Blessed to be a Blessing!

it's amazing how fast you can begin a new life in a new place. we've only been in New Zealand for just over a month but because of how quickly God has integrated us it feels like it could be much longer! God's been so faithful to prepare a place for us to connect here! over the past few weeks we've been connecting more with our new church family and have really come to the understanding of us how ordained and prayed for our presence here is. all glory be to God for his marvelous works because this is not something we could've planned even if we tried. multiple people have told us that the church has been praying for a couple to come and partner with them in ministry, new friendships have been a blessing to those here feeling alone, an artist i met from the church said she's been praying to connect with a christian female photographer. all of these things were prayers entrusted to God who through his faithfulness began to stir our hearts for something new...challenging...even scary...and through these things he brought us all the way from Boston to Otaki, New Zealand, to show a group of people that he had heard them and that they were not forgotten. God is so awesome friends! God is calling all of us to be someone's answer to prayer. we are so humbled and truly in awe of how God can use a willing and surrendered life.

A few new interesting "New Zeland" facts (i have to start taking notes because i see something or hear something and think i'll remember...but i don't):

• i think i forgot to mention this when we last talked about "New Zealand" foods. other than fish-n-chips, MEAT PIES are the favorite around here! Love them! the most talked about meat pie is the "steak and cheese" pie but today i had a beef curry pie with potato in it and it was pretty great!
• Kiwi's seem to be pretty interested in what things are like in America and in President Obama. one of the men from church has even read Obama's book.
• from what i can tell, the youth here are really into hip-hop and acting/talking "gangsta" like. we saw a dance team from the church in wellington on sunday night and they were very good.
• much to my amazement there seems to be a MULLET trend here. :/ yeah...i know...i have no idea. sigh.
  

we met a couple a few weeks ago at Levin City Church and they let me come to their farm on Friday to take pictures of the baby cows! the youngest is just 10 days old and she's a cutie! *PICS COMING SOON!

i've got a few things to catch you up on but this will have to do for now. off to clean our new rental! moving in tomorrow! woot!

*don't forget to scroll down and check out 'Talk Like a Kiwi' at the bottom of our page!

Everyday New Zealand - Coffee Talk!

If you've ever thought that coffee talk in the states was a bit over whelming, think again! 
As you read the names of the different coffee beverages in bold, test yourself to see if you know what it's components are. Have fun and let me know how you did! :)


NZ Coffee Guide:


Zest Food Tours explain New Zealand coffee terms

• espresso / short black - basis for all coffee styles, espresso is full-flavoured, fragrant, with a velvety body and lingering after-taste; single serving in a demi-tasse (small cup)
• macchiato - a single or double espresso shot, just stained with frothed milk
• long black - single serving of espresso, with the same amount of hot water added; served in large cup filled to just under the top, or sometimes with the water provided separately
• flat white - one third espresso, two thirds steamed milk with a touch of swirled froth
• cappuccino - regular espresso with equal parts steamed milk and foam, sprinkled with chocolate or cinnamon
• caffe latte - regular espresso, topped with hot milk and little or no froth
• mochaccino - one third each of espresso, steamed milk, cocoa
• ristretto - (‘restricted’) is 15-20ml of espresso, the essence of coffee
• piccolo latte - miniature latte made with ristretto and 70ml of steamed milk; delicate flavoursome drink
• affogato - espresso served over ice-cream
• espresso Romano - espresso served with a twist of lemon
• latte macchiato - steamed milk with espresso on the side
• espresso con panna - espresso topped with a dash of whipped cream
• cortado - Spanish version of the piccolo served in a 60ml demitasse cup
• fluffy - for kids, a demi-tasse filled with foamed milk, sprinkled with chocolate and served with marshmallow on the side and a small chocolate fish.

*Thanks to www.newzealand.com for the great info!

Everyday New Zealand

A few people have asked for very specific details about living here so every so often I'll give you an "Everyday New Zealand" update. :)

Housing:

• Rent is by the week, not the month. We've seen 1-3 bedroom houses start at $150 p/wk and go well over $1,000p/wk depending on size, quality and location.
• Structurally, homes here appear to be the same as most other places in the world. They vary in size, age and style but seem to function equally. 
• The living room has a large sliding door that opens from the right and the top half of the left side of the window frame open about 5 inches by pushing out on it.
• Only the Living room/Kitchen and the Master Bedroom in the house we are staying in have heating/cooling units built into the wall. They are similar to a window ac but almost twice the size and not removable. 
• This one's for you Jill! The toilets here are the same as in the US except they have two flush options. One for lighter business and one for heavier business. *See photo

House Wife Stuff:

• It seems that most homes have a washing machine but no dryer. I "hung the wash" for the first time today! There's a very nice laundry rack attached to the side fence that pulls up to use and folds back down to store. *See photo
• I am very happy with the pull out/drawer style stainless steal dish washer this home is equip with, especially since I didn't have a dish washer this past year and a half! Small but sufficient, energy saving and quiet. I really hope wherever we end up has one too!

Perks:

• The kitchen and bathroom floors here are tile and the builder opted to make them heated! They are controlled by a thermostat on the wall. I don't think this is a normal perk to all New Zealand homes but my toes are thankful for the time we have with them. :)

Cars/Driving:

• There are very few American made cars here since New Zealand is so close to Japan. Cars are imported new and used and manufactured for the driver to be on the right side of the car, not the left like in America.
• Driving on the left side of the road isn't so bad. We just keep telling ourselves to keep the closest curb on our left and if we are on the same side of the road as the side of the car we are sitting on something is very wrong! There's only been a couple of times when we turned around or made a turn at a light where we've caught ourselves wanting to drift to the other side of the street, but we're being very careful and taking it slowly. (That was for you moms and dads ;) I feel very comfortable driving on the opposite side of the car, but for some reason I am not too comfortable SITTING on the opposite side of the car as a passenger. I feel completely out of control! 

Food:

• We are finding that New Zealand makes a lot of it's food and beverages here (free range eggs, beef/pork/lamb, milk, orange juice), but prices can be inflated quite a bit depending on where you shop. There is one discount market down the street that is similar to a Market Basket (for all you East Coasters) and perhaps a Food City or a Fry's (for all you West Coasters).

Electricity:

• Voltage and plugs are different here so we do have an adapter for electronics we brought from the US like the computer and ipad. Each socket has it's own individual "on/off" switch which is a nice energy saving option.