Blogging?

OK so I just realised that the last post was my one and only post for December so far! So ill have to get writing before the new year, so I dont completely fail at this blogging thingy!

I am alive!

Yes I am alive, even though I went cycling and couldn't even put my helmet on the right way! I survived!

Well its been quite a while (once again) since I actually stopped procrastinating and uploaded, or is that downloaded? who knows anyways! So Christmas is all over again for another year! And I'm enjoying a bit of a break right now which is wonderful seeing as this time of the year brings summer sun to New Zealand! Hence Christmas day being very different this year, a yummy BBQ in the gorgeous sun shine! and a short visit to the beach in the evening to catch the last bit of sunset, having arrived after the sun was mostly down! Despite knowing exactly what time it sets, thanks to Lane's new watch! Lane is my new buddy, there's not many people on the ship right now, and he stuck around after outreach ready to start staffing in January, which is cool. So we've been hanging out alot and hes even going to teach me to surf. Which is dependent on two very important things, there has to be actually some waves and I have to pluck up the courage to get into the sea! It was just so warm in Samoa, I know this is going to be way to cold in comparison! But anyways, we'll see if that actually happens!

Ok thats enough for now, its lunchtime and my brain needs fuel! Then after I think i'll take a stroll around the estury.

Yeah Marine Reach!

So here's a link to the new promo video, I thinks it's pretty sweet! Explains pretty much what's happening here with me in NZ and the vision for Marine Reach!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kRJWn1OF2A

I'm just not smart enough with my computer to get it on my blog, prehaps i'll ask someone to show me!

Christchurch...

....Hello again! So we arrived in Christchurch yesterday! The drive down not as pretty as it was in June, due to the lack of snow and fresh blue sky! But I cant complain, its still extremely pretty down here!

This being the second part of outreach! A land based tour of churches and youth groups and some other kinds of stuff aswell! A busy 3 weeks is ahead of us and a whole heap of driving from the top of the north island to the tip of the south island and then back again! Its going to be fun! 'just sat in church right now, which is home for the next 4days, listening to the some of the teams practice worship for a youth event tonight! I even just played a song on guitar with the band, all hooked up to the sound system, it was so much fun!!

Thought i'd post some pictures of beautiful Samoa and the awesome team that I co-lead with Emily! Just can't get that place of my mind, but i'm having to conscoiusly put my mind here in NZ for now! It was a very sudden re enty back into NZ, having only 1 day to unpack then re pack and have a few meetings. Ready to drive for about 7 hours all the way to Wellington the next day! So I guess its not surprising! But I have been wondering and praying about why I loved it so much, unlike any of the other countries i've been too in the past year!

Talofa Lava!

Malo! Asu Fia Fia!

That's hey! happy day! in Samoan! This country is amazing, its going to be hard to leave on Sunday after 4 weeks! Living with Samoan families has been so so great, I have just fallen in love with this place much more than anywhere else my travels have taken me. We have met some amazing people, and have been truly blessed here! Everyone has been so generous and hospitable!

God has really protected us as well, none of the 7 of us have experienced any major illness, unless about 100 mosquito bites for one guy, Lane, during the night counts! I guess the itchiness was quite tough! But other than that, all is well and we're all keeping well!

If anyone ever gets the opportunity to come to Samoa! Do it! Its amazing!

An explosion in a mattress factory!

So I heard this phrase the other day and it really made me laugh. So hopefully this post won’t be likened to an explosion in a mattress factory...full of fluff!!
I couldn't’t believe a whole month had passed the other day; I was shocked that we are now half way through October and I leave for Samoa in 2 days! So we are frantically trying to get everything sorted before we fly out on Friday!

The past month has been pretty busy and hard at times but it’s been so great too. The rest of my team and I have been culturally orientated for our outreach to Samoa. Thankfully details for our trip are coming together, at the 11th hour I must add. We have our accommodation sorted for the first two weeks which will be on the main island Upolu, the second two weeks we will be staying on the other main island Savaii which is more rural than Upolu. And the accommodation for that is being organised as we speak by our contact in Samoa!! I’m pretty excited! Its going to be different leading at team this time so its going to be another experience altogether!

After that we are continuing our outreach in New Zealand, the whole school road tripping down to the very farthest point of the south island!! Down in the south island, we will be speaking in churches and youth groups sharing about Marine Reach and also sharing our experiences of Samoa and Solomon Islands (where the other half of the school is heading) Hopefully getting people fired up about missions and encouraging our generation to step out of their comfort zone!! Hopefully we are going to be helping out on a farm that rears cattle to raise money to support Marine Reach! So the next 2 months are going to be busy, exciting and maybe tiring! But defiantly worth it!!

Last couple of weeks I had the opportunity to indulge in English candy, which was divine! And just yesterday the staff received a shipment of American candy. I was wondering whether I could possibly sweat off half my body weight whilst in Samoa!?!

Other highlights of the last month include sunrise at the top of Mount Manganui and my last small group with my girls! Both of which we really lovely! (see pictures)

After Friday it may well be another monthly download! Which is terribly sad! As I don't want to be one of the statistic of blog drop outs!!

Woah, it has been sooo long since I last emptied my mind of the many and often useless things going around in my head, or even just documented the many activities of life here in New Zealand! And it will be 5 more days and i'll be jeting off to sunny Samoa and I have no idea how much intenet access we'll be getting!!

So just for now the beautiful picture is from the sail back to Tauranga yesterday after a long weekend at Great Barrier Island!

Overdrive?

I've really fallen behind with the blogging thing...had a busy, but real good week this one just past!Well I think so that I can remember. Last night was a highlight...the Watoto children's choir from Uganda came to a local christian college nearby, which was awesome! Coffee drinking has been great...think I'm getting addicted! Plans for the Samoa outreach are coming along OK, with lots of prayer and fasting by the team!

This weeks lectures so far have been pretty intense and quite thought provoking not only for the students but for me as well! We had some Koreans come and visit the ship the other night too, travelling intercessors apparently, and they had some interesting and specific things to say in prayer for me, which also has been very thought provoking! So brain on overdrive right now, I guess I shouldn't really need the coffee but some how it helps :o)

Love Mountains

On Saturday and Sunday for that matter, I reached the top of two mountains...actually I lie..I attempted to reach the two summits! For both different reasons...firstly one was covered in snow and the chair lift only enabled us to go so far and the second well...plain lazy I guess! But I had fun all the same! Having never been up a snow covered mountain...it was awesome!!

Going back to business...the reason why i'm in this beautiful country... the madness begins...meetings here there and everywhere and much planning and organising for outreach begins!! Much prayer needed :o)

Exciting News

Marine Reach on TVNZ!! Take a look:

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/2044020

I was super excited!

Oh and just a quick note of outreach news, In 8 weeks time, i'll be leading a team with Emily and 5 students to Samoa! The other 10 students and Lauren and Dahvede will be going to the Solomon Islands! We will be in the South Pacific for 4 weeks, then we are going on a Public Relations tour which will be mainly based down on the South Island for 3 weeks! Today has been an exciting day for all!

Home sweet home!

The Pacific Link, Tauranga, New Zealand = Home!

I'm very glad to be back on board the ship, I didn't sail from Auckland to Tauranga but it was lovely to welcome everyone who was on board. Looking a little worn from its 5 exhausting but incredible months of outreach to the islands, ministering to around 6000 people!! And its so good to be reunited with those friends who have been out in the south pacific all this time too! Good times!

Yoghurt coated raisins!

Yea! The lovely, Pacific Link, gets in today!! And we get to move all our junk on tommorow, i'm so excited!! I guess that that's the major thing thats being going round in my head these past few days. Mangere, Auckland has been a challenge, but we got through it, and tonight will be our last night here!

Seeing as its just gone half past 7 in the morning, todays breakfast consited of yummy peach and pineapple yoghurt with tastey muesli, that had yoghurt coated raisins in! strange but quite delicious!

Weekends!

Yey, it's the weekend! Although weekends are not the traditional weekends anymore, I've realised that this really is a full time thing/job/role whatever you want to call it! After a very busy week, I was so shattered this morning even though I was able to get up fairly late! I'm for sure feeling the couple of late nights in the week and the intense week of teaching, from now on I dont care if i'm a sad old thing and I go to bed early! It was a great week though, lots of things to chew over and one of the girls, Caroline got baptised in the sea, which was pretty awesome.

But today was my day off...a day where I'm to escape DTS land! So I met up with an old friend Deb, I did have coffee with her when I was in Auckland in April but the last time I saw her was in England probably about 4 or 5 years ago. So she took me on a little adventure in Auckland to a nice look out and then to a nice little beach. The weather being the four seasons in one day that it is here we got successfully soaked by the freak rain storm!

Now I'm just relaxing listening to some Brooke Fraser and then early to bed I think, ready for another week of DTS madness!

There's a first time for everything...

So we have our first small groups this Thursday, which is super exciting! After much prayer and consideration we've got them all sorted. I have three lovelies; Heather from the Philipines, Mercy from America and Kristin from Sweden! I'm looking forward to walking this part of thier journey with them and to see what God has in store for them these next 5 months!

And...on another first note, yesterday was my first time playing in a worship band! oh yes...I played guitar quietly in the background and with several air guitar chords, but I played all the same, quiet enjoyed it actually, but not so much the hurting finger tips!

Girls Night

Gosh...time flies so quickly! It's almost the end of the week again! Been running lots of errands and stuff again this week, I think I've been to the mall nearly eveyday so far! Trying to resist the temptations of Pak'N Save, for those who have not experienced Pak'N Save, its just a supermarket but as you enter one of the first things is usually a large section of what I can only describe as a 'pick n mix' section. Oh how I love it because this isn't just a regular pick 'n mix, it has of course a huge selection of sweets/candy but also every kind of nut you can imagine, an array of dried fruits and...of course the essentials of life, muesli! Its obvious why is my downfall!

So Lauren and I were there today shopping for yummy snacks for tonight...girls night. Thursday night will normally be small group night but we haven't sorted them out yet, so the guys are going out for burgers and us girls are having a night in with some chips and real hot chocolate with marshmallows and a good movie!

Velvet Elvis

This past week I've been reading Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis:

"As a Christian, I am simply trying to orient myself around living a particular kind of way, the kind of way that Jesus taught possible. And I think that the way of Jesus is the best possible way to live.

This isnt irrational or primitive or blind faith. It is merely being honest that we are all living a 'way'

I'm convinced being generous is a better way to live.

I'm convinced forgiving people and not carrying around bitterness is a better way to live

I'm convinced having compassion is a better way to live

I'm convinced pursuing peace in every situation is a better way to live

I'm convinced being honest with people is a better way to live

This way of thinking isn't strange; it is simply acknowledging that everybody follows somebody,and I'm trying to follow Jesus."

This has been resonating with me ever since I read it. I have not finished the book yet but I feel much encouraged to question things and wrestle with ideas, that we don't have to have all the answers.

Dreams

Dreams and Aspirations,

Think big and Believe,

Be expectant and Hope,

Go wild and Imagine,

Unleash your Creativity,

and Dream dreams,


So I guess I kind of wrote this 'poem' the other day, never really done that before, so I thought I would share :o)

Airports

We arrived in Auckland on Wednesday...wow Wednesday that was ages ago! It's been quite busy sorting everything out here, we're getting there I guess! And alot of the students have arrived now, I just realised that I dont think I've ever met someone at the airport before! Watching people coming through arrivals is very interesting! People watching at it's finest...and strangely emotional seeing loved ones reunited!

This morning we had to get up at 4.45, so I'm running on a strong long black from the aiport at the moment, about to head off to church, in 5 mins actually, oh the early service :o)

Peace

Hotties!

So I just filled up my hottie (hot water bottle) ready to give it another try after it leaked on me the other night, fortuntly I didnt get burned, just a little wet patch by my side! It;s quite cold tonight, my little travel alarm clock, which I bought in Tokyo airport by the way, says it's 15oC. I'm quite shocked actually that I haven't mentioned my alarm clock before now! I'm quite impressed with it actually! but any description I give it probably wont do it justice, so im not going to even try.

I just realised that i'm in quite a random mood tonight and frankly my hot water botttle and alarm clock situation isn't that interesting, i'm sorry!

For the past couple of days we finished up with training and have been getting stuff ready to head up to Auckland, we actually leave tommorow instead of today now, and our first students arrive on friday. I've also been making some progress with the guitar playing which i'm super excited about! I can almost play 2 whole songs now, 4 if I include the 2 which I kinda play the chords to and then strum along something random! Am glad I travelled with it all this way at the moment, let's just hope I get time to practice!

Panic!

...I thought for a second I'd over done it with the muesli, having heaps of the triple maple nut stuff from waitrose at home when I was there, cuz I wasnt really feeling it! But apparently not, I just needed a change! So its business as usual with the breakfast muesli!

All is well with staff training, it's actually quite the experince, learning stuff about myself too, which I suppose has to be good. And having some funny times too! Kinda excited and aprehensive at the same time and having moments of feeling confident and then not so confident! But it's all good....

...muesli love

Up side down

Yes, I'm back in New Zealand, after my looong flight, via 7 hours in Tokyo and an extra unscheduled stop in another Japanese airport! But I made it safe and sound, with all my luggage and a warm welcome at Auckland airport from Patty and Hope, then a nice drive from Auckland to Tauranga. And not too jet lagged which was good, although I did go to bed at 9 last night and I didnt get up this morning until 11.30!

Feels sort of strange at the moment, being here, but in a totally different way to before, and not knowing what exactly the next months are going to entail exactly! Staff training starts tomorrow now, so I guess it wont be long until it all pans out!

Today is just a lazy lazy day with Emily and Lauren and dinner tonight at Pattys with everyone before the craziness begins!!

Oh and I had New Zealand toasted muesli and yoghurt for breafast/lunch it was yummy!

Gooseberries!

Yes oh yes, I had gooseberries today! Thanks very much to the farmers market in Bromsgrove this morning! They brought back great childhood memories of picking them from the prickly bush in Granma's back garden, along with the other array of plants with yummy edible things growing from them! Made my day!!

So I'm all packed and ready to fly...well nearly...but I actually quite enjoyed it this time! My flight is at 1 o'clock tommorow afternoon, sad as it is, i'm even more excited because im flying with Virgin for the first 12 hours to Tokyo, and....i've already checked in, online...technology these days! Then im flying Air New Zealand onto Auckland, where I should arrive at 11 on Tuesday morning and then onto Tauranga.

I'm just trying to print off some pictures of my lovely friends and family to put up by my bunk when I get onto the ship in August, so that I wont forget you guys...like I could anyways! As ever the printer is playing up and dinner is calling and its mums awesome sunday roast, even though its saturday!!

This time next week...

I’ll have already been back in New Zealand for 4 days!!! I’m super excited about this next part of the crazy adventure that God is taking me on. I’ll be staying in the Marine Reach staff house with the other girls, Emily and Lauren that are on staff for this school with me. And I'll have started my staff training so I may have a few things to update ya'll with.


Exciting news for today...my rucksack arrived, woohoo, it turned out to be a mission trying to get the one I wanted. Several places telling me they had it in stock then after i'd ordered they'd email saying they didn't have it in stock!! Arrr! I had borrowed one last time I was away and I knew what I wanted in a rucksack to make life easier and this was the one! But I found it and unfortunatley now this means that I should really start packing, seeing as I only have one full day left before I leave!!

Yesterday..

Was a typical English summer day...splendid grey skies, clouds spilling out refreshing water, just to make sure the plants don’t wither up and die in the heat!!

Had another lovely day, Mum and I went to see Wendy and Helen. I was greeted by an over excited Arthur (cocker spaniel, aged 9 weeks) almost peeing all over my feet, luckily I managed to escape with a just a small splash! I didn’t really mind ‘cause he’s so stinking cute!

Suitably dressed for the glorious weather, raincoats all round, we headed out to Malvern. Couldn’t really see the hills through the grey, fog of clouds, but I’m sure they were there looking lovely as ever! Had a little mooch round a few shops and then landed in Marks and Spencer’s! We had lunch, of course it was the soup and a roll, picked up a coffee and walnut cake for afternoon tea and headed home! Oh it was divine!

Nice day, shame about the weather!

Happy Days!

So being in Cardiff for a few days has been great, catching up with good friends that feel like family, consuming far too much cheesecake, cwtching with cute Bethan, exciting games of uno and scrabble and a strenuous muddy walk with great views out over the city!

Then came the massive packing up of all my worldly belongings. I was quite impressed that I managed to get everything in my little c3, and that I had the energy to then drive the 100 miles, after shifting it all down 2 flights of stairs and then strategically packing it in! Listening to a bit of John Mayer took my mind off the fact I then had to unpack it all the other end!

And I was welcomed back to good old Bromsgrove with copious amounts of rain, thunder and lightening! At least it was an excuse to put off the unloading a little longer!

I love Muesli

This morning im very content! Stomach full of good muesli and in the company of two very good friends in the lovely country of Wales! And the start of my blog, what better way to start!

Muesli: a tasty blend of chilean flame raisins, apricots, sultanas, banana, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, blanched flaked almonds, hazelnuts and multi-grain flakes

Me Me Me

Well what can I say, 20 something, trying to orient myself living a particular kind of way, one that Jesus taught possible...I guess i'll add more as I get inspiration!