Hey Mates! We are in KiwiLand!

We arrived in Auckland very surprised to meet a somewhat new person but it seemed like an old friend. Brent Davie really accommodated us, touring around the city and getting us settled in. We felt at home while learning about the new culture. We were introduced to heaps of ideas and activities to choose from here in New Zealand- and took advantage of our full night's sleep by agreeing to decide the next morning what we wanted to participate in.

We woke up and found one of our options would be to serve one of Brent's friends by working in a foodbank shelving food. We felt that would be pretty sweet, so we called up Ian and shortly after him picking us up, we were on our way. After arrival on site, we jumped right into the work, moving big boxes and putting in shelves for our new friend Ian. As we trucked on during the day, we really grew to become really great friends with this guy! He even sent us back with some refreshments. But on our way back he was asking about our plan. We responded with that our tentative plan was to serve in PACT (the organization Brent works for) and to see what New Zealand had to see! To be in Gods beautiful creation! So he invited us over for dinner, which turned out to be even more bang for our buck. We arrived and jumped into his cold new zealand swimming pool with his children. Unfortunately I (evan) dove too far past the deep end into the 3 or 4 foot part of the pool. I looked something like an accordian, slamming myself against the pool floor, probably into what seemed like a new break-dance move. It was as ungraceful as it was painful. After shaking it off and laughing at myself, we played some ball in the pool with his children, completely bewildered at Gods plan for our time in New Zealand. We know that God is a God of surprise and a unique will for all His children. We were wondering at this point what direction we are supposed to be heading during our stay here. Ian invited us for dinner and we laughed with His children and shared stories. He invited us to come on a sail boat with him and his family in the near future. We made arrangements to help him more by working in the food bank, stacking and shelving- as well as arrangements to go sailing with him.

We arrived home and it hit us the amazing network that God has put in front of us. That Brent has all of these connections, and after we discuss some sort of plan... it ends with him or a friend saying, "I could hook you up with a car or a house in that town..." We even drove to a friends house that provided pillows for us three! God is amazing at the way he shows up and has planned everything out before us. We are amazed at the tight-knit community that has been sewed together here by God. We have really been amazed and seen an example of unity. Ian has really offered many connections and contacts, as well as Brent has been overly helpful and helping us to really be a facilitator of what God has for us. Brent has been a blessing, as well as all the people here at PACT who do amazing work for the Lord.

We are finding more and more who God is making us uniquely, as we wrestle with God through our own issues and help each other out. Getting placed back into real life and learning to grow and mature into the USA society and culture is harder than we thought. But we are trusting in God through this time to prepare us for the day ahead of us, and the next place too. We are simply falling more in love with God. Finding that Ephesians 3:18-19 to be the truth- Christ's love is enough and completing to us. Constantly humbled and in awe of how big God is and how small we are seems to stand true as well. We are beginning to realize that the end of the beginning has come. When we left it seemed as if it we would come home from the "big adventure," it is just the beginning because God loves us so much He has a plan for our futures. Looking back, (remembering its not over)- thus far it has been a wild adventure of finding out who God really is (haha, although we have probably not the slightest clue) and the kind of relationship He wants from us. with different themes God has made this for us, we are excited to continue to humbly move forward in seeking God, and find the different "flavors" and depths of God. i wish i had the words to describe how BIG God is, and how INCREDIBLE his saving love is. It sounds like a bunch of nice words, but we are finding it to not only be true, but who we become.

Love Love Love!
xoxoxoxo,
the team