New Zealand!

We are here! We arrived yesterday morning at 7:30 am and it has been an overwhelming blur ever since. We are jet-lagged, sleep-deprived, culture-shocked and disoriented in every possible way; we've experienced (and our girls along with us) every possible emotion from exhilarated gratitude to horrified sadness about the reality of this move.
The travel itself was hard on the whole family, but particularly Maria and Bernadette. Now that we are here and getting more settled in by the hour, they seem to be slowly returning to their old selves. Maria is a bit put out about New Zealand "red juice" (grape juice) and Bernadette has not bathed in days due to her maladjusted sleep schedule.
Richard and I are struggling to get unpacked, settled in, adjusted to the time and cultural differences, help the girls, get to know parishioners and staff, learn how to grocery shop & comprehend the rules of driving on the "wrong" side of the road...just some of what we're immersed in at the moment.
It is good to finally be here - after all the preparations, all the prayer, all the snafus - we are here. We did not really grasp the magnitude of our undertaking until it began to truly unfold, and truly, the job is bigger than the man (and woman). Please pray for us in a special way this first week, and we continue to pray in gratitude for all of you (now with a bittersweet tone as we feel the first pangs of homesickness!)