इ"म नोट सुरे वही थिस इस इन थाई.

Where to begin...

After about four weeks of classes and evangelistic outreach, we had a break for 10 days. I had contacted an old acquaintance a few weeks before coming to New Zealand -- "Glennem from Blenheim," as we called him on Teen Missions Team 93033 - Zimbabwe, 1993. Glen and his family have lived in Nelson, New Zealand (NZ), for the last several years. Nelson is located on the northern edge of NZ's South Island not far from kilometers and kilometers of bush treks and beautiful beaches. This was my only real plan for the break - the ferry to Picton and on to the Buckley's in Nelson. Up until a week before I left, I didn't have a travel partner, and I suddenly realized that I didn't want to travel alone for 10 days. So, I prayed, and the next morning my roommate told me her travel plans had fallen through. My response? "Praise the Lord - I asked God last night for someone to travel with!"

Mirjam and I took a ferry across the Cook Strait which is known as one of the most dangerous sea passages in the world. We were highly favored both ways, though, and had nothing but sunshine, dolphins, and beautiful scenery. There were actually 11 of us from the school on the same boat, which was a lot of fun. Mirjam and I took the bus to Nelson and spent two days with the Buckleys, who were great to hang out with. God blessed us with hosts who love homemade espresso drinks and even took us an hour up the coast to see the golden beaches of Kaiteriteri.

Afterward, we took the bus to Blenheim and the TransScenic railway through Kaikoura. The open-air observation car was an amazing way to see the east coast despite the sometimes overzealous, teenaged ruggers (rugby players) on board with us. Mirjam and I sat with two lovely old English women on holiday from Essex. They were quite amused with Mirjam's dredlocks ("Are they your real hair?") and our knitting/sewing projects.

One of the school staff members connected us with a fabulously hospitable couple in her hometown of Christchurch. Nick and Jenny picked us up from the rail station and took us to their home where we each had our own private bedrooms. This was the first time either of us had slept alone in a room since we'd come to NZ! Our first full day was spent driving Nick's old manual, column-shift work van on all over the area (constant self reminder = "left side, Heather"). Mirjam and I hiked along the crater's edge above Governor's Bay and enjoyed amazing views. We had to run briefly from an onslaught of Orks (obligatory Lord of the Rings reference - sorry, I'll try not to let it happen again). Ok, it was a group of 40 or so identically-clad hikers. Still, it was fun to pretend. Then we had coffee at Lyttleton Coffee Co. in the little shipping town of Lyttleton. It was defintely the cutest coffee shop I've been to in this country. It was so great, I bought the closest thing I will most likely purchase to a NZ t-shirt. Check out the artwork on my Flickr.com site.

A couple of our schoolmates arrived in Christchurch our last night there, and Nick brought them over for a dip in the spa with Mirjam and I. Then we picked up a camper van for relocation to Wellington. The company we drove for made a mistake in calculating the charges, and when I pointed it out, they decided to overlook the $135NZ discount they gave us! We drove through the NZ Alps by way of Arthur's Pass to Greymouth. Our last day on the South Island was Mirjam's 22nd birthday which we spent driving up the west coast and back across to Picton. Our friends had made it back there as well, so after a mussel dinner in Havelock, we hung out at their backpacker (NZ travelers' hostel). There we met several other travelers from Finland, England, Scotland, Germany, and Austria. Our Scottish friend met us on the ferry back to Wellington and spent the whole day hanging out with us.

Everything was going well until the parking lot of the camper van park. (Note: any of my family members reading this are not allowed to laugh at or mention the following story at any point in the future.) We unloaded the grey water from the van and were preparing to refill the fresh water tank when, OH JESUS! I side-swiped the stupid, yet functional, metal pole guarding the little pavilion over the dump station. I was a little upset. Fortunately, I had Mirjam along to cover me in prayer. I resigned myself to losing my $400NZ deposit, while she quietly asked for a miracle. When I presented the situation and our camper van to the nice man at the office, he said he would take a look at it. He then proceeded to refund my $400 and gently send us on our way!

God is good. And He loves me.

The Lord has continued to bless me despite everything that's been thrown at me that could steal my joy. During my time away, there was more turmoil on the homefront. Wow, the Devil never quits. I am believing for a miracle as, once again, I am faced with a complete turn-over of tenants and the prospect of an empty house on June 1st. Please pray for the provision of a reliable, godly tenant to rent the whole house for at least 6 months. Also, I am trusting God as my advocate with the potential numerous mediations as I return home. I am looking forward to connecting with the one God has set aside for my house and being released from the stress that has felt like a millstone for quite some time.

Since we've been back, we've had a series of amazing speakers at the school. Just previous to the break, we had a Vinyard pastor from Christchurch come up to us to speak to us mainly concerning the gift of prophecy. In actuality, he and a dear lady from the local Anglican congregation spent the majority of three days praying and prophesying over each one of us. We've also had many occasions to pray for each other and speak into one another's lives. Another speaker we had was Cecily Hill, a pastor from Auckland, who ministered for 49 of her 51 years as a single person. Hearing her experiences in ministering to people at the margins of society, healing the sick and doing so as a single woman were both encouraging and inspiring. This last week, we had Justin and Jenny Duckworth speak on perseverance and sustainable community living. I'm really looking forward to spending the night at their camp in Ngatiawa next weekend. I'm really praying that the Lord uses them to restore some of the hope in Christ-centered community that's been damaged by the discouragement I've encountered over the last couple of years.

The rest of the school, minus a few of us stragglers, drove up to Tauranga this weekend for an artists' seminar being held by David Pierce. I got to stay behind to spend time with Jesus and do things like have people over for dinner, have a soaking-in-the-Spirit time at the house, visit Ngatiawa, and write this journal entry. Please pray for me as I seek the Lord for direction beyond the school including a two-week visit to California on my way home and the possibilities of going to the Rainbow Gathering with the Jesus Kitchen and traveling to Beruit with a team from my church, The Salvage Yard, this summer.

Feel free to check out the photos I've posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hjael79/
For more info. on the Jesus Kitchen and NLM, go to: http://www.steiger.org/2008/