to pull yourself out of bed so you just sit there thinking, partly because you're tired, partly because you are not sure you want to face what's left of the day. When you finally do drag yourself out of bed you do so with the utmost intention of "accomplishing something today!" But instead you sit, you read, you watch TV, all the while counting the passing hours on the clock until it's too late to go out, too late to have company, too late to be awake...too late to do anything.
Ever have one of those day? Or two? Or a week?

Now I've had to ask the Lord a number of times as I wasted yet another day, "Why am I doing this when I know I have bills to pay, very little cash, and no job?" At first I knew it was tiredness. Spending a month 'holidaying' with family and travelling all over the North Island of New Zealand is tiring. It took a couple of days just to recover from that. But then the thought began to creep into my head that I was avoiding something. I was dreading the impending job search. I hate searching for jobs. I hate going from store to store asking if they are hiring. I hate waiting for a response once an application is turned in. I hate interviewing. I was being lazy to avoid the inevitable.

So...

Today I walked to town, and attempted to inquire about jobs. Many places aren't hiring quite yet while others are already hiring for their Christmas staff. (Yes, NZ has already started to advertise for Christmas.) And so many places are still out there where I wouldn't want to work at all. Ugh! It's hard to be motivated for anything that isn't theater.

I'm trying Lord. I'm trying.

Mom Visits and Mt. Ruapehu Erupts

My Mom has come to visit us in New Zealand. I've been looking forward to her visit for months. Having her here is like having a piece of home and familiarity in New Zealand. She's been here for a week and a half and we've kept her busy.

First, a day in Auckland visiting Devonport, Titirangi, Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World, and the Sky Tower. Next, a trip to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island. It's an eight hour drive from Hamilton through everchanging landscape to Wellington. The trip was long but fun. Wellington reminds me of Cleveland, it has a nice feel to it. It doesn't feel over crowded like Auckland. In Wellington we drove around the coast and saw the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the drive was georgeous. We also went to the Te Rapa Museum, which was a cool experience, and viewed all types of exhibits about New Zealand and it's people. Next, we took a train ride back to Hamilton. It was my frist time on a train. It felt pretty much like riding the rapid for a long time. The trip was fun at the start, but by the time we reached Hamilton I was ready to be off of it. I won't lie, I'll be back on a train again when Cara and I go to the South Island. After the Wellington trip we did some sight seeing around Hamilton including going on the dinner cruise Waipa Delta. Mom also met my church family and got to have lunch with some of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ at their home. Next, we went to Rotorua and visited a Maori village, ate some hiangi, and saw a cultural performance. We also went to a sheep show at the Agrodome (I got to try my hand at milking a cow, eww.) We also went to the Rotorua Museum and learned about a tragic Volcanic eruption in Rotorua in 1886 that killed over a hundred people and destroyed a beautiful land formation that had been one of the seven wonders of the world at that time period. It was there that I suddenly came to the realization that I was on an island where a volcano could blow at any moment.

With that said, a volcano did erupt the very next day. Mt Ruapehu, largest volcano on the North island (and still pretty active) erupted without warning last night. New Zealanders seem to be pretty calm about this. "No worries mate." Some ski fields on the mountain are closed today but may open again tomorrow. Hmm....Weird.... That's NZ for you. I think the prayers of a certain somebody before I left Tetelestai that I "would not fall into Mount Doom" are more serious than I previously thought. Ha ha.


Anyway, it's great having Mom here.

Maori, Hangis, & Hakas - Rotorua

My grandparents are here in New Zealand for a visit.
We've planned lots of things for them and left some things unplanned.
One of those "planned" things was a trip to Rotorua.

I say "planned" loosely because we planned to go to Rotorua, and we planned to have a hangi and see a performance, but we didn't actually call to make reservations until the day of the trip. Um...we're not good at this trip planning thing. Anyway, there were spots available and we found ourselves on the road to Rotorua.

The drive was beautiful. It was relaxing. It was fun. It was georgeous. It was.....wheewew wheewew....a cop! I was stopped by a cop. As I was driving to Rotorua with my family I was stopped by a cop for the first time ever. Oh man was I scared. I honestly didn't know what I had done. I wasn't speeding. No broken windows or obvious car problems. I pulled to the side of the road and waited in nervous anticipation as the officer walked to my window.
Officer: "Good Morning."
Me in my head, "Tell me what you want and I'll let you know if it's a good morning."
Officer: "I'm doing a license check. Can I see your license?"
Me in my head: "I'm not getting a ticket?! Yeeeeeesssssssssssssss!"
I showed him my license then he asked how long I was gonna be in NZ. After that he let me go.
Whew! My first up close experience with a New Zealand cop. ...I still think their cars are cute.

In Rotorua we visited the Moari village of Whakarewarewa (try saying that three times fast....actually, try saying that even once). It's a thermal village located on an active volcano. Lots of steam comes out of the ground which they use to cook a hangi meal of meat, potatoes, stuffing, and bread pudding. Hangis are wrapped in foil and cooked in the ground where there are steam vents. It's pretty cool to see. There is also boiling mud around certain areas of the city and boiling water pools (the water can get up to 395 degrees F). The Maori people of the village cook corn and other vegetables in this boiling water. We actually got to watch the corn being cooked under the water for ten minutes. How cool to have a volcano do the cooking for you. And somewhat dangerous.

In this village we also went on a tour to see and hear about the Maori way of life. We saw some geysers in the distance. We also watched a cultural performance. The performance was cool. At one point the men performed a traditional war dance called a Haka. It was full of energy and expression. A funny thing that happened during the performance was that there was a man taking pictures with a fancy camera who decided to stand in the middle of the audience to take his pictures instead of in the back. In fact, he decided to stand right in front of me and Cara. We couldn't believe he could be so rude as to stand in front of people just so he could get a picture on a camera that seemed to have and intense zooming capability, and would probably capture better pictures than mine even if he stood in the back. Cara was debating telling him to sit down when a relative came over and pulled him away and made him sit on the end. Ha. Now that was funny. Also, at some point during the performance, one of the speakers on the stage had to stop and tell some of the tourists in the back to be quiet because they were standing around talking (and yelling) instead of watching the show. Some people can be really rude!

We ended the day going to Lake Rotorua and watching some black ducks, black swans, and white geese float on the lake. We had dinner at a buffet place (where I tried oysters for the first time, eew), and drove home tired and content. It was a thoroughly satisfactory time in Rotorua.

Drove to the Country Today

Sometimes when you're in a city for a long time you just need some fresh country air. I don't think I've quite felt this way in the States, but here in beautiful New Zealand I feel it strongly. Both Cara and I get antsy when we're in the city dealing with city things and city people. When we can't bare it any longer we go for a drive to the countryside. It's not very hard since the country is only about a 10 minute drive away from Hamilton. We drive with no particular destination, we just go. The countryside is beautiful. The rolling hills. The grazing animals. The clouds. The rainbows. The mountains. Usually when we drive we head towards the mountains. They are like beacons of hope that signify an escape away from all the busyness of the city. As we drive the day's troubles just melt away.

So where did we drive today? To Mount Pirongia. When we got in the car we didn't plan to head there. We just began to drive and somehow ended up on the road to Pirongia. Once we were on the road we didn't want to stop so we kept going until we reached the entrance to a walking trail on the mountain. One day we will walk that trail but not today. The rain in Hamilton keeps preventing us from doing this.

I'm so thankful to have a car to use to drive to the countryside. I feel like it's the part of New Zealand we really came to see. Hamilton pretty much seems similar to some of the cities in the States. Lots of people, lots of cars, lots of stress. It's nice to get away from that every once in a while. Some people will find it strange that we just drive with no apparent destination. But hey, we've been doing that in our lives ever since we decided to follow the Lord to New Zealand. We don't know where we're going or what we're doing in our lives as we live in New Zealand, but we just follow the Lord step by step and let Him work out the details of our destination, It's funner that way.

Yeah, Pictures! Sweet As...!

We've done some cool things so far in NZ and there's more to come. I'm sorry its taken so long to show pictures. Enjoy!

Look! A rainbow over Victoria St. (downtown Hamilton)

Cara with Miri, our Korean friend

Parts of New Zealand are very hilly. The mountains can be dizzying to drive through

Our church, City Bible Church, meets in the Agora Building

Huge, furry farm animals (Bulls). I saw them at Field Days, NZ's largest agricultural fair. Can you imagine me at a fair about farming? Ha!

I love L&P - World Famous...in New Zealand

Karangahake Gorge - We spent fifteen nervous minutes walking through an old mining cave. It was dark and enclosed. Hmm...NZ has some strange, if not scary, self-guided tours.

The beautiful South Pacific Ocean

God in the Monotony

Sometimes life can be really boring. Well, actually, parts of life can be really boring. It's during those times of boredom when the voice of God can sometimes be difficult to hear.

I have a job. I work from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. I work as a receptionist for a company that specializes in road repair. My job is incredibly boring. The work is not very stimulating, and as hard as I try to convince myself that I care about road repair - I really don't. Actually, to be truthful, not only do I care little for road repair but I also care little for office work. Every morning is a battle for me to get out of bed because I'm not excited about my job. Every evening I come home tired and frustrated because I'm not excited about my job. I feel like all my energy is being drained working at this unfulfilling job.

I'm finding that it is in the boring, monotonous times of my job that I have trouble hearing the voice of the Lord. I sit at my desk typing some data entry work and question if I'm really doing what the Lord wants me to do. I ask Him how long do I have to work at this "temp" job and all I get as an answer is that the temp assignment is indefinite. The prospect of working at this company for my whole time in New Zealand is frightening. Is this a blessing? Am I being ungrateful? Or am I quenching the desires of my heart that have been given by God by staying at this job. I get paid really well, and there is stability in having the same job my whole time in New Zealand, but...

I hate coming home tired. Drained. I have to admit that I haven't written a blog in a long time because, well, I haven't had the time or energy. Also, this is really impacting my enjoyment of NZ. I attend a young adult Bible study with my church on Tuesdays and feel too tired to truly enjoy the fellowship and great teaching. Last weekend Cara and I drove out to Raglan on the West Coast of New Zealand to enjoy the black sand beach. Watching the sun set was great, but my experience was tinted with weariness from working my 40 hour a week monotonous job. I never felt this tired when I worked full-time as a church secretary at home, but here in New Zealand my job is leaving me with no energy. Which is amazing to me since I spend most of my time doing monotonous stuff at work. I really have no idea what the Lord is doing.

I'm sorry this blog is full of depressing stuff. Life here isn't all bad. Cara and I are house-sitting for a family at our church and it has been wonderful to have a house to live in for a few weeks. Last week we also went to see the fifth Harry Potter movie at the movie theater which was an enjoyable experience all around. The seats were large and comfortable (like sitting in an easy chair at home...no kidding) . The seats were also assigned seating. What?! We sat in row L seats 11 & 12 and laughed about the situation. There's something not natural about assigned seating in a movie theater. Also, New Zealand continues to be beautiful. The sun rises, the rainbows, the hilly countryside. Winter is almost over. The weather is getting warmer (almost as warm as when we first arrived in May) and the days are getting longer. This has got to be one of the shortest Winters I've ever experienced. Yay! See life isn't all rough here in NZ.

I know God is working and sometimes I have to remind myself to stop and think about His blessings to me and to others to realize that He's present. But still, it's difficult to see Him in the monotonous moments of life.

Back to Work

It's been awhile since I've written. Why? Because I've been busy....working an 8 to 5 job. Yup one of the various Temp agency's I've signed up with has finally gotten me a job. This job could last a month, it could last my whole time here in NZ. Only the Lord knows. I'm a receptionist for one of NZ's leading road construction companies Fulton Hogan. It's an interesting atmosphere. It's professional, but since they focus on road repair most of the staff walks around in jeans and bright orange vests. There's only 12 women working in a building full of over 50 employees. Yeesh! Yeah it's different. I'm learning so much about road repair and New Zealanders. Here's a snippet of what my days are sometimes like:

Conversation

(phone rings)

Me: Fulton Hogan Waikato, Tiana speaking.

Customer: Hi, I need to know about a stabilizing job.

Me: Sure, I'll transfer you to Gerald K.

(click)

Office Worker: Don't transfer them to him!! He'll just confuse them. He doesn't know what he's doing!

Me: But it says here that he works in Stabilizing.

Office Worker: Yeah, but he's incompetent. Give stabilizing calls to Glenn F.

(phone beeps - call has come back)

Me: Hi, Gerald doesn't seem to be answering his line, I'll transfer you to Glenn.

(click)

Office Worker: Good job. Give Glenn all the stabilizing calls. Never transfer to Gerald!!

(she leaves)

Me (to myself): What is stabilizing anyway!

Yup. My days are full of many strange conversations like that. It's a wacky environment. Another amusing event that happens at around 4:30pm everyday is the daily mail pickup by New Zealand Couriers. Each evening a red van pulls up in front of the glass entrance to the office. A guy with spiky hair and sun glasses pops out, opens the glass door...and that's when I hear it: music blasting from the van. This music isn't just loud, it's blaring. Once the doors open the whole building of FH Waikato can hear it!! He then picks up the mail. Says "Goodday." Opens the door and once again a burst of music fills the air. The door closes, he drives off, and I begin to laugh at the idea of a postal delivery vehicle rocking down the street.

Random
Same item, different words:
Twink=white out, binding coils=comb binds, smoko room=break room

I experienced my first New Zealand thunderstorm yesterday. It was different. Tropical rain blowing really hard sideways. Lightening sometimes without the sound of thunder. It was cool. Unfortunately, those storms also produced some tornados on the west coast south of Hamilton. Homes and buildings were destroyed, but amazingly no one was killed. Hmmm. And here I thought there were no Tornados in NZ. I guess now New Zealanders have something more to fear besides Tsunamis, Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes, and Pandemic Disease Outbreaks (huh?!).

What a Week

Sorry I haven't written in awhile; it's been an eventful and emotional week. Here's a breakdown:

Saturday - Landlord visited for the first time. He also learned for the first time about the issue we had with the water heater and our huge electric bill. (A landlord is different from a property manager in NZ.)

Sunday - Wonderful church message about depending on the Lord and being honest with Him in our prayers.

Monday - Kelly Temp Agency called with a job opportunity doing some data entry work with Courier Post (like Fed Ex in the states). But first, I had to interview with Courier Post to see if they accepted me.

Tuesday - Looked at a "fully-furnished" flat with a friend from Korea who is also trying to get a flat for a couple of months. The flat was nicer than ours but still not up to snuff in the area of cleanliness. Cara and I determined that 'clean' is one of our top requirements for the next flat we rent. Also, apparently 'fully furnished' in Hamilton means: comes with a fridge, stove, washing machine, couch, table, and bed. Hmm...
Went to our first 18ups Bible Study that evening and met more Christian Young Adults.
Pastor Campbell offered us the use of a used car for three months that he just bought!

Wednesday - Morning job interview with Courier Post. I'm not sure how it went. They wanted me to have Excel experience to do a job that's basically data entry into Excel. They requested that Kelly test me on my Excel knowledge to see how much I had.
The landlord called in the evening to offer us either $400 towards our electric bill or free rent for a month that would only take effect during our last month in the Flat. (Good thing we've decided this is our last month!)

Thursday - Went to the Hamilton Dept. of Building and Housing in person to get a copy of a legal document that would help our situation. Discovered that the people we talked to on the phone were wrong. We have not rights as a tenant to receive compensation for our electric bill from the landlord. It's a 'grey' area. He would only have had to pay if he did not fix the water heater immediately.
Went to Lodge Rentals and informed our property manager that we would like to do the free month of rent. Then informed him this would be our last month.
Met with our landlord in the evening and told him we accepted the offer of free rent for a month.
This was a rough day!!

Friday - Took the beginner and intermediate Excel computer test at Kelly Services. Did awesome with beginner, not so well with intermediate. My Kelly consultant didn't seem too fazed about that. We'll see what Courier Post thinks.
Worked most of the day at the church putting together creative prayer stations for Sunday's service. It was a special project that Pastor Campbell asked me and my sister to do since we had a creative background.
Received the car from Campbell. First thing we did was drive out of the city towards the mountains. Somehow we ended up by the Mormon Tabernacle - Temple Mount. The building was beautiful - too bad what's being taught inside is rotten.

Saturday - Went to Field Days, NZ's largest agricultural fair. Can you imagine Cara and I at a fair about farm stuff?! It was fun. The highlights for me were seeing the wearable art fashion show where the designers had to use only material found on a farm, and the tractor race - I didn't know it was possible for those things to go that fast!
In the evening there was a Rugby game at the Rugby Stadium near our flat. The New Zealand All Blacks verses Canada. The game wasn't that loud, but there was an awesome fireworks display at the start of the game.

Today - Talked to a family from church who are in need of house sitters for 6 weeks starting in July. Now that we have a car we can do this. They are glad to have us live in their house (free of rent) while they are gone. Thank you Lord. After all that's happened with our flat situation it'll be good to not have to deal with property managers and landlords for a little bit.

Well, that's the events of the week. It's been long. I'm glad it's over. God is good. He continues to provide when and where we least expect it.

Trouble

The title of my blog scared ya didn't it?

It's not all that bad.

We just most likely will be moving out of our flat soon. Why? Problems with the Property Manager. No...conflict with the Property Manager.

Here's the issue in a nutshell.
Last week we received our electric bill and it was over $1000. There was clearly a problem. I called the electric company discovered that the meter reading was almost ten times higher than previous months. When it was discovered that the electric problem was an internal one I called my property manager. He immediately sent an electrician. So far so good. The electrician discovered that the problem was with the water heater. It had been leaking heated water onto the roof for the past month. Thus causing a supper high electric bill. My property manager was called and he sent a plumber immediately to fix the leak. The plumber came and the leak was fixed. Still good.

Now here's where the conflict came. Once the leak was fixed the electric company informed me that the money would still have to be paid. They advised me to talk to my property manager about covering the excess amount of money that was caused by the broken water heater. I called the property manager and asked him about covering the excess charge since it was caused by broken equipment. He refused, saying he didn't have to pay since the problem was fixed immediately. After getting off of the phone with him I was angry. This bill was almost ten times more than we would normally have had to pay! I needed advice and knew there was a Hamilton department of building and housing that could let me know the law on this issue. So I called them. They informed me that the property owner would have to pay the excess amount because the leak impacted the amount of our bill. If we knew of the problem and didn't alert the owner immediately then we would have had to pay. I called my property manager today and told him what the Dept. of housing informed me. He still refused to pay wanting legal proof that the owner should cover the excess charge of our bill.

Let me just pause here and comment that any decent property manager would have covered the excess fee without question because they knew it was caused by their faulty equipment. When I spoke with the electric company and the dept. of housing, as well as my Mom, they all agreed that this is what a good property manager would do.

Now I have to file a complaint with the dept. of building and housing and probably meet with a mediator to get the money that the owner owes us. Ugg! I didn't want to do this, but my property manager has left me no choice. Thankfully I have a smart Mom who told me to get a record of the daily energy usage in this Flat for the past year from the electric company, and I'm doing a seven day meter reading (suggested by the electric company) to get an average of what our energy usage most-likely was for this past bill. The dept. of building and housing told me that these documents will help greatly. Actually they were confident that we will receive our money.

In the mean time, I have to set up a payment plan with the electric company to pay the bill for now until my property manager gives us the money owed us. Also, Cara and I need to move to a new flat with a new owner. We've decided that our property manager isn't very good. From the moment we've moved here his true colors have been slowly revealed. First with the shockingly dirty state of the flat when we moved in. Then with his reluctant and sometimes degrading attitude when we asked for repairs of different items (the water heater wasn't the only thing needing to be repaired in our Flat). And finally his response to this issue. If he reacts this way to a pretty obvious problem, there's no telling what other conflicts we may have with him. Can you believe he actually told me I was "bullying" him when I mentioned that I spoke with the department of housing?!

So we begin the search for a flat again. With a much better property manager. At least we're actually in New Zealand and can view the flat before we decide to rent it. We have to give 21 days notice before we move out so it'll probably be a month or two before we leave. Pray for us and this conflict.

Oh, and we're still in need of jobs.

Happy Queen's Day!

It's our first New Zealand Holiday. Queen's Day. NZ is celebrating the Queen (of England's) birthday! People are off of work today. Children don't have school. And they are celebrating. How?

By not really doing anything.

Queen's day is pretty much like our President's day. People get the day off but there are no parades or fireworks. No cookouts. No family get togethers. It's just an extended weekend of relaxing and maybe going shopping.

Cara and I have decided that we love holidays and we love birthdays, so even though we are not British or Kiwi (and could care less about the Queen of England) we are going to celebrate this day by making a birthday cake for her. Yum.

Actually, we've already had a kind of extended celebration this weekend. After church yesterday the senior pastor, Campbell, and his wife invited us over to their house for lunch. It was a lot of fun. They live on a plot of land outside the city that's like a mini farm. They have a few pigs, some sheep, a goat, some chickens (which lay exotic green eggs!), and some rabbits. Most of the animals they have they raise for the sole purpose of eating (except for the rabbits). It's kind of like how we in the States grow vegetable gardens so we don't have to buy produce in the store. Well, in New Zealand there are many people who raise animals so they don't have to buy meat in the store. Interesting huh?

Campbell has three boys, the youngest of which is 6 and the oldest of which is 12. Those boys have A LOT of energy which added another dynamic to the lunch. I love kids! It was fun. They also have a pure breed dog that just last week had a litter of puppies. The puppies were really cute. Can you believe each of them will sell for hundreds of dollars?

After lunch we hung out with the family and then they offered to take us to see the beach on the West Coast that evening since they only lived 35 minutes away from it. Cara and I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the city and see some more of the beautiful country. So we rode with the whole family out to the Beach in Raglan. It was a beautiful, black sand beach. There were parts that were smooth and parts with giant rocks. There also were crazy surfers out in the freezing water riding the waves. I think this was the first time I'd ever seen surfers in person. After our sunset beach tour we had some fish 'n chips at a local fish place. It was served wrapped in newspaper. Delicious.

I was very thankful for Campbell and his family extending such love and hospitality to us. The day was just what we needed to feel refreshed again.

Temporary

Since I've been in New Zealand, I've started to notice that in my life there is a constant reminder of Temporary. First off, I'm here temporarily. I have only one year to enjoy this foreign country. One year to enjoy the fellowship of New Zealanders and then I must part ways. As Cara and I search for a church family, I've felt blessed to meet so many brothers and sisters in Christ all the way across the world. The pastor this Sunday brought up a good point that throughout history the Church (body of believers) has always been present; even in dark times. When Jesus spoke to Peter about building His Church He said, "The gates of Hell shall not prevail." Here in New Zealand I can see more clearly that the Lord IS working - everywhere! Being a Christian is something way Bigger than going to church and participating in religious programs. We are part of a powerful family whom God is molding and shaping to prevail against the 'gates of Hell.' All over the world. But even my time to be used by and glorify the Lord on Earth is temporary.

Next, the only type of work I can do here is temporary. When I chose to do a working holiday I knew the work permit was unique. I just didn't realize how unique. My permit says I can't work permanent jobs. In my mind that meant no full-time jobs only part-time. Apparently I was wrong. I recently applied for a part-time job at a local grocery store, was interviewed, and was offered the job. Unfortunately, upon a closer inspection of my work permit they learned that they could not give me the job since it was a permanent part-time job (whatever that means). So now I am interviewing with Temp Agency's so I can find 'temporary' jobs. What's interesting is that my permit allows me to work casual, seasonal, and temporary jobs, so I could work a full-time job, just for a few months and then switch to a new job, etc. So my work experience this year will all be a series of temporaries. On the plus side, that leaves more time to do fun things like Holidaying.

Finally, I'm temporarily out of theater. Ahh! That's the hardest part. Acting is what I love to do. Sure I could do community theater here, but then I wouldn't be able to travel and Holiday as much as I'd like to. I'd be tied down to a fairly long commitment. Don't get me wrong, I haven't totally ruled out doing theater. I 'm just facing the realities of the situation at this moment in time. The cool thing is, once I get back to the States I'm going to pursue theater full-time. More and more I'm realizing that it's the only profession I'm truly satisfied doing. But for now, I am temporarily out of that world.

Why?

I'm enjoying life in New Zealand but it's left me with a lot of questions.

Why am I here? What is the Lord's purpose in bringing me across the world to this country?

Why do I have to once again do office work with a temp agency? I have no passion for it.

Why do the temp people think I actually want a career doing office work? Don't they know we Working Holidayers are only doing it so we can make money to pay bills while we do fun stuff?

Why were Fritos chips located in the 'South African Foods' section of the supermarket? Fritos is an American brand...right?

Why is it difficult to find a church with a Young Adults ministry (or small group) in Hamilton? How can I meet other Christians who are my age to connect with if there's no place where they tend to congregate together?

Why do my neighbors constantly have loud late night conversations outside on their porch?

Why is EVERYTHING so much more expensive in New Zealand than in the U.S.?

Why is text messaging so big in this country? Even the banks allow you to text message them.

why, Why, WHY???

O.K. I'm done.

For now.

My Life in Pictures

Hey everyone, I've gotten a lot of complaints (mostly from my Mom) about being in New Zealand for three weeks and not showing any pictures so..... here is my life in pictures:

The Cleveland Airport, our last day in America. Yes, we're each wearing two coats in 60 degree weather. They wouldn't fit in our suitcases.

Our first week in New Zealand we stayed in the country near Cambridge. Beautiful!! Imagine waking up to this everyday.

Before we could move into our flat we had to do some serious cleaning. Believe me, that smile was only for the picture. Note to anyone moving out of their apartment: before leaving make sure you clean the fridge...oven...shower...etc.

War of the Worlds...um...the Rugby Stadium.

The great Waikato River. It runs right through the center of the city.

Look in the distance. The city is surrounded by mountains!

The fountain that gave Hamilton the description "Fountain City." The funny thing is I was told that this is one of only a few fountains in the city. I'm on a search to find all the rest.

Well, that's it for now. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures. More to come in the future.

Burritos Anyone?

About two months ago I can distinctly remember walking through Giant Eagle grocery store frantically searching for Ortega Burrito mix. Why was I doing this? Because the thought had come into my head about how much I loved making Ortega burritos as a kid. The seasoning had a different taste that was, well, yummy! Thus began my quest to find Ortega burrito mix in every grocery store I hit, large or small. My search produced zero results. There were gordita, fajita, hard taco, soft taco, and taco casserole mixes but no burrito. It's like Ortega burrito mix had disappeared off the face of the earth!

Apparently I was wrong. It just moved to New Zealand.

During Cara and my first trip to the local grocery store (Pak 'n Save) we stumbled across a shelf of Ortega taco mixes. Yes! Mexican can still be had in NZ! Even better, we saw boxes of Ortega Burrito mix. Yayy! We quickly grabbed a box eagerly looking forward to tasting the yummy burrito flavor we remembered from childhood. Let me tell you, it was everything we hoped it would be (even with the different taste of the New Zealand ground/minced beef). I was thoroughly satisfied with the meal.

I wish those of you back in America could try Ortega burritos. They're great! Perhaps there's still some being sold in the US. If you live in the Cleveland area don't hold your breath. Anyway, if you chance to see some in the grocery store grab it quickly, because it may disappear from the shelves before you know it.

Two Weeks in Middle Earth

I'm here!!

I made it!!

And I finally have internet...

Wow these past two weeks have been crazy.

God has continued to display His presence. We missed two flights due to weather delays (Chicago to LA and LA to New Zealand). And still managed to be re-booked and arrive an hour after our original flight. This was actually a good thing since our ride from the airport arrived late for the first flight but on time for our rescheduled flight. Sam and Jeremy were the two Kiwi's who volunteered to be our chauffeurs from Auckland to Hamilton. They're cool guys. They brought us to the home (farm) of Luke and Kristin, who housed us for about a week while we got our flat together. They live in a gorgeous area. It looks like Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings. Kristin's family owns a Kiwi farm. She gave us a tour of the packing plant and we got to have some free exotic yellow kiwi fruit (another name for expensive in America but bountiful in NZ).

Luke, Sam, and Jeremy are all part of a band called the Holy Rollers (ha ha). We saw them perform on Friday at a Battle of the Bands in Hamilton. They were really good. Plus they won. They are are all Christians and Cara and I were able to attend their church in Cambridge the first weekend we were here. It was a great church. Unfortunately Hamilton is 30 minutes away from Cambridge and without a car we can't really attend that church.

There have been so many funny...interesting...unexpected things that have happened since I've been here. I've formulated so many blogs in my head. Hmm, what to share. I'll share about my first day experience at the home of Luke and Kristin. They live on a farm out in the country. There house is attached to a Kiwi packaging warehouse. As such it's kind of unusual. Unusual being that there is a part of the house with a nonexistent ceiling. Instead the roof is the roof of the warehouse. So when the warehouse doors are open (which is always) all kinds of bugs and birds can get into the house. My first day I was sitting in the living room when suddenly I heard a high pitched squawk and a bird zoomed past my head. The poor thing was frightened and kept flying back and forth frantically. I opened the door to the porch to try to get the bird to fly out but it took a good ten minutes before the creature found its way to freedom. I told Kristin about my experience later that night and she just laughed and said that tends to happen sometimes. New Zealand farm life!! Another bird visited the kitchen on my last morning at their house. Let's just say I'm glad to be to at my Flat in the city.

Well, that's it for now. Miss you guys on the other side of the planet.

"I'll miss you most of all Scarecrow!"

8 days left in America.

I'm starting to feel it. The "I'll miss you most of all Scarecrow" syndrome. It's when you become acutely aware that everything you do might be the last time that you do it (for a year at least). And your suddenly realize that this may be the last time you see all of your friends and family (for a year). I'm starting to feel that way. Especially since my sister and I had our going away party yesterday. I saw many friends from Tetelestai who I won't see again in over a year. This week I'm getting together with various family members for one final time. I'm really going to miss my brothers and sisters-in-law. Sob. And I'll especially miss my mom and dad.

I'm wishing that I could visit some of my friends and family that I only get to see once or twice a year. My aunt, uncle, 1 year old cousin, and grandma in Texas. My uncle in Washington. My aunt and uncle in Maryland. My brother, sister-in-law, and new born nephew in Florida; I so wish I could see them. Alex will be one years old and walking before I get to see him in person. Also by the time I come back to America they will all be moved into their new home in North Carolina, so no more visits to Florida. My friends from college. My friends from church who moved away. I wish I could see them all in this next week.

This week Cara and I will be having our favorite meals for dinner because who knows when we'll be able to have them again. I'll miss some of my favorite restaurants like Aladdin's Eatery, Friday's, Hunan, and Bombay Sitar. The other day I was looking at pictures of flowers that I took around my neighborhood last Spring and it made me sad to think that I would miss them this year. Also all the fun summer events like Indians Baseball games, Fourth of July fireworks, and Carnivals/Cedar Point Amusement Park. Last week Cara and I tried to go see a movie one final time in America, but there was nothing playing that we thought was worth or money or time. I'm gonna miss America.

Wait. Before you start feeling sorry for me, remember that I'm moving to New Zealand! One of the most beautiful countries on Earth. A place that the Lord has been directing and paving the way for me to go to for the past year. If I stayed in America instead of following God to New Zealand I would miss out on His perfect and divine blessing. I would have already missed out on His amazing work of getting an apartment and laptop for my sister and I. I will be missing out on all the great interaction with the Kiwi and Maori people of NZ. And God's continuing moving of Heaven and Earth to bless Cara and me. Am I sad to leave America behind? Yes. Am I excited to enter the uncertain world of life in New Zealand? Definitely!

Unemployed

I'm done.

Today was my last day of work.

After two and a half years I'm done.

I am now unemployed. It feels...the same.
I'm serious. I'm not sure how I expected to feel when I finished, but not like this. I feel the same way I felt when I had a job. Am I in denial? Or do I just not really care one way or the other? Whoa! Scratch that last statement. I do care. After two years of office work (a job I never thought I would do) I am finally free. No more typing papers, answering phones, staring at a computer screen, and making photocopies. I think my true reaction to being unemployed will hit in about two weeks when I don't receive a paycheck and am faced with the prospect of flying to another country with no income.

Hmm...what's it like to be broke in New Zealand?

On the plus side, God continues to work. Yesterday my Senior Pastor took me and my sister out to lunch. Good conversations. I really love my Pastor. For the past two and a half years I feel like I have been under an intense discipleship program as I've typed his notes for Sundays, Bible studies, Seminars, etc. He is a wealth of knowledge and I have been able to speak with him about some tough and deep theological questions. Who needs a degree from a Seminary or Christian College when you are discipled daily just by working at your job. Also, he really has a love for people, Christian and unsaved. This love spurs him to give of his time for members in the body of Christ when he really doesn't have it, and it has sent him to the streets, with or without others of the flock, to share the Gospel with those who so desperately need Jesus' forgiveness. Seeing this love has given me such a respect for ministers. Through him I have seen the ferver and the concern of the Apostle Paul lived out right before me.

The cool thing is I didn't work with just one Pastor but three. Three times the discipleship (in varying degrees), and three different perspectives of what it is to be a Pastor. This is the part of the job that I know I will miss.

I also worked with many other people who I will also miss. My hiring/firing boss, the head of the Properties Committee, surprised me, my sister, and the new secretary with a lunch of chinese food (ordered from a great restaurant called Hunan on Coventry). He picked up this food from the restaurant and then brought it to the church and proceeded to set a table with silverware and china plates so that our meal would be "special." He also served us a dessert of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with cookies arranged in a lovely design in a bowl. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. He said it was a thank you from the Properties Committee to the secretaries for all of our hard work. He also gave me a big bouquet of flowers in a vase. Wow! I felt very loved. As a final gift, he has offered to pay for the cake for my going away party. Yay! Thank you Lord. There are so many wonderful people at my church just like this man. I'll miss them all.

So I'm unemployed. That's alright. Because, you know what? I know I'm loved...by family, friends, and most importantly, God.

Check List #2

How are preparations for New Zealand going?
Hmmm....

My plans don't quite match up with the Lord's plans.
Cara and I are going to New Zealand. On that point the Lord and I are in agreement. How much money we are bringing. Items we are bringing. Laptop computer. Travellers Insurance. Housing. Jobs. Etc. We reach a conflict. Well, really the conflict is all mine. Everything the Lord does is good and perfect. I just need to realize that.

But how do you trust the Lord while at the same time not becoming panic stricken with each new "snag' that arises?

Case in point:
We thought we had our travellers insurance all squared away. We were going to go with Lonely Planet's insurance. It covered six months abroad and then we would just renew it. Well, upon further inspection of the fine print we learned two things. 1) The insurance is non-renewable. 2) They want proof of a plane ticket AND a return ticket. Uh-oh. It's not possible to buy a roundtrip ticket that returns a year later. We were going to buy our return ticket in NZ. That way, if we had to return earlier than a year there would be less hassle and money would not be wasted. Lonely Plant's insurance only covered for up to six months. What do we do? It took forever just to find this insurance. It seemed like most of the reasonably priced travellers insurance that covered a year was only for UK citizens.
I was upset.
But not enough to give up. Last night I randomly Googled "working holiday travellers insurance." Guess what? I was led directly to an American insurance company that covered travellers from 5 days to 3 years. And it was renewable. And the prices were very reasonable! Why had we never found this in all our past searches months ago? God eased the panic in me in a relatively short amount of time. Thank you Jesus!
He keeps doing this over and over again. Am I making mistakes? Yes. Is He still guiding and correcting my mistakes? Definitely.

Now on to the next two major dilemmas: The apartment search (not going well), and my final paycheck which I will receive this week (no more income until after May 1st).

Am I worried? Just a bit. But what is trust? And what is faith? Do I truly believe that the Lord is going before me? Definitely. One thing I desire is that some of my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ do not do the work of the devil in casting doubt into my faith. Statements like, "If it truly is the Lord's will..." and "If you really are listening to the Lord..." do not help to encourage me in my faith. Am I aware that this move to NZ is not going to be easy? Yes. But Christians need to realize that if someone is convinced beyond a doubt that God is sending them they need to encourage them and uplift them even when hard and uncertain times come. We don't know what God is doing in each individual life. And His ways often don't make sense in our limited human minds. If I can't cling to my trust in the faithfulness of the Lord during this time, I will fall apart. Because there will be no one else to cling to. If God can't be trusted who can be? Not humans, we fail ourselves and others constantly.

I don't know what will happen in New Zealand, but I know that God will be there with me, and that's all the assurance I need.

Now to start packing.

Spring

Spring is here in Ohio!

Colorful flowers are popping up. Trees have little green buds on their branches. And the grass is now looking green instead of brown. I love Spring! It gives such a sense of hope. Everything feels new and fresh and clean again. This is why we need winter. So that we will appreciate the newness of Spring that much more. I now constantly go outside, stand, and just breathe in the freshness of the air. I walk around and admire
the vivid colors of the plants. When did they appear? It seems like yesterday all was brown and grey, and suddenly today there are colors everywhere. It feels like magic. Like a miracle. In a way it is. Who could make plants grow and reveal their amazing colors except God. "In Him and through Him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."


I love to look at all the unusual flowers - designs and colors - that appear in Spring. My favorite types of flowers are ones that are unusual, but pretty. Yeah, roses and carnations are great. But if you really want to impress me give me a bouquet of beautiful and unusual flowers. I once saw pictures of the various lilies in the world and I just fell in love with that flower. It's beautiful in a weird, wild sort of way. The plants look like they belong on an alien planet. That's great! Sunflowers also hold a great attraction to me because they are so huge. You can miss many of the beautiful plants of Spring if you aren't paying attention because they come and go so quickly. I love to take them all in. I'm so glad I'm in America long enough to experience the beginning of Spring. It is my favorite season after all.


Wow! What welcoming miracles will New Zealand Springs hold? I can't wait to find out!

From the Journal of Tiana Elise

This weekend I went on a road trip with Tetelestai to Virginia. It's was gruelling but fun. Here's a glimpse into my weekend (and my journal).

...9:00am, met at the bus station. There seemed to be an unusually large number of people dressed in T-shirts and sweat pants. Um...did I miss the memo? Never one to miss an opportunity to put my foot in my mouth I said,"Why in the world are you dressed alike?!" The reply, "Sweats are more comfortable than jeans to wear on a bus." Me: "Oh." I looked down at the most comfortable thing I thought of to wear on the bus...jeans. Now I need to stop here and say I hate sweat pants. I abhor them. Never have I ever seen them look good on anybody. The only time I've ever ventured to wear them in public was when I went to work out in the safe confines of the community Rec Center. I've never actually bought sweats. Those are gifts given by distant relatives. So here I was on a bus with a group of people dressed in an entirely unflattering style of pants. I looked down at my chic jeans and shrugged. It was one of the most comfortable 7 hour bus rides I've ever had.

On the bus many things were going on around me. I didn't really notice them. Headphones and an interesting book are a great way to pass the time on a long bus ride. I think my years of riding the greyhound bus to and from college have helped me master the art of ignoring everyone around me.

Let me interject the lyrics of a song that describes my feelings at this moment in time:

Reliant K, Who I Am Hates Who I've Been-

I talk to absolutely no one
Couldn't keep to myself
I know that the things bottled inside
Have finally began to create
So much pressure that I'll blow up and
I heard the reverberating footsteps
Sneaking up to the beating of my heart
And I was positive that unless
I got myself together I would watch me fall apart

And I can't let that happen again
Cause then you'll see my heart
In the saddest state it's ever been
This is no place to try and live my life


...It rained in Ohio. It rained in Pennsylvania. It rained in Maryland. Stopped in D.C. And the sun actually came out in Virginia.

I'm sorry for the person I've became

I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change

I ready to join every common way again

Cause who I am hates who I've been

Who I am hates who I've been

...The first night the church fed us dinner. Then it was on to putting on make-up and costumes in a very tiny dressing room that doubled as the make-up room. The space was...tight...so I decided to go somewhere else to do my make-up. First I tried outside, but it quickly became cloudy and began to rain. After wandering around the building for a bit I finally decided to park myself on the cold hallway floor. This led to others joining this curious but spacious make-up area. Hey, I started a fad! The performance was awesome despite a small audience.

...The next day was gruelling. We did two performances in one day. Highlights from that day:

Praise and worship was amazing. God slowly opened my heart to worship Him instead of thinking about all the other distractions in my life. By the end of the day I stood and praised the Lord with a heart focused only on Him. I even stayed during part of the Second Act and sang some of my favorite praise songs with Heather until it was time to go on stage.

One of my favorite praise songs is Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman:

Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your Name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your Name

...My intermission talk was even more full of the Gospel message. Since I didn't have to promote the audition notices and church requests I had time to explain to the audience the meaning of the word Tetelestai in relation to God's love and His work on the cross for us. The word is Greek for "It is finished" or "Paid in full."

Clean up/Tech out was crazy. We did it after our final performance on Saturday night. My Aunt came to see the show that night so I talked so long with her that I missed out on my job of lighting and sound, aka, wrapping cords. Since I missed that incredibly fabulous job (not) I began helping stack chairs on a chair rack. A relatively simple job a person would think. Simple? I think not. In the process of an hour we hung, rehung, and rehung again 6 chair racks. we just could not get them to fit properly on the rack and then through the door, etc. The process was so frustrating that you just had to laugh by the end of it. Well, at least I did.

...My final experience from Virginia was church I went to service at the Methodist Church with my host family. The preacher spoke to us about the passage Isaiah 43:16-21. God spoke of doing a "new thing" in Israel. (Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! ~ Isaiah 43:18-19) The preacher compared this to what God may be doing in our life right now. Especially when there are hard things happening and changes happening. Wham! God was speaking directly to me. He's doing "new things" in my life, and he's doing it so that I may "proclaim His praise." It's comforting when God speaks so clearly to me. So the weekend was eventful and good, leaving me praising and giving glory to God.

I have one final song to share. It spoke directly to me this weekend as I rode the bus. God's creation of nature has always stirred something deep inside my heart that automatically draws me closer to Him. This song captures the feelings I want to express to Him whenever I am surround by the beauty of His creation:

The David Crowder Band, Stars -

You should see the stars tonight

How they shimmer shine so bright

Against the black they look so white

Coming down from such a height

To reach me now, You reach me now

You should see the moon in flight

Cutting 'cross the misty night

Softly dancing in sunshine

Reflections of it's light

Reach me now, You reach me now

And how could such a thing

Shine its light on me

And make everything beautiful again

You should feel the sun in spring

Coming out after a rain

Suddenly all is green

Sunshine on every thing

I can feel it now, I feel You now

You should hear the angels sing

All gathered 'round their King

More beautiful than you could dream

I've been quietly listening

You can hear them now, I hear them now

And how could such a King

Shine His light on me

And make everything beautiful again

I want to shine, I want to be light

I want to tell you it'll be alright

And I want to shine, and I want to fly

Just to tell you now, it'll be alright

It'll be alright

'Cause I've got nothing of my own to give you

But this light that shines on me, shines on you

And makes everything beautiful again

It'll be alright

Again

No More Salty Tears

God has just taken something out of my life that was the source of many tears.

It was a thorn in my side that I didn't realize was there until it was removed.

This thing was like a rose, which I picked up to smell its wonderful fragrance and admire its glorious beauty. But as I embraced the rose a thorn from it's stem was lodged into my side. The initial prick was painful. I shed my first tears, but did not understand what caused them. As the thorn lodged deeper in me I experienced other moments of pain. It would hurt, I would cry, and then the pain would disappear only to return at times when I least expected it. The tears were so frequent and numerous that I began to know the feel of their warmth on my checks and their salty taste on my lips. At times I pleaded with the Lord to remove this pain because I did not know what caused it. Then suddenly, in His grace and mercy, He pulled the thorn from my side and revealed it to me. The initial pain from that removal was worse than any prick I experienced from the thorn. But the Lord has shown me that when any harmful object has been lodged in the body the worst pain is the removal, but as the wound heals the pain diminishes until it is no more. And when the pain is gone I will be a whole person again.

No longer do I live in fear of the reoccurring prick of the thorn. No more is it the cause of salty tears.

Thank you Jesus. My comforter and my healer.

so i read this book...

so i read this book. actually i read it twice. actually i read two books. twice.

it's called for women only. well, a book with a title like that sparked my interest. what could one-half of the entire adult population on earth possibly need to know? well i read it. it turns out women definitely need to know this information. it's a book about men. o.k. i bet that half of the women reading this blog just zoned out. the other half are sitting on the edge of their seats. and all the men reading this blog are currently rolling their eyes.

in the past i would have been one of the women who zoned out. i have two brothers and a dad. i should know all about men, right? WRONG!

it turns out that everything i thought i knew about the actions and behaviors of my male family members were rationalized through the mind of a woman. what this means is that many times i thought my brothers or dad did things or behaved in certain ways because of one thing, but really it was because of a completely different reason all together.

how can i explain this book?
it's a survey of men. the writer of the book, shaunti feldhahn, interviewed hundreds of men (christian & non-christian, single & married, old & young) about things like the desire for respect, self-esteem issues, a man's need to provide, romance, & the visual aspect of a man's mind. the surveys revealed what a majority of men thought or felt about these issues. it is a look into the minds of men.

let me tell you, reading the book for the first time was a little hard to swallow. i could not understand the answers that men gave about what mattered to them most. my mind just did not think that way. some of their answers seemed completely opposite to how i was. i next felt overwhelmed because i thought, "how can i ever respond to the men in my life in a way that is uplifting to them when that way seems so foreign or opposite of what i would normally do?" then, a few weeks later, i read the book again. it was a little easier to swallow once i had time to process what i learned earlier, and once i was able to observe the men in my life and apply some of the things i learned. (by apply, i do not mean i treated men like lab rats, observing their reactions to various tests, what i mean is that i wanted to encourage and uplift the men in my life and show them how much i appreciated them. the book gave me a means of doing that in a way that they understood more clearly.)

o.k. i bet you're wondering about the second book i read. well, it's actually the companion to for women only it's called for men only by jeff feldhahn (shaunti's husband). you can't be surprised that i read this book. twice. of course a book for men about women i had to check out! you know, i needed to make sure that what he (and the hundreds of women he interviewed) were saying was true. so i read that book and it hit me in another way. i realized that growing up as a female i was told about the different physical aspects of the female body but i never was really told about how the female mind works. i guess it was something we women were supposed to instinctively know. and to an extent that's true. but when i read for men only, the book actually pinpointed common female traits. it kind of confirmed to me that i was pretty much a normal female. it talked of things like insecurity in relationships, the runnings of the female mind, the desire for security (here's a hint guys: it's actually not about money), the need to express feelings about a problem, & self-esteem in connection with feeling loved.

both of these books opened my eyes to how truly different men and women are. at first they left me confused, but then after further reflection i realized how amazing god is that he created two types of humans that compliment each other. it really is strange that men and women are in some ways almost opposite of each other in their thinking. i think these opposites help to humble us because both men and women are needed in the world to create a good dynamic. you can't have one without the other. we need each other. god knows this.

these books have opened my eyes in a way that am still processing but am excited to know and apply. if you're confused (or curious) about the inner live of men or women i strongly encourage you to check out for women only and for men only. the funny thing is that a lot of this information we just assume the opposite sex already knows about us when in actuality they really have NO CLUE!