Oceans apart

I left you in Rotorua on my way to Taupo, but that seems like ages ago now that I am back in Canada!  I'll try to remember what I got up to...

Taupo is home of the largest freshwater lake in Australasia and tons of adventure activities (skydiving, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping....).  It looks a lot like the Okanagan and it felt a lot like home.  In the summer the population more than doubles, but in the autumn it's quite quiet.  The weather was once again gorgeous and after the non-stop activities in Rotorua we enjoyed a slower pace during the 24hrs we spent in Taupo.  We went to a local market where I  stumbled across an amazing ministry out of the Philippines called Threads of Hope http://www.threadsofhope.com.ph/  It's so encouraging to find other people who are stepping out in faith and building relationship through small things like a friendship bracelet.  Reminded me of the incredibly generous hearts of the YWAM team from the Philippines we met in Battambang who helped us with a couple of our gardening projects.  Also in Taupo we enjoyed wandering around the town and sitting by the lake in the sunshine, a fancy (and delicious) dinner out at an Indian restaurant, and a boat trip to see some Maori carvings.

The next day we were off to Tongariro National Park where, although we had decided against hiking the crossing, we planned to do some day hikes.  Tongariro is home to Peter Jackson's "Mt Doom" shooting location in the Lord of the Rings...volcanic mountains and wide open plains.  A very different landscape yet again.  Lindsay and I did a couple short hikes, but unfortunately the weather fogged in the peaks for our last hike so we made an earlier departure than we were expecting....off to the Waitomo Caves.

Waitomo is famous for its glow worms and also for adventure caving.  Unfortunately with my broken thumb I wasn't able to do any blackwater rafting, climbing, abseiling, or caving.  Jo and Lindsay were happy to take the dry route as well after their whitewater rafting experience in Rotorua so we did a short tour of the Spellbound caves and saw some stalagmites and glow worms.

The next day we drove to Auckland with a stopover in Hamilton to see the New Zealand-made movie Boy about a Maori family in the '80s.  We spent two nights in Auckland and enjoyed visiting the Skytower and Rangitoto Island (a volcanic island only a 30min ferry ride from downtown Auckland.  We also found some half-price tickets to see part of the Comedy Festival.

Before we knew it we were saying our goodbyes to each other and to New Zealand.  I flew home via LA and visited my roomate Allison from university on my layover.  We had a great time catching up and I can say I've driven down Hollywood Blvd (well ok I wasn't driving, but close enough!).  During my layover in Vancouver I was welcomed back with dinner at Tim Hortons, playoffs on TV (hockey), and a glimpse of the snowcapped coastal mountains from the airport.

Now back in Enderby with my family things are a bit strange, but it's great to be home...life is a mix between sorting out the practical part of going back to work and settling in one place for a bit, catching up with friends and family which I haven't had time for lately, sleeping off my jet lag, and grieving for my Grandpa who passed away two days before I flew home.

My plan for the time being is to move back up to Prince George after my Grandpa's funeral (which should be around next Wednesday).  I'm praying that I'll get some work before the school year ends.  I'll be staying with my friend Josie (who travelled in Australia with me back in September and did her DTS there) and her family which I am so grateful for.  My summer will probably be spent on the farm with my parents for the most part, hopefully including some side trips to the island and Alberta.  I'm planning to teach a vacation bible school for a week and also to spend some time working with my dad  on the farm....maybe I'll finally learn how to drive the tractor!

The fall is still a bit of an unknown and I would appreciate your prayers over my next step.

The thumb seems to be healing ok, and hopefully won't be too much trouble if I go back to teaching.  I'm in a cast for the next 3 weeks and then will probably need some physiotherapy (praying for a teaching contract so that I can get medical coverage for this treatment).

Thanks again for all your encouragement and support over the past 8 months.  I will continue to update you (although life will probably be a little less dramatic now) as I settle into a new rhythm.  I'm in the process of sorting through about 17GB of photos, and am hoping to do some sort of slideshow in Prince George when I get back and will definitely be doing one in July in Enderby.  I will try and post a few on Facebook and the blog once I'm a bit more settled (especially if I don't get much TOC work in PG!). 

I do have a cell phone number for those of you in Canada, and I'd love to get back in touch.  I seem to have misplaced a lot of people's phone numbers with all my moving and also because I got a new cell phone so send me a message!

Blessings, Julie