We had another good church service this morning.  One man brought in an old bible that someone found and gave to him.  The front page says it was printed in 1789 (see picture)!  The church in Whangarei may be small in numbers but is large in faith and love.  The people there have been nothing but friendly and loving toward me in the few weeks that I have been here.  This has made my transition here easier which I really needed.  My first two weeks or so started really bumpy between being homesick, missing my family, and culture shock.  Since then, however, I feel like I am finally starting to settle in to my new life here among the Kiwis of New Zealand.  It will be improving even more by this weekend when Lori and the kids arrive on Saturday morning (that will be early Friday afternoon for my friends and family in America).  I can't wait for them to get here!
     One of the first things I noticed after leaving the airport when I arrived was the fact that I didn't recognize any of the plants and trees.  As a science teacher and a lover of nature this really has bothered me.  People have been telling me the names of many plants but as the names are often in the Maori language it is difficult for me to understand the names and remember them.  I have included a few pictures of some of the plants around the house I am staying in to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

   
     Yesterday I visited Matauri Bay on the east coast of New Zealand  (see pics below).  It is only about a 40 minute drive from where I am staying and has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!  It was a Saturday afternoon and I was the only one there at the beach.  This made me think about how people take things for granted.  For example, living in Tennessee often causes people to take the beauty of the rolling hills and mountains for granted.  You don't "ooh" and "ahh" over them because they are always there...they are part of your everyday, normal life.  In the same respect, people here take the ocean views for granted.  Don't get me wrong; many Kiwis love living near the water and appreciate its value.  They just don't stare at it in awe like I do!  I can't wait to take the kids to the beaches as the weather gets warmer so they can swim in the ocean.
     Finally, let me close this entry with saying that I have felt the prayers of many people in many places lifting me up to God and I can't thank you enough for that.  Each day now I feel like I am becoming more and more adjusted to this new life.  God is giving me strength and wisdom at school (it's still challenging, but I feel like I can survive it if God chooses to keep me there).  I also feel like I have been able to begin to build a few relationships with students at school which is nice.  This makes me feel like God is using me there at the school which gives me a sense of purpose that I didn't feel during the first week or two.  I want to publicly thank God for getting me through all of this so far and for His future help with Lori and the kids getting here to join me (YAY!).