the life

We've only been here four full days, but it feels like much, much longer. We've met with both youth groups (there is one for junior high and one for high school) and the kids we met were FANTASTIC. They, like all the parishioners we have met, were just filled with love and excitement and welcome towards us. They radiated energy and enthusiasm for the Church. It's been an interesting dichotomy, because we had heard so much about the friendliness of New Zealanders (they call themselves Kiwis, and henceforth, so shall we). What we are experiencing though is that walking down the street, Kiwis are much more reserved than Americans - much less likely to smile, say hi or be engaged.  However, if there is a reason to interact with us, they are amazingly personable and warm. We've found no exception thus far.
Then there are the funny differences in lingo. "How are you going?" is a common greeting. We're asked daily if we're "sorted yet". "Good on you!" is a frequent exclamation. "College" is high school. This section could go on and on indefinitely. 
Our girls are having trouble adjusting to the food, which is very different. How different can baby food taste, one might wonder, but Bernadette won't eat it. Maria is trying to convince us to let her survive on cookies (biscuits) and pink milk -and she's almost succeeding because it seems that every time we turn around it's tea time.  Cooking our normal food is challenging since the ingredients themselves are different. We can't find seasoned breadcrumbs, stuffing mix is simply crumbs and looks actually like breadcrumbs, ground meat is chewier, etc... Popular ice cream flavors include: Hokey Pokey, Boysenberry Swirl and Orange Chocolate Chip. There does not seem to be "economy size" of anything - laundry detergents, for example come only in tiny cartons.

We are settling in, learning to drive on the "wrong" side with very different road rules, trying to get "sorted". It's fun living at the church and being right in the heart of all the activity - coupled with having 3 housemates, it really has provided a genuine experience of community to plug right in to. We like that. It is also a bit chaotic, of course, and we're trying to create some routine and structure for ourselves as much as for the girls. Now that we have already jumped into the work, there is a bit of extra chaos, but seeing it in action this weekend was energizing and ... we're ready!

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!)