Hello family and friends!

I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted! School has been keeping me very busy! "School?!" you say? I know. I was shocked they make me do work here too. But with 4 large papers and 2 exams in the past 12 days, I made it my job to be a sleep-deprived, library-loving, study-bug lately!

Well much has been happening down here in the Southern hemisphere. For now I'll just tell you about my most recent fun adventure! Easily the highlight since my last post was seeing Dad over Easter Break. We had so much fun that week!! He and I both flew to Auckland and met there in the airport. I'm not sure if there's any better feeling than seeing a loved one in the airport. He's such a great dad!

We had a full week scheduled that involved seeing the famous glow worms of Waitomo, going on a high speed boat tour around the Bay of Islands and seeing the ancient Kauri trees!

Above: Dad showing off the Kauri trees. The picture doesn't seem to do justice to them. Take my word for it though, they were huge!


In addition to the aforementioned great sights, Dad and I journeyed down to Hobbiton! (For those of you who aren't big Lord of the Rings fans, Hobbiton (aka the Shire) is where Hobbits live. It can be seen in the very beginning of the first LOTR movie and end of the third movie too.) This was by far my favorite thing we did the whole week, and maybe even my favorite thing I've done here over the past 3 months! The sun was shining, we had a pleasant lunch and got to see the beautiful set of the Shire. We had a funny tour guide and we just laughed a lot. It was such a special day!

Above: Dad and I outside a hobbit door!

At left: Entering the Shire!











In the time since break, I have been just trying to keep up with my studies, catch up with friends and enjoy Dunedin. The city has 2 free museums with some of New Zealand's most famous artists! Woo! Also, it boasts great restaurants and shops! Sweet as!

In spite of so many wonderful things, I have been missing home a bit lately. That being said, I am definitely trying to enjoy this gift of an experience. Not everyone gets to spend 4 months living in a different country and I am so grateful for all I am learning here! The Lord has been very faithful to me and I'm seeing more and more why I rely on Him alone. We're told in Deuteronomy, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." I have seen it is absolutely true that the Lord is 100% faithful to me. He truly will never leave me or forsake me- even if I'm away from family and farther from home than I've ever been. What peace and joy that brings!

Well I think that's all I have to report at the moment! Thanks for reading! Hope you have a day full of sunshine and smiles :)

Weekends Past

Hello family and friends!

Well it sure has been a while since I've last posted! I'm sorry about that! A lot has been going on here that has been keeping me quite busy! I'll now try to give a brief overview as to what I've been up to on my weekends, so that you're all fully updated on my outings and adventures!

This past weekend I was on a retreat with Student Life (NZ Cru) in Queenstown. It was nice to get off campus and get to see the adventure capital of New Zealand! In my free time I also got to go to this super quaint town called Arrowtown, where we found a a fudge shop and watched a pickup cricket game. As for the retreat itself, I really enjoyed getting to do worship and spend some time with the Lord, while in the lovely mountainous scenery that surrounds Queenstown.

The weekend before I was on a camping trip to Mount Cook! It was my first ever experience camping and it certainly was an experience! I'm pretty sure both nights I slept directly on top of a large pebble and it was probably the coldest I've been since arriving in New Zealand, but it was still really fun! There was one night were we got to lay on the beach under the stars and I have never seen them look more beautiful than they did on that night. There were no lights or clouds to impair our view and we got the bonus of having an awesome spiritual conversation with a new friend. All in all, a great night! (The below picture shows me at Mt. Cook)


The weekend before that one, I went to an absolutely BEAUTIFUL beach about 20 minutes from Dunedin called Tunnel Beach. In order to get there Alissa, a new friend named Brett and myself walked about a mile, took a bus, walked along a hilly path, climbed down a grassy cliff and arrived at this picturesque beach! There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the warm weather was a welcome sight after the past couple of cold weeks. When we got down to the actual beach (there was a tunnel carved into the cliff that led to the beach) we saw a seal! We then enjoyed just playing in the waves (the water was VERY cold, but also refreshing after our walk!) and exploring. When we arrived home, we were all exhausted. Alissa looked it up on google maps and we realized we walked about 8 miles up and down cliffs and hills! We felt very fit indeed! (I promptly took a 2 hour nap when I got home. haha)
(Below is a picture of me at Tunnel Beach!)
(Above is a picture of Alissa and I again at Tunnel beach)

Additionally that weekend, we went on a tour of the Dunedin Cadbury factory that weekend, which was quite enjoyable! Lots of free samples and discounted chocolate helped Alissa and I with the new chocolate diet we're trying. It's going very well.
(Below is a picture of me in an old fashioned Cadbury truck after the factory tour!)



As far as my time spent in Dunedin it has been pretty nice. I feel like I'm getting really used to the city and I definitely have some favorite places to eat, get coffee (which was high on my list of goals!) and great quiet time spaces. I have been loving going for walks in the Dunedin botanical gardens, which is basically in my backyard!

Besides those trips, I have just been keeping busy with my schoolwork and trying to keep myself out of trouble! If you have any questions, feel free to message me! Thanks for reading!

An update from the bush

Hello family and friends!

Wow time sure has seemed to pass by quickly since the last time I posted! A lot has been happening here!

First off, I would just like to thank you all for your prayers. Last time I talked about how we were finding it difficult to meet Christians and how one woman even told Alissa and I not to talk about our faith. Things have been so soooo much better since you have been praying! The next morning after I blogged, Alissa and I went to a church called Grace Bible Church. To say the least, it was wonderful! The moment we walked in, a lady asked us if we knew anyone and then proceeded to introduced us to students, who are quickly becoming friends. At church the message was about how we are individuals with unique gifts, but together one unified body and family in Christ. It was so encouraging to be reminded of how big the body of Christ is! I'm on the other side of the world, yet surrounded by people I can call brothers and sisters! It's pretty neat how God has reached people all over the world!

Anyways, this week I have just been going to class and keeping busy with Church/Student Life things. It has been really nice to be back in the classroom and talking to my fellow art historians! If anyone reading this is particularly interested in ancient Roman society, let's catch up!! I have many interesting facts, stories and a great textbook to share with you!

For this weekend, Alissa and I will be going to a Rugby game, so hopefully that will be exciting! Go Highlanders! We're also looking at possible places in New Zealand to spend our spring break. (Possibly Auckland, where it looks like it might actually be warm! haha)

So I think that's all I'll post for now! I just want to let people know that I'm happy and starting to feel adjusted here. And again, I just want to say thank you for praying for me! God is answering your prayers in big ways!

Until next time, here are just some random, fun words/phrases we've stumbled upon here:

the bush = essentially New Zealand outback. Untamed forested areas of NZ
gumboots/gummies = rain boots
jandals = flip flops
good on ya = good for you
sweet as =that's really cool! (not an actual comparison to something cool...)
dairy = convenience store
capsicum = bell peppers
courgettes = zucchini
flat white = delightful espresso and foamed milk. (Similar to a latte! My new favorite drink!)
papers = classes
lolly = any kind of candy
cheers = thanks
mate= friend
keen = would really like
heaps = a ton (I know we use the last three words in the States, but no way to extent they use those words here!)

Thanks for reading!

Week One in New Zealand!

Hello family and friends! Here I am blogging again!

Well I've been in New Zealand for about a week now and it has already been quite an experience! Heck the plane ride itself was an experience! I almost missed my flight from Auckland to Dunedin because they said my hiking boots were a possible biohazard... It was incredible to see how the Lord provided even in that small experience though. Because I was delayed in that line (for about 45 minutes when I had a 2 hour layover!) I had to run through the airport. However there was a random nice woman who asked me if I needed help. She then proceeded to push my luggage in a cart for me and walk me outside for 15 minutes to the right terminal! She helped me load my luggage on the conveyer belt and pointed me in the right direction of the plane! I would not have made the plane without her. Yeah the Lord totally provided there!

So getting here was quite eventful! We have been settling in now for the past week. We have been making frequent trips to the warehouse (essentially their version of walmart) and been checking out lots of the shops here. I've already bought a bag, shirt and cute raincoat! The raincoat has probably been the most useful thing because it seems to rain every day. Alissa and I had a pathetically funny day out in the rain the other day actually. We were trying to go to a Student Life (Campus Crusade over here) BBQ. We walked for a half hour in which time Alissa's umbrella broke, we got lost and we got completely SOAKED! At one point we just looked at each other and couldn't stop laughing. The BBQ ended up being canceled, but we did get a good laugh out of the trip.

My overall thought about New Zealand so far is that it is absolutely beautiful here! We walk through the botanical gardens to get to the grocery store. We went to the peninsula today and saw incredible waves in the ocean. We have walked by rose garden after rose garden.... Yeah it is definitely a visually incredible place! Good place for an art history major actually!

Aside from the natural beauty here, Alissa and I have seen some things that have made us pretty sad. We have had a couple people here tell us that Kiwis are pretty close-minded about God and religion. We were told Kiwis don't like it when "people go around wearing cross necklaces and talking about God." That was pretty heart-breaking. So if you could possibly take a minute and pray for New Zealand now, that would be greatly appreciated. If you could pray for people to be open to God and for people to have soft hearts that are ready to hear the Gospel. If you could also pray that God would lead Alissa and I to people who need to hear the Gospel and that He would give us words to say. While you're praying, I would also ask that you pray for us to make friends with people who are already Christians; we would appreciate it. I know God will answer your prayers :)

Ok well I think that's all I have for now! I hope you enjoyed reading and feel free to message me if you have any questions or comments. Love you all!

Post #1: Pre-departure Ponderings

Hello friends!

Welcome to my blog! I've never actually blogged before, so in addition my New Zealand traveling, this is an interesting adventure in itself!

Well it's hard to believe that in about one week I will be heading off to New Zealand to start my semester abroad. It has been such a long break and I've spent so much time at home that I've become quite comfortable here. It has been nice to spend time with my parents and save up some money before I leave. That being said, I am getting very excited to start my adventure!

There are so many things I'm looking forward to learning: what type of NZ food I like, what the classes (or "papers" as they say) are like, what the people are like! In addition to those things, I'm really looking forward to learning about the Lord. I am excited to stand in awe of how great our Father is when paused at the foot of a mountain or watching the waves crash against the shore! Also I can't wait to see how God is moving and drawing people towards Himself in another country! It's incredible just how big and powerful he is! Powerful enough to draw any person to himself and powerful enough to crash those waves I'll watch into the shore. I look forward to see what he has to teach me while I'm abroad and pray that I will be humble and teachable. It's going to be pretty interesting to see how much I have to rely on God when all my safety blankets have been pulled away! My parents, friends, boyfriend, and just familiar American comforts in general, are definitely places I find solace. And it's not a bad thing at all that the Lord has put so many loving people and great things in my life! That being said, I think I'm going to have a lot of growth in my relationship with Him when I have very little else to rely on. I am a little worried for this aspect of being abroad, but I know that the Lord is my Shepard, my Rock, my Comfort, my Salvation and that He is faithful. As I'm writing here I'm reminded of the verse of Deuteronomy 31:8 where it says, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

So that's what I'm going to try to do while I'm abroad and even in the time before I leave! I'm going to try to not be afraid because God goes before me.

Well that's all for now! I'll try to post fairly regularly, but I better not make any promises! Who knows how much time I'll have with all the bungee jumping and sky diving I plan to do! (Don't worry mom! That was a joke!) Thanks for reading!