I've been inspired

Lemon custard in meringue cups
Them again with the sunflowers i bought :)
Morgan at work!
Bible study in the park in Cambridge. (with the farmers market in the background)
Yesterday I hung out with Beth. She's awesome :) We talked talked talked and baked an amazing lemon dessert. She also shared with me some of the baking blog sites that she has found with wonderful recipes and beautiful photos to match, which resulted in my inspiration to go out and get some more batteries and actually use my camera. So today I went to the park to work on my Bible Study(1 John 3:1-6) and then visited Morgan at her work. On my way back to the car I stopped at the farmers market and picked up some sunflowers and then took pictures. Now they are on here! Another thing-Beth and Joe are keeping a really cool blog with amazing photography (they are taking the pictures and blogging to document their time here and also get better with the camera...) So for the time being I'm on a actually blog kick. (but we shall see how long this lasts) 

Tonight we are having a mediterranean/ greek themed meal and I'm working with a few other students to make it. (Pitas with chicken, hummus, tzisiki, eggplant and courgette thing, and greek feta salad+ caramel slice for dessert) Theeeen Morgan and I are getting dressed up and going to Hamilton to hang out...hopefully some pictures to come. 70 days in counting.

The TOP if Mount Doom!!
On the way up Mt. Doom...itwas ruff. We started climbing at 3 AM and got to the top by 6ish.
My ministry week family. They are awesome. Really really really really fun :)

Last Term

Monday is the beginning of my last Term here in New Zealand at Capernwray Bible school. So weird to think about! I've been here for about 9 months. I come home in 77 days. Wow. I've learned so much and really made my faith my own and my relationship with Jesus Christ is really the most important thing in my life now. (Or at least I'm working towards that. Its a long hard process out of the ways of the world I was wrapped up in before). I can't wait to see everyone. 

"For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me." Psalm 31:3

Quick update

woah almost a month has gone by since my last one...
right now I am in the middle of 2 week break, but unlike my last one in October I am just hanging around Cambridge area and the Lodge on lake karapiro. It's fall, but not many trees drop their leaves here. Tonight is the first night of Xposure (a camp for 14-18 yr olds that Andrew is leading, and im cooking) but tomorrow i have to leave for the day to help out with a wedding! I'm really excited.
Oh yea! and last thursday night I left here at 11:30 pm and Andrew and I drove 3 hours to Mt. Doom (you know from Lord of the Rings :) ) and started hiking at 3am ish! we got to the top just in time for the AMAZING sunrise-like a big fire in the sky and we could see for miles and miles. On our way up it was a bit foggy then we broke through the clouds and we walked the rest of the night/morning in the light of a big full moon. (lots of stars out too) talk about gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, also one of the hardest things I have ever done, but you dont really remember that part of it.
Monday and tuesday I might be spending with my billets from this past ministry week. They are amazing people! We stayed up most nights and talked till pretty late and just you can really see how much they trust God. Also they have 5 kids with one on the way...all 6 and under!!!It reminded me of my cousins :). The kids were a blast and real cute.
After break is done I will be going back to Monavale and I got asked to intern in the kitchen!! I am really really really pumped for that. baking and cooking are kinda my thing. Plus the chef there is really cool and I just know I am going to learn alot. I'll still be going to lectures and have homework and stuff, but with a different dynamic added.
Keep me in your prayers, I really miss home...only about 80 days left.
Keep reading 1 John..the more you read it the more God reveals things to you, open up yourself to Him.
(>>Andrew is coming to visit around the time I get home...hope you all are excited to meet him :) he says hi.)

Random Pictures! Horay

At Andrew's beach house in Waiuku(near Auckland) Andrew, Jochem, Gloria, Talia, Steph, Russ, and Me and Nicole in the front. 
Stephanie and I when she came to visit(Steph was my roommate at University last year)
(Gloria and I on Pirate themed graduation night. She was Tinker Bell...I miss that girl!)
(My Capernwray family last semester:Bottom row-Rachel, Kestral, Me, Leah, Lynette and the kids. Top row-Jon, Patrick, Kevin, Levi, and Leijf 
(Christmas Eve heres the family in Queenstown at a really cute local restaurant: Dad, Mom, Chase, Christian, Me, and Anne)
(sister Anne and I in Rotorua)
(Mom and Dad on the Routeburn track in the Milfred sound area in the tip of the south island)
(In New Zealand traveling with my family also on the Routeburn track)
(In Australia at the famous Bondi Beach)
(andrews mom, Andrew and me when we went golfing-which was my first time ever!This was right after Australia when I stayed at their beach house for a couple of days)
Me and morgan at her work( with a ninja turtle hehe)

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!