So apparently I haven't updated for two weeks again....will try and catch you up with the life of Julie over that span of time.
The 15-19 made up our debriefing time on base for DTS. We spent time praying for the ministries we worked on in Bali and Cambodia, talked over and prayed about our post-DTS plans, went on a solo trip to Christchurch, and visited with some of our Backpacker and Crossroads friends as they stopped by the base and came to our graduation. We had a lovely dinner out at Dave Askins farm with fresh sweet corn from the Earthcare garden (which we didn't actually plant even though we were meant to...) and pizza from his outdoor pizza oven. We wrote letters to ourselves and team members to receive in September and ended the week with a big celebration of our graduation. We clean up real good apparently and some people didn't recognize us in nice clothes, makeup and hairdos that weren't ponytails. Ally spoiled us with a delicious meal and Anna made a couple great movies about our dts (serious and fun...just like us!).
We spent our weekend branching out and becoming more independent and enjoying our last bit of time altogether as a team and celebrated with a glass of wine and delicious meal at Seagers...well the girls anyway. We said our goodbyes to Mark on Friday night and to each other on Monday morning when we parted ways: Angela and Anna back to America, Nathan back to Christchurch, Me and Nicki off to Invercargill, Monja staying on base for her last bit of time in NZ, and Liz and Sam off to do some Woofing in Takaka (northern South Island).
So Monday was the beginning of my LONG awaited New Zealand adventure! Nicki and I hitched all the way to Invercargill and were so blessed along the way (but don't worry mom and dad, I've been bussing ever since then). Nicki (who is awesome!) is from Oregon and was one of the staff on the backpacker DTS and we visited Kieran (another BDTS staffer) and stayed with Kieran's family in Invercargill....waaay down south. We didn't wait more than 15 minutes for a hitch and made it down in just about the same amount of time it would have taken to drive ourselves. Met some really generous kiwis (Marty who was a livestock truckie who took us from Christchurch to Timaru, Allen who had been golfing in Timaru and dropped us outside Dunedin, Richard who was off to visit his daughter and picked us up before we had even turned around to put our thumbs out, and Jason who drove a tow truck and brought us right into Invercargill). The weather was glorious (not usual for Invercargill apparently) and we enjoyed playing in the park (they have the best playgrounds in NZ!!), driving out to Bluff, having dinner with her Nan and Poppa, going to the Youth Group she leads, eating skillet cookie, hiking the Daffodil loop trail on Sandy Point, and visiting Riverton. It was a good transition for me from being with the team and these wise women were really encouraging and had lots of tips for backpacking.
On Wednesday afternoon Kieran and Nicki dropped me off at the bus and I was off to Te Anau in the Fiordlands. After a 2.5km walk with my overstuffed backpack I made my first big decisions of my solo travel: what to make for dinner! Met a retired teacher from Oregon who was travelling with her daughter in my hostel room who goes to the Alliance church there. She has been on a few mission trips herself since she has retired and was really encouraging. It was great to have someone around who sort of understood where I was at and it also made me miss travelling with my mom. She was an amazing travel buddy! Unlike most visitors to Te Anau, I didn't make it out to Milford Sound because it was quite expensive and I didn't feel like it was the right time. On Thursday I did some errands and trip planning and walked along the lake out to the trailhead to the Keplar Track. Once again the weather was gorgeous and my body and mind are starting to get used to all the fresh air and exercise (plus my new shoes!).
Friday morning I was off to Queenstown, the tourist capital of the South Island I'm pretty sure. Met up with Mary a friend of George's who is a teacher at the primary school there (which was right down the street from my hostel). Had some great roomates and am getting used to sharing rooms with boys again. Had some laughs with Christian from Germany, and the next day did my first big hike up Ben Lomond mtn with Stephano from England (and enjoyed the free gondola ride down the last bit), had a delicious dinner with Mary and her husband Steve that night and then hung out in the hostel room which even had a kitchen of its own with Stephano and our new Canadian roomate Garrett (who had met Christian earlier in his travels...but unfortunately missed Christian by a day as he had left Queenstown that morning). The only sad news about Queenstown is my lack of time to taste the legendary Ferg Burger. The weather (did I mention it was amazing in Queenstown?) and the new friendships were such an answer to prayer. I feel like God is showing off a bit here in New Zealand!
Early Sunday morning I was off again, this time to Wanaka. Enjoyed relaxing by the lake in the sunshine (weather is still gorgeous) and checking out what I think is probably THE most amazing movie theatre I've ever been to. Paradiso Cinema only has couches to sit on inside, except for the car and even has an intermission when you can go and get snacks like homemade cookies or ice cream. I saw Invictus and really enjoyed it. Finished the movie just in time to go to Lighthouse Church's evening service in a cafe by the waterfront. Was pleasantly surprised to find they had a guest speaker from Bethel Church in California there for the service and was completely refuelled after feeling a bit lonely that morning after saying goodbye to all my new acquaintances.
I've decided to stayin Wanaka for 2 more nights and will hopefully get in some more hiking, a bike ride along the lakeshore and maybe even some horseback riding before heading to Mt. Cook.
Prayer requests for continuing to make new friends, great weather, safe travels, daily devotions time, and God-led decision making!
Although I'm thoroughly enjoying my time in New Zealand, I am definitely starting to really look forward to returning to Canada.
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