New Zealand

You'd think that after 2 years of being home from my mission trip I'd be done talking about it. Nope. Haven't really talked about it in the last couple of years, for multiple reasons:

1. I found out my grandmother got sick and stayed sick when I was in New Zealand and it messed with my head more than I thought it would. I was convinced that she'd get better, but she passed shortly after I came home.
2. Dealing with the loss of my grandma and family relationships took a toll on me, not to mention that I had quit my job just before I left. So I was home all the time, which wasn't good for my health and healing.
3. Because I was home all the time after I got back from New Zealand, I had to start looking for a job, one that could use my degree: English. Where could I find such job? To be honest, I didn't really care about looking. But, God provided and I ended up at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as an intern that summer.
4. When I started my internship, the previous day my family had just gotten back from visiting my grandfather for the first time since my grandma died, which didn't help. I remember walking in on the first day and I couldn't get into the 'workplace' mode. I was emotionally all over the place. It was so weird being at their? house without her there. Everything just seemed ... sad. 

All of these factors and life in general took a while for me to process and heal from. If I could go back and change some things, I would, but I know my choice of locking myself up and dealing with everything on my own—instead of allowing people in and allowing growth and healing to happen within me—made it that much harder for me. All that to say, I'm excited to share my 7-week journey with you as the Lord led me to New Zealand to minister to Israeli backpackers.

How did it all come to be, you may ask. Well, when I graduated college in May 2017, I still worked at Hobby Lobby, where I had worked for the last 4 years. I honestly don't remember all the details anymore, but I believe I started looking for a job, but I didn't know what I could do with an English degree. Come that summer, in June, a spokesperson for a ministry called Chosen People Ministries came to my congregation and shared the need for interns to help in the campground they had at that time. He mentioned that it was in New Zealand and that the primary focus would be Israelis—those who backpack through New Zealand after they've finished their IDF duties (which is the required military service in Israel). I've always wanted to go on some sort of mission trip, but I was expecting to go for a week or so. This opportunity was something that was several weeks long, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go on a trip like this. But, as soon as I heard him mention that it was an outreach ministry, I immediately turned to my mom and said, "I wanna go." And she said, "Go."

Now, if you know my mom, you know that she doesn't always let me go places, especially by myself. To say I was surprised is an understatement to say the least. I knew that if my mom had peace about it immediately, that God was up to something. 

And He was. I just didn't really know it yet.

After that service, I approached the man who talked about the internship and he got me started on the application process. When I got home that day, I was so excited—ready to buy my ticket then and there. But I had to wait and raise money first. So, I started a page and raised enough money just before my trip. I was anxious that all of it didn't come right away, but the Lord taught me a little bit about patience and of His faithfulness to me in that situation. 

All the money came in just in time. I booked my ticket for the day after Thanksgiving and was ready to go. 

A couple months later, Thanksgiving came and went, and off to the airport I went on Friday morning. So excited about my first international travel by myself and going to New Zealand, I got to CLT airport much earlier than necessary (I think it was about 3 or 4 hours early, whoops). 

Finally, early afternoon came and I boarded! Off I went! 

A few hours later, landed in Houston, TX. Then at 10 p.m. Friday night, I boarded my plane to fly to Auckland, New Zealand.

One of the first things I noticed was that the flight attendants talked a little bit funny, and so did a lot of the passengers. Then I realized I was the funny sounding one. This is what the New Zealanders, also known as Kiwis, sound like! 

12 hours later, landed in Auckland. The airport in Auckland is huge; I was a little overwhelmed by the technology (they have screens everywhere, and the way things are set up are completely different than in the United States). They had more self-serve centers, that were black, than what I was used to. The combination of the Kiwi language on the signs and the dark centers of self-service kiosks, I had to just stand there for a little bit and take it all in. That's when I realized that it was 6 a.m. Sunday. I had completely skipped Saturday, and was 18 hours ahead from home, just like that. 

After I mentally settled, I went to find the terminal to fly to Christchurch—which was outside, where the cars drive on opposite sides of the road than in the U.S. I stood there trying to figure out how to cross, looking both ways, just to make sure, you know. Eventually I found the terminal and flew to Christchurch. 

I particularly remember this flight because I noticed the landscape was absolutely beautiful. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Green mountains rolled in the background with snow (!) topping them and the bluest-blue water that looked so pure (cliche, I know) to the left. Keep in mind that November in New Zealand is like springtime in the United States, so I was surprised that the mountains had snow on them, since it was warming up. However, I came to learn later on that these mountains are incredibly high, thus they always have snow or ice on the peaks (similar to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado). 

I couldn't have ever imagined this scenery. I just stared out the window, without speaking, and just being in awe of God's beautiful creation ... until I fell asleep. It's funny because I was hungry, and at that point, the last meal I had was when I boarded the plane from Houston to Auckland. And so, I was determined to stay awake until the food came around, so I could at least have a small snack. Well, that didn't happen. I woke up thinking a few minutes went by, until I realized the person next to me was giving their trash to the flight attendant. The flight was almost over. I was so very disappointed that I missed my chance for some food. Oh well. 

I landed in Christchurch, which was fairly small, especially compared to Auckland and Houston airports. I looked for food after I got my baggage and waited for my friend to arrive. When she came, a couple hours later, we headed over to find a taxi to take us to our Airbnb. I remember thinking our driver was going to crash when he made a long right turn. (Since, you know, that's normal over there—the opposite of us). He didn't, thank God (obviously he knew how to drive in his own country).

We made it to our Airbnb and got settled in. It was about 4 in the afternoon and I was done. I wanted to sleep. But my roommate/friend told me it'd be better for me to stay up—and she was right. I got up at 6 a.m. the next morning ready to rock and roll. Of course, if you know me, I don't ever naturally wake up that early, much less be ready for the day, full of energy, so that was a shock. 

That day began my first day real day (even though I was in the airports the previous day) in New Zealand, which was also the week we went sightseeing in Christchurch before we headed to the campground and started our mission work. I was in New Zealand for 7 weeks, as I've mentioned, but the first week was our 'travel' week (because you can't not explore when you're in a new country, right?) and then we spent 6 weeks at the campground. 

In my next post, I'll share photos and talk about my week of travels before heading to the campground. Until then, I'm glad God has brought healing into my life, to the point that I can now talk about this trip and be excited about sharing. I've realized that it's okay if some things take time. God knows what He's doing—always. I'm excited to continue sharing my experience and what I learned in the process of it all. God is good! Be blessed, my friends.

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"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'" 
—Isaiah 6:8