NZ (471 photos), by Megan Longenecker

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More pictures of the trip

Thanksgiving and Kris' birthday trip

Thursday night the church hosted a dinner to thank the volunteers, and they made it a Thanksgiving dinner in honor of the Americans. They had turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and a pumpkin pie made from real pumpkin (not the canned stuff, they don't have that here!). Leigh even made us a large brownie with the American flag on it! Everyone is so thoughtful, and we're grateful for their efforts to make us feel at home.

Since Kris' birthday was the 27th, we decided to take a trip to Nelson, the sunniest place in New Zealand, on the South island. We took the train to the ferry, and rode the ferry 3 hours from Wellington to Picton. It was neat seeing the Harbor and the coastline, and you see how close the 2 islands are. It was a gorgeous day! As we entered the Sound, we were in awe of the landscape--green hills rising steeply from the turquoise waters, dolphins swimming along side the boat. We docked in Picton, a cute tourist town, and we rented a car that had a sticker on the dash reminding drivers to "Keep Left"! We drove through the Marlborough region, which is a valley of vineyard after vineyard, then through some windy mountain passes. We arrived in Nelson, a neat hilly town on the Tasman Bay. It has a great downtown, and a really neat Anglican cathedral up on the hill that we walked through. Our accomodation, the Golden Lodge, was a neat old Victorian home made into guest rooms, on a hill overlooking the city and bay. It had great character and was a neat place to stay a night; we enjoyed sitting on the balcony looking over the city, talking for a long time as the sun set.

The next morning we had crepes for breakfast at the famous Farmer's Market. Then we hiked up a hill to the geographical Centre of New Zealand, with amazing 360 degree views of Nelson, the Tasman Bay, and the valley. Again we spent a long time just talking as we enjoyed the sunshine and the views. From there we drove to Cable Bay, a small sheltered area where we would love to come back to someday with sea kayaks! On the way back to Picton we stopped for lunch in Havelock, the mussell capital of NZ. We ate mussell chowder at the Mussell Pot cafe, and it was sooooo good (my first mussell experience). We took the scenic route back to Picton, winding along the "fingers" of the Queen Charlotte Sound. We got to Picton early and just enjoyed watching the people and sailboats on the waterfront.

Our ride back to Welly was on a much smaller ferry, and though we had blue skies, this time we could really feel the waves rocking the boat! Our stomachs were ready to be out of the Cook Strait and back into the protected harbor again! It was neat coming back as the sun set, and seeing the cities on the harbor with the lights at night. Overall, it was a lovely trip and we would love to go back and take Kris' parents and my Mom, and also go to Abel Tasman National Park.

People

One nice thing about our time in Lower Hutt is that people are always eager to sit down for coffee or tea and biscuits (cookies) to have a conversation. I have been able to have some lovely conversations with some of the ladies in the church, and I appreciate having time to build relationships with them. Also, after the church services people aren't in a hurry to leave, so there is a lot of good fellowship and connecting.

Last night the session (elders) had us join them for a nice dinner out, a beautifully presented 4-course meal. It was a time for us to get to know the very people who prayed over the process of bringing us here, and there was a real sense of joy in knowing that God has faithfully led the right people to Knox. There is a lot of excitement about the future at Knox and how God is going to use Kris and Matt to help Wayne and the session bring God's Kingdom to bear in a greater way there.

Thursday, the church is hosting a dinner to thank all of the church volunteers, in the spirit of Thanksgiving. We even learned that Phyllis made a pumpkin pie for us--from scratch, because they don't have pumpkin pie filling here! Can't wait to taste it!

New things

Today I thought it would be interesting to think about some things I have observed that are different:

• Starbucks is not a big deal (though there is one), and people drink a lot more instant coffee. One of the more popular drinks is the "flat white", which is like a latte
• Everyone has an electric kettle for heating up water for cooking and for tea; morning and afternoon tea are standard
• Goodies are always available!
• Gas ("petrol") is much more expensive at $1.82/liter (4 liters per gallon)
• Homes are chilly when there's no sun because most are not insulated and don't have central heat, so you want to look for a place that gets good sunlight in the key places (our house gets good sun)
• Most of the clothes drying is done on the clothesline
• Many lots have been subdivided, so there are a lot homes in a small area, quite close together
• Mobile phones and the plans are a lot more expensive, so everyone has landlines as well.

Here is our address:

1/28 Garden Rd

Avalon

Lower Hutt 5011, New Zealand

Job hunting

I took a few resumes (or "CV's") around to some physio clinics and a health club on Monday, only to learn that many of them are cutting back on staff rather than hiring. The ACC, which is the government-funded health care that is the primary payer for physio services, has cut reimbursement to physios significantly in the past year, which has caused drastic cuts in profit. Not a good time to be looking for work in that field, unfortunately! I also learned not to say that I'm looking for work at a "health club", because here that apparently refers to nudity clubs rather than a place to exercise! I must say "gym" or "fitness center", and I keep catching myself! I did do an interview with Adecco for temp work until I can find a suitable permanent option, and I plan to go into the local Christian bookstore and cafe as well.

Generous

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people at Knox ever since we arrived, and this has continued through this week. We have had help with everything from buying a car to supplying our new home with furniture! We are humbled that so many people are willing to joyfully give to us; God has truly provided for all our needs. Kris and Matt bought vehicles at the auto auction; we are now the proud owners of a silver-blue 2000 Toyota Camry wagon! I spent much of Friday looking at PT ("physio" here) clinics and gyms and working on my resume, and will go in on Monday to speak with some of them. We would appreciate prayers that I would get a part-time job that I will enjoy, close enough to walk or bike most of the time.

November 5 is Guy Fox Day, remembering the day that Guy Fox tried to blow up Parliament in England. So to celebrate, they have BBQs and shoot off fireworks! The Tennents had the youth group kids over and they did the fireworks quickly before the storm came in...and then later under the umbrella!

Saturday we got to start moving into our new house. The guys collected furniture from various homes around the valley while Ang and I and the Tennent girls cleaned and organized. It's starting to look like a home! Tonight we will start staying there. We look forward to getting settled in and getting into some kind of normal routine again.

More Pictures of Wellington

Commissioning Service and more

On Sunday morning, Kris and Matt were commissioned as Children's Pastor and Youth Pastor at Knox Church. They explained that that day was the culmination of nearly a 2-year process to find the right people for the jobs, each of them made a declaration of faith and commitment, they were prayed over, and then several ministry leaders presented them with various gifts. We were amazed at their generosity! The congregation even provided baskets full of items for the home and pantry. After the service, we met many in the congregation in cafe. We feel so very welcomed, and Knox Church and Lower Hutt is already feeling like home; we also feel very clear confirmations that this is where we are supposed to be.

On Monday, we found out that we got the house we wanted to rent, with Matt and Ange. It's a really great house with everything we were looking for, and will save us a lot by sharing it. It has 4 bedrooms, so come on down for a visit! We started looking for cars a bit too, and we're learning that we might have to spend a bit more than we had hoped to get something decent (so you can pray we find something both road-worthy and affordable!).

Today was Kris' first official day of work, starting with staff meeting in the morning; more about work later, when he gets home! In the meantime, Leigh (our host) took us out to Eastbourne for lunch and we took the ferry across the harbor into Wellington. It's a beautiful sunny day with almost no wind, and we could even see the mountains of the south island in the distance. Wellington is such a cool looking city. The downtown is right on the wharf, and you can walk all along the waterfront looking at shops and cafes. FYI, Wellington was just voted the 4th coolest city to visit in the world! There are more cafes per capita than in New York City.

We have spent quite a bit of time driving around town, and we really like the feel of the city!