Good Morning New Zealand

Hello Hello!
I'm in NZ!
It was a good and fairly un eventful journey  - but I did figure out that I will always fly New Zealand Air whenever I can. So I guess I'll be planning many trips back! haha. They have the most colorful, pretty flight attendant outfits ever. They are so welcoming and helpful and of course, they're accents...a-mazing.:)

I went in and out of being nervous. Whenever that would happen I would feel car sick and fidgety - but for the most part on the long 12 hr flight from LA, I was able to sleep, despite being in a middle seat. In order to get us on NZ time they gave us dinner at 10:30/11ish which was NOT what i wanted to be doing, I was ready to sleep. But i watched a movie, ate as much food as I could manage, prayed some and feel asleep for about 7 hours.

When we got to Auckland it was still dark outside and cold.  My chaco covered feet were freezing as walked out of the terminal around 7:30 am after going through customs, and having my boots cleaned by the funny NZ customs man (who made me feel right at home!) I had to catch a bus to the domestic flight terminal and a very helpful air line worker immediately saw the look of confusion on my face, tried to carry by heavy bags for me and explained when and where my connecting flight would be! God was so good to provide so many nice people in my path! I accidentally ordered a shot of espresso at an airport restaurant, instead of a cup of coffee...and sorely over paid - c-est la vie! haha It was gross btw

I got very nervous on my flight to Christchurch, esp about if I would be able to find the YWAM staff picking me up. I walked by them at first and they didnt recognize me, so when I walked by them after getting my bag I finally got connected.

So the van we rode in, the driver drives on the right side and the sliding door is on the left side...i was trying to climb in the right side window haha. The two girls i sat between on the ride to the base both ended up being twins! it was crazy! one was identical and one had a brother. So we swapped twin stories. That was comforting and a good ice breaker. The Oxford Mountains were dead ahead of us and Beautiful! Snow capped and sky scraping. And we passed a few sheep farms. Those sheep and lambs are so CUTE and fluffy!!

I live in a house right down the rode from the main classroom and dining room...its just a short walk through the Anglican church parking lot. It has a beautiful painted mural on the side of its office building too...I might go there in the morning. It's either the Anglican church or the Baptist church, which is apparently very charismatic - so we'll see!

The people her on base, and my fellow students are so interesting and lively! I can't wait to here their stories! The few girls I've met in my house(which sleeps around 20) have all had wonderful stories of the Lord's provision and prodding for them to come to Oxford and do a DTS. There is also a Justice DTS going on so we are mingled in with those student for lecture phase. My two roommates are doing Justice DTS.

Well, I want to thank everyone for their fervent prayers for my safety! The Lord was gracious and safely got the plane across the Pacific ocean during the night. Oh! I hope you all had a good Thursday, because I never experienced September 29th. But Saturday has been great! Enjoy yourself!:)

It is chilly here, as they are transistioning into Summer. I wore my scarf and wool socks to bed because our rooms seem to hold to coolness and it is pants and coat weather for sure. I can't tell you exactly the tempature because it's all Celcius, and that makes no sense to me! haha

Alright, I am going to go get ready for bed. Last night I went to sleep at 9pm and slept until 11am this morning - oh what a glorious 14 hours that was! And, I have to say, from the bay window out our kitchen, it was a glorious thing to say "Good Morning New Zealand" and slowly let this reality sink in.
Love love love from New Zealand!