the divine adventure: September 2012

I'm sitting in our living room staring out at our back yard on this partly cloudy and extremely windy day and trying to figure out how you end a blog, and not just a blog, but how do I sum up the beautiful experience we've had this year in NZ. And now I'm crying. :/ I'm not very good with good byes so I try to soften the blow with a cheerful “See you later!”, but in the end the tears come anyways. Our church family at the HUB gave us a wonderful going away on Sunday. They called us to the front, thanked us with beautiful, humbling words, blessed us in prayer, prophesy and a bag of yummy NZ treats for the road! After the service we had a big NZ style shared lunch with plenty of chips (fries), egg pie, meat pies and chili to go around. The kids church and the youth made us adorable thank you cards and gave us a box of chocolates too! To my amazement, there were very few tears shed on Sunday, mostly just mine, because we were having such a great time celebrating the time we've shared and looking forward to how God will bring us all back together again in the future. What an incredible group of people we've come to call family here in Otaki. You will each be dearly missed, constantly prayed for and always held dear to our hearts. THANK YOU for making us so at home and for accepting us not just into your culture, or for allowing us to minister at your church, but for taking us into your families and lives. We love you all very much! * hugs * We are so excited for how we've seen God work in and through the HUB church community and know that it's just the beginning. Keep loving. Keep serving. Keep giving thanks to our great God!

In Transit...

Tomorrow we leave Otaki at 7 AM and will be in Tonga by 7:35 PM. Our NZ Visas expire on the 14^th so since we had to be out of the country by then we are going to Tonga on vacation the week before we meet up with the rest of the Medical Mission team on the 22^nd! God's been so faithful to provide a great team of medical volunteers who are incredibly excited to go to Tonga and minister to the kids and families at ACTS Community School along with all the medical and hygiene supplies we need! One of the team members was able to get three NZ pharmacy companies to donate over $1,000 dollars in medications for the trip!!! What a HUGE blessing. :) Internet will be scarce in Tonga but I'll try to keep you updated a bit during the week and of course we'll send out some followup information and pics when we get back.

The Adventure Continues...

Torre and I will be arriving back to the USA on September 29^th and will be living/working in California through the end of 2012. As of January, 2013, we will be moving back to Boston where Torre has accepted a new position! Surprise!!! We haven't made this public knowledge up until now. :) We believe that God has been directing us back to the East coast for a season and we are excited for the opportunity and to re-connect with friends and family!

We'll be seeing you...

I think that's it. The end of another season...anticipating the next chapter (and blog)!

Our friend Brian Denton sang us this traditional Maori going away song on Sunday:

“Now is the Hour”

Now is the hour,

when we must say goodbye

Soon you'll be sailing,

far across the sea

While you're away,

Oh please remember me

When you return,

you'll find me waiting here

The song that come to mind for me is:

“I'll Be Seeing You”

I'll be seeing you;

In all the old, familiar places;

That this heart of mine embraces;

All day through.

In that small cafe;

The park across the way;

The childrens carousel;

The chestnut tree;

The wishing well,

I'll be seeing you;

In every lovely, summers day;

And everything that's bright and gay;

I'll always think of you that way;

I'll find you in the morning sun;

And when the night is new;

I'll be looking at the moon;

But I'll be seeing you.

Here are some pics from the past couple of months.

the HUB church Cast of "Heaven's Gates & Hell's Flames
Torre played a construction worker and a business man and
I played the wife who commits suicide because her husband cheated on her.