"But you will receive power when the 

Holy Spirit comes upon you.  And you 

will be my witnesses, telling people about me 

everywhere -- in Jerusalem, throughout

Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends

of the earth."

                                        --Acts 1:8

     This will be my last post from Aotearoa (New Zealand).  We have been busy packing up our belongings and trying to get rid of furniture, cars, a tv, and other things that are not coming back to America with us.  Luckily we have managed to get rid of almost all of our big items and the rest will go to a local op shop (second hand store) for them to sell.  I am sad to leave New Zealand and excited to go home but, either way, I am not enjoying packing up everything!

     We had a nice farewell luncheon at church yesterday where we shared stories, got lots of hugs and shed a few tears (or, for Lori, lots of tears).  God has truly blessed us in our experiences here in New Zealand and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  We came to try to help people and the church but we feel like we have been helped and blessed so much!  In the middle of our packing time a friend we have made here shared a story with us of how their child had been greatly moved by experiences with our children and our church youth group.  This young person questioned God's existence in the past but now not only believe in Him, but they have begun to feel His presence in prayers!  It was such a blessing to hear this.  We know that we did not make this difference in this young person but rather God using us as tools to make the difference.  It's things like this that we believe God had in mind when He asked us to come to New Zealand.

     I need to keep this post short as I still have more packing to do (yuck!).  However, let me leave you with this thought.  If you ever have a time when you know God is calling you to do something, listen to Him and act on it.  It doesn't have to be a move around the world either.  It might be to join the choir at church or to speak to neighbor or co-worker in an effort to invite them to church.  Maybe it's God telling you to get back in church.  Maybe He's telling you to mend broken relationships.  Maybe He's just asking for more of your time.  Whatever God is calling you to do, do it.  It might be scary or you might think you are not qualified, but I promise that it will be worth it.  He will equip you to do whatever it is He is asking you to do.  Who knows, He might even call you to move halfway around the world.  If He does, just remember that Northland in New Zealand has some pretty great people and some pretty great beaches!  ;o)

"If I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me."

                            --Psalm 139:9-10

15 If you love me, you will obey what I command.  

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another

Counselor to be with you forever -- 17 the Spirit of truth.

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees

him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives

with you and will be in you.

                                 John 14: 15-17

     Almost 13 months ago I made the journey from Shelbyville, Tennesse, to Whangarei, New Zealand, while Lori and the kids came a month after me.  Now we have eight days left in the country and we make the trip back to America.  What a journey it has been!  We didn't know how long we would be here but wanted to leave that up to God's guiding for us and He is calling us to come back to Tennessee after one amazing year here!  Looking back on our time here it is easy now to see the many times where God had planned out for us the things we have been through and experienced.  He has been with us every step of the way which has made this whole experience that much more rewarding.  It has helped us to deepen our faith and to have a better understanding of people after living in a different culture.  It has also helped us to appreciate a lot of things in life that we before took for granted.  Our time here in New Zealand will always live on with us and has changed all of us for the better.  

     As our time here draws to a close it is only natural that we have begun to think about and reminisce about our friends and experiences here as well as thinking about returning to Tennessee.  Therefore, we have had a lot of mixed emotions lately.  We will most certainly miss the friends we have made here.  We have had many opportunities to meet people through church, friends of friends, work, school, etc.  This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of this journey.  It has also forced me to become more outgoing which has been good for me.  We will miss other things about NZ as well such as living close to beautiful beaches, having citrus fruit growing in our back yard, being able to drive across the country from east to west in an hour, visiting Hobbiton, and the roundabouts on the roads.  

      However, there are plenty of things we are looking forward to returning to in Tennessee as well such as family and friends, familiar food (yay!), straighter roads (but we need roundabouts in America), well insulated houses, icemakers in refrigerators, cheaper food, and central heat/air.  With this being said, Lori and I have had many discussions about how familiar things will be nice but we don't think we will come back to our same ways, at least not exactly.  I have a feeling that we will hang our clothes out to dry a lot more and probably run our air conditioning a lot less.  We, hopefully, won't take things for granted around us like the beauty of the area and the importance of friendships.  We will think about the world as a whole a bit more and not focus just on our little town.  We will still be the same people for the most part, but I think a little bit of New Zealand will come back with us in how we live our lives.  

     A few things will have to change pretty quickly like remembering how to drive on the other side of the road.  I can go back to spelling words like "color" instead of "colour".  However, it will be fun to use a few Kiwi words and phrases so people can look at us like we're crazy.  So don't be surprised if you see us in Tennessee talking about something is sweet as or if I ask you for twink at school.  You may have no idea what I mean when you ask me something and I say "yeah nah, bro" in my best (but still not good) Kiwi accent.  And of course, don't be surprised if we invite you over for afternoon tea!

 Rainbows and double rainbows are very common this time of year.

 Heidi doing charades at youth group.

 Jasmine doing charades at youth group.

 A mural at Dargaville High School.

 In the town basin in the evening.

 Hollister with his new harmonicas.

 Our high school rugby team performing a haka.

 Some of our fellow Nazarenes. Front row, Neville and Joyce Bartle, District Superintendents; Back row, left to right: In-Kwon and Jeong-Seok Kim with their son David (they are from the Mango Tree Respite Center in Tonga), and Leitu and Filipo Lesatele from our Takanini Church in Auckland.

 Stopped for this photo near Tangiteroria on my way home from work.

 It's nice having an orange tree in our back yard.

 Harrison is way taller than Lori now!

 Going for a short tramp in the bush with Noel and Anita.

 A farewell lunch with the Almeidas was great!

Hadley warming his feet by the fire.