I hope everyones Christmas was lovely! Ours was good and interesting thats for sure. Not your normal white Christmas with chestnuts roasting over an open fire...instead we river boarded down rapids and went off water slides and jumped off cliffs...so fun! The rest of the day was pretty chill and we had a nice family Christmas dinner together. The next day we rode ATVs in an off roading thing and then drove to Te Anu and stayed at another campsite. This morning we are off to Milfred Sound on a boat tour..gotta go :)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Merry Christmas!
The family has been here for a week now and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. So far we havc stayed in a night or 2 on the north island and then on the south: Nelson, Greymouth(saw pancake rocks in the morning in Punakaiki then beautiful scenery down the west coast the rest of the day), Haast(on our way there we stopped in Fox Glacier area and took a helicopter up to the glacier and hiked on it...WOW, super beautiful, then drove through more awesome landscape and ended up in Haast at a kind of a sketchy place), and tonight in Queenstown(but during the day we did an intense jetboat ride and walked around town a bit and had a meeting for our hike in a few days. the hike is 3 days long in milfred sound...reminds me alot of ABS so I am pretty excited). Soon we are off to eat at a small family owned recommended restaurant.
I just wanted to say from me and the rest of the family..we wish you the best this Christmas season and dont forget what it is all about, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who came as a humble baby, lived a perfect live in love, died for our sins and the sins of the world and now lives again in our hearts. Thanks God for that sacrifice.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Family's Here
Sunday, December 6, 2009
back at monavale
but my family gets here in 12 days so i am realllllly excited for that. currently we have choir practice and lectures every day and we had our first 2 performances today and they went really well :)it seems odd to be singing christmas carols in summer like weather.
im also spending alot of time researching colleges, so keep that in your prayers. what else? oh! today in lecture we came across this verse and it pretty much describes whats been going on lately...
"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory" 1Peter 1:8
key things in that verse is the inexpressible joy. ive grown so so so close with God and thats what i get from it. pure emotion and i just am glowing for Him. whoop whoop thats it for now.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
ABS has finished...:(
what an amazing 6 weeks i have just had. here are some pictures of the group in the many activities we have done. I am exhausted tho, but i just have a constant smile on my face remembering and realizing all i've learned and done. Thanks God for that opportunity and your love.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
more adventure
caving
hiking
repelling/absailing
rafting
building rafts
camping
running
aerobics
friendships
nature
so much more...everyday i learn new things about myself, God, and our relationship. I am here right now and loving it. i miss everyone from home tho. you are in my prayers.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
more ABS
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
ABS!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
back in christchurch
i am back in christchurch until wed. night, then i go back to my north island home. a family from the elim church here is housing us and they are SO NICE. it is wonderful to be with such God-loving people. our prayers were surely answered! the weather is ok here altho some sun would be better...um on a random note: my sister was homecoming queen!!woo hoo she is so beautiful inside and out (i sure miss her alot) but good job annie! i love you :)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
still in the south...destination unknown :)
im in a bus that was transfered into a computer place in frans joseph (its all so different here)
the sun is shining and there are BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL mountians in the background. Me, Jill and Gloria are in a pink rental car which=hilarious, we all burst out laughing when we saw it.
thats it...no pictures yet ...sorry
Saturday, September 26, 2009
DAY 3
TODAY WAS SUNNY WOO HOO and it made such a difference!
after we woke up we went to this free dance workshop(with a friend we have made, lena, who is german but is living in aussie and a sweetheart) at the art gallery and it was hiphop and we learned a routine and it was soo funny, but really good too.
then we spent the day around christchurch again and in the big markets that they had just looking and cool things and watching silly street performers and there was also a break dancing thing. overall a wonderful day. God is good and tomorrow we are going to Elim church here, so that will be nice :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Day 2
Thursday, September 24, 2009
SOUTH ISLAND
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Soccer!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
so this week is ministry preparation week so me and 8 other sweet student are all on a team together and we are sent to a specific church to help them with whatever they need(like with lawn care, ministry work, etc.) and then in the afternoons our team gets to do soccer with the kids. and some of you might be like what? you soccer? BUT im getting better haha. plus i like working with kids so its all good. :)
Other than that ive been hanging out in the beautiful sunshine and thinking about my 2 week break. (Sep. 26-Oct. 10) which is some exciting news because i am going to fly down to Christchurch in the lower east coast of the south island WOO HOO! Its me, gloria, jill, corina, debbie, and rachel. We got our roundtrip tickets for $115, which is an AMAZING price, (give thanks to God for sure)While we are down there we are going to spend some time at a hostel and using their bikes to get around and then other times staying at churches and maybe the public transit, like get a metro pass? Also we will be on the beach, going to see live music, festivals, and just taking every good opportunity that comes our way :)
Side note: October 12-November 23ish I will be on ABS(Adventure Bible School) and pretty much adventure=hiking, waking up each morning and exercise, Bible stuff, its only 18 people so its like growing a family, and the rest is surprise (so each day we dont really know whats going to happen, and previous students that have been on it are sworn to secrecy). Also very little communication with the outside world!!
Monday, September 7, 2009
ministry week
Hello!
so this week is ministry preparation week so me and 8 other sweet student are all on a team together and we are sent to a specific church to help them with whatever they need(like with lawn care, ministry work, etc.) and then in the afternoons our team gets to do soccer with the kids. and some of you might be like what? you soccer? BUT im getting better haha. plus i like working with kids so its all good. :)
Other than that ive been hanging out in the beautiful sunshine and thinking about my 2 week break. (Sep. 26-Oct. 10) which is some exciting news because i am going to fly down to Christchurch in the lower east coast of the south island WOO HOO! Its me, gloria, jill, corina, debbie, and rachel. We got our roundtrip tickets for $115, which is an AMAZING price, (give thanks to God for sure). But we are planning on staying a few of the nights at an all-girls hostel that has free bikes for us to use and then the rest of the time we are there we might stay at churchs or other peoples houses that are connected to Capernwray. Also there should be some cool live music things we want to check out and other local art things...sounds like a dream right? Thats it for now.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Life update!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Is it the 5th week already?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Whats been going on....

Yipes it has been a while. All right, every morning I’ve been trying to wake up early and spend some quiet time with God. I’m reading the Purpose Driven Life (which I highly recommend!!!!) and just working on my relationship with God my Father and Friend.
Two weeks ago we finished up lectures on the book of Daniel, it was a really neat time because most of what I know of Daniel is from Sunday school and this gave me a chance to learn more and dig deeper. The principal of Capernwray was the speaker (Peter Thomas, or PT as we like to call him.) Here’s a quick overview of the book of Daniel: Daniel (along with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azarah…better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) was captured by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzer. The cool thing is even tho he was captured he didn’t conform to their culture or ways and God used that to show his power. Daniel also could interpret dreams, to benefit God. Then there was a time that Neb. became crazy, actually insane, until he humbled himself before God. There is the part where the 3 get thrown into a fire, but God saves them and they come out of the furnace and they don’t even smell like smoke or have ashes on them or anything… and then the famous story of Daniel when he gets thrown into the lion’s den, because he got caught praying to the true God and not worshiping Neb. like the decree said BUT God saved him from the lions. Woohoo! Daniel goes on to interpret more dreams thru God’s help. Then later in the book there is a very historically accurate part about the future kingdoms to come: first Babylon, then Medo-persian, then Greece, and then Rome. Lets just say I learned a lot and you should read the book too .
This past week Dave Sharman (the principal at the Australia capernwray) spoke on the character of God. It was SUPER informative and really great. This guy was just being super real with us students and was really on fire for God. He loved talking about Jesus. We talked about different terms, the Bible being inspired by God and how that’s determined, Hermeneutics (which is like studying or interpreting scripture, and I also have a separate class of that once a week!), who God is and his names/titles, works of God, angels, Satan (scary), sin, humans, and Christ! A lot was covered, and I tried to absorb as much as I could. I learned so much about how important it is to have a great relationship with God and through that I can truly live.
Outside of lectures I have been having a lot of fun too. The other weekend me and 3 other girls went on a night hike up mountain Kakepuku and camped at the top. The view was crazy awesome and we saw all the different lights from the major cities from the top, like Hamilton, Cambridge, and Te Amutau plus lots of cows and other mountains :). Last Thursday was girls night. The guys invited all the girls to a special night for us where we dressed up all fancy and they served us food and then we danced! The theme was masquerade, so we all made masks and just had a great time. This Saturday I went with a group of 10 guys and girls into Hamilton for shopping and then to an indoor water park, which was pretty fun. We took underwater pictures and went on this floaty tube. Just silliness.
I’ve been skyping with some people, which is really nice, but I miss home a little, especially summer. It’s dreary here with rainy spring on the way. But each day I learn something new.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Here for a week!


Alright so it has been a while since I've first arrived and written, but I'm over jet-lag and finally all the way adjusted to life here in NZ...well kinda. It's pretty laid back and slower paced here, but I love it. The homework is def. not slow paced tho. I'm working on a Bible study on John 15:1-8 (Jesus is the true vine and we are his branches etc. ), memorizing Isaiah 61:1-11 (truth be told I haven't really started it is kind of a daunting task buuuut soon), and also working on my testimony that I have to share :) Some of the pictures are from the awesome hike we did....it kinda reminded me of Alaska! Yesterday I got to talk to Emily and Devan on the phone and it MADE MY DAY. I love you guys so much! then i played rugby and that was spectacular too...Oh! another thing I am working on is reading the book, A Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren..I just finished the 4th day! woo hoo! Heres the verse for today, "This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever" 1John 2:17 (NLT). alright I will leave you with that for now because its time for work day...and my duty is washing sheets! wish me luck and ill be praying for you all.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
4 days and counting...

Alright quick update!
Monday, July 27, 2009
I'm HERE
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Last Few Days...23


(1) Alright back to July 22: We woke up early and got right on the road for a rafting trip on the river. Our tour guide was awesome and while we were out there we saw tons of eagles and and 5 bears...yeah thats right 5 brown bears all together, just lounging around in and around the river. It was great :) After I bought some really cool earrings that are made from a bonsai tree. After that we went on a 5 mile hike (and kinda run on the way back) but at the end of the hike there was a waterfall that had salmon trying to swim up it... straight Discovery Channel!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Hike...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
DAY3

DAY 3:
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Before New Zealand...Comes Alaska :)



DAY 1: