once again it is monday.

and once again i am in michigan... it's time for the last blog! (until my next adventure.) lets make this a keeper. .. ... what to SAY?! right now all i'm doing is prepping my mind for coming back to calgary. (i mean aside from the obvious mass hangouts that go on here mixed with frisbee and bible study and painting my house and pulling out my hair (literally, because it is long and it comes out so easily.. its actually kind of disgusting because its turning into a habit way to quickly and leaving trails of hair everywhere isn't attractive to me. yucky.)) but i mean... michigan is michigan. this isn't my re-entry, because i only come here a few times a year so its always fully on to do stuff while i'm here because i won't be here long. but going back to calgary where i LIVE will be the challenge. going back into normal life outside my sheltered bubble. i loved the bubble and i will miss the bubble, but i'm ready and stoked to see if i've actually changed, even though my world has not. but i feel like i have, so we'll have to see. its good to be home. (the other day i realized i'm the opposite of homeless.. i'm homefull, because i can't say specifically which one place is my 'home' because pretty much everywhere i go i can consider 'home'. its nice being adaptable. i'm easy.)

the last few days of travel were probably the best.. after queenstown we headed up the west coast towards greymouth. we stopped along a beautiful lake that night and in the morning we had such an amazing view of the mountains and the lake and the sunshine and the bunnies an rainbows an fluffy clouds OH it was glorious. we headed up to the fox glacier and got as close as we could without stepping over the boundaries (those stupid STUPID constricting boundaries.. we could guide ourselves.. c'mon! all it takes to be a guide is a pick axe, a backpack, and a beard.) but we had a good time. then we went to the franz josef glacier about half hour away and didn't go nearly as close but trekked through the forest for awhile only to come upon a path that winds up the hill we were going to the top of to look at the glacier from. if we had only travelled 20 feet more before crossing the creek... humility rules. (the glaciers were pretty ... pretty. i was kinda shocked i'd never seen a glacier before. isn't the rockies riddled with them? obviously i have some exploring to do.) that night we went just north of greymouth (after some late night mcdonalds (to charge our camera's an stuff! what! (i DID happen upon some french fries... and a sunday.. and i will not regret it.))) and found this really sweet camp spot just off the road in the trees.. problem was it was super muddy and i was really nervous we were gonna get stuck. the crew said screw it, let it harden over night an we'll just peel out in the morning. BUT it rained all night and when we woke up the whole area was sopping wet... i had lost sleep over this fact and knowing that we'd be stuck.. but rest comes and goes y'know? (at least i wasn't losing sleep over thinking about girls (high five!! me!! good on I)) so before we had breakfast we tried to get out an got stuck (of course). it was a good battle going back and forth and back and forth doing a 37-point turn with a motor home trying not to get even more stuck but eventually we turned fully around and blasted through the mud in first gear and then we celebrated with porridge. we went to the pancake rocks/blowholes that morning and it was probably the coolest place we'd been yet... west coast? thumbs way up. like not even crooked, just amazing.

then where did we go... we went up. and up and up and up to the northern most point on the southern island. joanna was looking for a specific beach but.. we never found it. but we had a good time wandering the sandy beaches in the dark. surprisingly good pictures too! me an nik tried to scare silvia but she is a master straight face.. no frights for her. we drove all the way back to greymouth and spent the night outside of arthurs pass.. the first spot we pulled into had a cowskin with a decapitated cow head a few feet away and it smelled like death... we agreed this was unsuitable and creepy as hell to sleep next too so we just parked at the next picnic area and slept for a few hours.... thhhhhhhhhhhen arthurs pass happened an it was a most beautiful moment. i thought it was gonna be all windy and horrible but it turned out to be super fast and easy and we got through it to christchurch really stinkin fast... but we stopped along the way at a caving area called cave stream and thought we were gonna have a cool hike along the cave but it was a legit caving area so we couldn't even get near the mouth of the cave.. we tried, and tried, and eventually got 'near' the mouth of the cave, but couldn't go inside. next time cave.. next time. i thought i was a claustrophobic person but i wanted to go in soooo badly... me'n nik walked along the stream for a bit and had some good picture moments but once we finally discovered the exit of the cave we felt satisfied. it'd be a good experience one day... so then we packed up, did what you do when you return a motorhome, then slept at the airport one last night. they had their flights at 5 in the morning to australia so i had to say bye and that SUUCKED but it wasn't as hard as it should have been because they were stressed (late, heavy luggage, visa issues... suckfest) but yep... that is how we ended.

the flight home was pretty much the easiest flight i've ever done... it was only 12 hours this time and for some reason it was the quickest 12 hours of my life. i watched 4 1/2 movies and i think at one point i must have passed out unknowingly because 4 1/2 movies is not 12 hours. but i did not complain! same with the four hours from LA to detroit... just passed out and arrived somehow. SO ended my journey... i have a bundle of thank you letters to write because i truly am thankful for everyone with any part they played in my trip. money, prayers, it all made it happen. i learned... so much. SO stinkin much. i can't wait to look back on all this... it'll be amazing and hopefully spiritually boosting... i've got danger ahead and i need to be protected during it. WHELP. you'll probably get a letter. i love you, thank you for reading.

rain day

now that i am wonderfully filled with scenes from different places and potentially exciting stories, i finally feel like writing! what a magical moment for me and my brain. i wish i could say the same for drawing... cripes.

so that day i had alone in christchurch... was a really weird day. just mentally speaking... there was far too much thought time and it felt a little like re-entry just because i wasn't with anyone (which was sweet at the same time) but ALSO at the same time was me myself and my thoughts, alone for the first time in 6 months. it'll be a true task getting back into real life when i get back to calgary... michigan always seems like a vacation, but crap gets real when canada happens.

it was lovely to see my swiss girls an nik when they came in that night at 10... we crashed at the airport again and discovered showers in the bathroom! bonus... we eventually ended up at backpackers and picked up our rental campervan (which is pretty much a standard motorhome... i love it...) and got lots of food, beer, and travel ambitions. there... is a lot to see.

the first night we made it to lake tekapo, and found a place where camping is only prohibited if you get caught, and had an amazing supper of fake-oven heated frozen pizza. but it was so good... we were told to travel mostly during the day because there is so much to see, if you drive at night you are just gonna be wasting all the view you could be having. the first day we only drove about 3ish hours... next day we headed down towards dunedin and stayed near kaka point, just outside of a town called onaka. it was dark when we were finding a place to sleep so that took forever but when we woke up we found we were right on the beach with an absolutely amazing sunrise... best freaking morning ever. and porridge.. OH porridge. with kiwi. eating cheap is just better. we planned to go to milford sound yesterday (the most beautiful place in NZ apparently...) but the road was closed due to heavy snowfall and avalanche danger. so... that was a solid waste of 2 hours there to find the road closed, 2 hours back in darkness. the drive was sweet despite the rain but... pretty sure that end part of fellowship of the ring was filmed on the lake we drove by. awesome stuff... today we are in queenstown and joanna an nik are going bungie jumping, because they are crazy AND can afford it. i'm stoked for them... sylvia is in the 'wan' (because thats what we named her) sleeping, and i am here catching up on the world. hopefully... i'm sure i could break it down more but all that would involve is hours upon hours of driving, some beautiful pictures you'll see eventually, some drinking, some sleeping, and more porridge.

see you (whoever you are) eventually.

best. day.

alone... in christchurch... with my backpack, dead camera, borrowed ipod and 12 hours till my friends also arrive. we will sleep in the airport... where i slept last night with strangers. that's all you need to know. i am at the pinnacle moment of my wanderlust moment.

whoa day

yay i graduated! good tidings and uplifting delayed confetti blasts. no more soul ties to this place... haha i lie, there are a lot. in all of my student brothers and sisters, and parental staffers. love them all. the first few days were just getting settled back into the base for final days, cleaning, graduating, starting to say goodbye (but not to the point of tears... friggen yet!) we had some teaching on re-entry, just how hard its gonna be and how hard satan is gonna come at us to get us off of our spiritual high. like a lion ready waiting to crouch.. armor of God get on me. we had a pretty fun night of saying hello and goodbye to friends that we'd met on NZ outreach, as well as some pretty awkward 'ceremony' moments... what with silence and a very poorly produced cd in the background... i mean it was a really good night but i think tonight will blow it out of the water. honouring night... where we tell anyone what we think about them in a good way, and in a way say our final goodbyes to one another since we leave tomorrow morning. its been a pretty long bumpy ride but.. man its been good and stretching and i know God brought me here for a reason. so.. tonight is gonna be so so hard, and at the same time so good. time to close this season of life with lots of loving. and crying. sigh...

now i just can't wait to travel. so soon... jake ithy decided to join us (because he discovered his flight isn't till monday...) going to wellington, so our crew is joanna, sylvia, nik, jake and me. were gonna get a minivan (hopefully) and leave saturday morning and get back by monday, an then us minus jake fly down to christchurch. we rented a motorhome because anything smaller would be illegal with more than 3 people... since we plan on sleeping anywhere we get tired. its gonna be a good time. i'm only a little nervous because the motorhome is gonna be the biggest thing i've driven on real roads before. but... more growth i guess. sites to see, hikes to hike, memories to solidify. stoked. i hope i happen across cheap ink.

pirate day

man... have i dropped the ball this hard? i had to search beneath the house because the ball fell through the floor. me oh my where to begin.. or END muhahahaa. nah but for real, i have one ONE ONE more week until we pack up from the base and head out. then.... precious precious traveling await.

so te aroha has continued to be different... in many ways. the first and foremost, it is a different level of spiritual intensity, compared to fiji. but to counter that we have seemingly more free time (seemingly because of internet, and time used on it can be deemed free and since it's FREE internet, our free time is spent not spending money.)... i've found out i don't hate kids... at all actually.. sure they are annoying sometimes but like people who need extra grace, God has given me a surplus of patience to deal with them. they are fun! i love the chaos, the shoulder rides, pushin screaming kids on swings.. having 4 year olds flip me off... its a wondrous thing. the only part i hate is the mess that comes with 25 kids in one place.. my gosh. its relentless. i finally understand why parents tell kids to clean up their rooms. at long last, my understanding of my parents is complete. (throws hands in the air) no WONDER...

each day we get up a little before 8 (if we are lucky, me'n nik eat breakfast because we sleep until the last possible moment.. no alarm clock) then we discuss what'll happen during the day. normally we agree to do something different with the kids, try some things out, and by 11 we realize that none of our plans are going to happen so we just try to keep kids content in their own games and chaotic pursuits. but after our discussion we pray, then get prepped for the kids. 2 1/2 - 3 hours later we are exhausted and completely unattraced to the opposite sex, lest those desires form little balls of energy that easily make messes. nah... i lie. we are tired, but most of us are satisfied and happy to realize that we don't actually hate kids. they are pretty rad... and our own kids one day? gonna be so much fun. myyyy goodness... i can wait. but now i'm lookin forward to it. my how things change...

for the first week an few of this week every afternoon we went on a prayer walk and tried to get all the streets in te aroha covered in the spirit... and we did that pretty quick so yesterday we did some street evangelism (or tried... i started following a path that led into the mountain hiking paths and had to try my hardest not to continue to explore... that was my battle. i love hiking. an nature. approaching people is so hard. once i'm in, i'm set... sharing my faith isn't an issue. its just hard to get in. thats why i like relationships better...) but i didn't end up talking to anyone other than rambunctious 13 year old girls who asked if i had a girlfriend. i told them i was a wee tad too old, and they kept walking before i could ask them if they wanted to come to youth group. no biggie..

then at night. ohhhh the nights. we often go to a church members house for supper, and we get treated really well. sometimes we even get some ministry done on us, cuz we are all messed up with plenty of issues... so night time is probably my favorite, because we have gotten to know some people really well and its gonna be hard to leave te aroha on sunday.. BUT people come and people go, i'll see them all in heaven non? oui.

and that is how te aroha has been... we have a few days left, and very shortly i'll be done school and traveling the south island, then coming home, then to canada a week later. i may post more, i may not.

elijahs birthday

so... te aroha is flippin sweet. amazing, if not awesome. having done our third day with the kids, i can fully say i kind of really enjoy kids, which is nice to know considering my former fear of under 10-ers. i just like teenagers better! but wee ones are pretty sweet too. its pretty exhausting but really we only see them for 3 hours a day, so i have absolutely no complaining to do. i think 2 weeks is the perfect amount of time, cuz its to a point where i'll miss them when i leave, but any longer i'd be sick of them. so that's good!

but the youth here... oh my goodness. they are such a good group.. monday night we had a prayer meeting, and this was just a normal prayer meeting for the leaders, but i was stirred beyond what i've ever been stirred before, and i really really felt the presence of God (which is rare for me, so when i do, its a big deal.) and even had a little suedo-vision to share with the leaders... all leading to revival which has been the story of this church's last year. visions upon visions of revival.. they are gonna change this town. we were just praying for tuesday night! which also was not a disappointment.. after a few items we split up the guys and girls and had an encouragement night. i was nervous because i didn't know any of the youth, so for us it was like a prophesy night... first off, the guys were already so amazing and supportive of each other (and SO mature in their faith) and aware of how the spirit moves and everything awesome, it made it so easy to feel comfortable around them. second, DUDE prophesy works! i knew mebe 2 of the 12ish guys, but God gave me something to say for every one of them that came up into the hot seat for encouragement. it wasn't like a huge revelation for them, but i could tell what they were like and it was always confirmed by what other people (who really knew them well) said about them.. i don't even know if i had any impact on any of their lives, but God showed me that he can speak to me and through me and allow me to see the hearts of people. at least in that situation... flip it was so fun.

other'n that, loving my team, loving my journey, getting so pumped to travel the south island. just booked my plane tickets. listening to my favorite music, and watching some pablo francisco. he's dirty as but he's so funny.... cripes...

and 'Jesus for president' is absolutely filling me with holy fire. my eyes burn for the future just thinking about my position in life... i'm so glad to be a part of truth.... revolution.. genuine love.. shane claiborne an chris haw do good.

LG day

its steph's phone. an LG. quality. 4 YEARS AGO! nah. phone prejudice aside, communication is a good thing.

HEY guess what i haven't done in a week! flippin... this... cuz as much as i wanna say we've done a TON and brought a lot of people closer to God... only the girls can say that they have. they had a worship night with a bunch of ... girls. and jess'n alicia lead worship and the spirit really moved and a few girls made some committments.. pretty rad! good on the girls too... they seemed sad but now they seem stoked and happy and pleased and excited and full of life and joyous and merry and pleasant and alliterary and valuable. (one of these does not belong...) bahaha.

but... seriously te aroha is sweet. we are living in a wicked (but cold... wicked, but cold..) house behind the church where steph's dad pastors. he is a really sweet guy, an their whole family is really solid. like... so solid. i kinda have a family crush on her. hate when that happens huh?! but nah, it'll be sad to leave in two weeks. church this morning pretty much kicked a ton of butt... the church moves heavily in the spirit so the worship is soooo sick. steph's mom taught an she was really into it which is how she rolls so i let her mentally roll right over me. God gave me a little tidbit of confirmation with school which is what i've been asking him for... i'm trying to listen more instead of demand. but... asking is part of being in a faithful trusting relationship so i ask. but cripes... working on relationship is sweet once you realize its been broken a little bit. spiritual tape and continue. no backsliding!

tomorrow through what will seem like an eternity we will be running a kids camp from 9:30am-12... its gonna be hard because i don't particularly enjoy kids of this specific age. i'm more of a just born -> just after talking, passing straight over to puberty and up. its the middle 'lookit me! lookit me!' that i have a hard time with. which is exactly the age we are with, and exactly what i think God will challenge me with. it'll be good... i saw the most convicting poster of my life today (since i don't normally pay any attention to posters that are in the same house with me) but all it said was 'Jesus loves little children', and since i am trying to love Jesus more, i need to love what he loves, and i know he loves little children. so i'll have to do my best to free myself of that little fear... hopefully. we'll see how it goes tomorrow!! actually really excited now that my heart is in the right place. yay and amen.

ps put your yes on the friggen table. then ask me what that means.