Hello Wisconsin!!

After a week in Oklahoma, I headed north to St. Louis for a night to see my grandma and some other relatives. Finally got to my parents house in Coon Valley on Friday evening. I was really worried that I was gonna be freezing when I got this far up, but the weather has been unseasonably warm, barely getting below freezing at night, and up to the 50's during the day.

Deer season opened Saturday morning. I missed it last year, it was nice to get back to. This fella wandered by at 8:15, so I decided he would taste pretty good. The antlers are just a nice bonus, right?

It's somewhat strange to be back "home". It kinda still feels like I belong here, but so much has changed that I'm like an outsider. Peoples lives have moved on (mine has too), and it's just different. I guess that's just part of life. God is taking care of us all, no matter where we are.

"There are no foreign lands. It is only the traveler who is foreign." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

I'm back....kinda

I made it in to OKC on Friday night, a mere 36 hours after leaving Tauranga. It's been a wonderful visit so far. Catching up with old friends and teachers that I haven't seen in over a year has been great. Oklahoma weather, not so great. Cloudy, windy and scattered drizzle for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to and dreading speaking at outreach tomorrow evening. Hopefully they have lots of questions, and I won't have to talk that much and can just answer.

Oh, and taco bell and arbys are just as good as I remember

whew!

I made it. The pac-rimmers left early this morning for rotorua. This week has been fun, but really tiring. We took them up the mount and around to all the historic sites in Tauranga on Monday. For a bushwalk, visiting a resthome, and a glowworm cave on Tuesday. Into three different primary schools, on a tour of a working kiwifruit orchard, potluck, and Wednesday night church. I'm pretty pooped, but 30 hours of plane travel should fix that, right?

Pac-Rim...

The OC Pac-Rim study abroad group arrived today. 20 students and 2 faculty, and 4 days in Tauranga. Pray for good weather, most of the things we've got planned are outdoors. This week is gonna be CRAZY!!!

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matthew 6:35

Guy Fawkes...

So yesterday was Guy Fawkes night. It's the closest thing to the 4th of July they have over here, although it's a completely different reason for celebrating. For a bit more info, go here.

One year in...

I arrived in New Zealand exactly one year ago today.

It's been an amazing and life changing ride. I've done and am doing things that 2 years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed about. I've been hiking in the Kaimai Mountains, snorkeling off Mayor Island, and racing in Whangamata. I've visited my 4th continent, and worshipped with 6 nationalities in a group of 30 people. I've been a speaker at a men's conference, help lead an at-risk teens support group, and play backgammon regularly with an Australian. Not what a farm boy from Wisconsin usually gets up to in a years time. God is good. When I left the States, I wanted to do this not just to help others, but so I wouldn't become stagnant in my faith walk. I think it's safe to say that stagnation has definitely not occured. Being in a leadership position forces me to re-examine things. I can't just teach teens what I've heard, I need to find out if it's really the truth first. I have a new respect for the Scriptures, and a much stronger prayer life because of it.

Time is a strange thing. In some ways, I can't believe that it's gone so quickly. There's so much I wish I had done already, and now it halfway over. It's a wake up call to really keep focused on the work here. Time seems to just have crept by. It seems like forever since I've seen my family and friends in the States. I look forward to seeing them in a few weeks, but I'll miss everyone here while I'm gone.

This has been a bit of a ramble, but one of my goals for this year is to post something every day, not every couple of months.

Kia Kaha and God Bless.