Well it has been quite a while since my last update..sorry about that. I have 10 days left of this ABS, WOW time flew. We have done some amazing things this time and more than I did when I was in it in October. Things like surfing in Raglan and a 2 day sea kayaking trip around Rotorua. The weather has been gorgeous and hot. Signs of autmn are coming tho! (I missed the bright yellow maple trees at home!) It seems weird to think I've been thru winter, spring, and summer and fall is just around the corner...8 months here! I think its around 124 days til I go home (July 2) I'm still learning a lot from God. The most recent thing that keeps coming up is how important it is to be living in Christ's love. (I've been reading 1 John a lot)So everything I do and say and think should go through the "love filter", just Jesus standard. Another thing is how my relationship with God feeds into or impacts all my other relationships.

Soon we leave on a 4 day tramp...which means hike in NZ terms
Heres some other NZ lingo that I've gotten into the habit of saying:
keen
rubbish
sweet-az
eh
she'll be alright
no worries

Alright heres a good verse to memorize, I'll leave you with that
1John 3:18 "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with action and in truth"

Another Adventure

Another Adventure Bible School 6 week program starts today, except this time I am an intern! I'm a little nervous-excited for it all to begin. There are going to be alot of awesome things for this one and I will try to post up more pictures. My latest adventure is re-learning how to drive stick shift and doing that in New Zealand is great :) Keep the staff here and all the new students coming in your prayers. I love NZ!

At the Lodge

dear friends and family,
today was my second day on the job :) I got asked to be an intern here at ABS again! The 6 week program starts up on Feb. 2 so this week is all prep work. I will be pre-baking alot with another staff member named Cloudy. The weather has been so hot here althogh right now there is a thunder storm-its wonderful! and the rain is needed. My Australian adventures finished up with almost a week back in Waiuku, NZ with Andrew's mom, Trish, and her boyfriend James and Andrew came up for the weekend. They are such lovely people! We went golfing and out dancing and just had a really wonder ful time. And now I am back here and to be honest I feel a bit at home :). Oh! ok so keep Sarah, andrews sister who is in Haiti, in your prayers and check out her website: olivetreeprojects.com

some pics

Me, Andrew, Jen, and Jesse playing in some fountians


Sydney Opera House


view of Darling Harbor in Sydney


just a funny picture jumping off the steps in front of the Sydney Opera House

**all pictures thanks to Jesse, becasue my cameras batteries died...

:)

Back in Sydney after a few days of traveling mostly on the coast including Newcastle, Hornsby, Cronulla, and Richmond(but that was inland). I'm on my own for the next few days, Andrew left yesterday :(. A great surprise tho is that I found out another student from Capernwray is in Sydney these next few days too...God provides a way for me not to be alone, thank You. So these next days I plan to spend a lot of time in the word, also reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan(thanks to my friend Shelly...what a great Christmas present and its amazing so far and I only just finished chapter 3!), I'll be taking day trips out of the city to surrounding areas because I got a train/bus/ferry pass for the week, and well lately I've been reminded that I really need to be living with everything I am for God and to glorify him. I must confess that before recently I forgot for a while how important that is. " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " Matthew 22:37-40.

ps. Please pray for Andrew's sister Sarah, who is in Haiti right now. She has an orphanage/ midwifery place there. She is ok from the earthquake and is helping now with all the damage. Just pray for Sarah and Haiti in general. Thanks

AUSTRALIA

I'm in Australia and man is it hot here!! But so beautiful and wonderful. The first 2 days i spent in Sydney and yesterday took a train up north to Newcastle. Beaches, Cafes, shops and just meeting new people is awesome. I'll try and keep you posted.love, elizabeth

3 weeks...

The last 3 weeks have been good with the family. We have seen amazing landscapes and done some crazy adventures. One of which was a 3 day trek in the Milfred Sound=wow! and the boys went bungee jumping some other day. We have been through a lot of cute little towns and seen mountains and beaches and fiords and rolling hills, all part of what makes NZ great and a total display of God's handiwork. Today is the last full day we have here and then the family is back home and I am off to Australia. Wish me luck :)