Living Hope New Zealand

Today

2007-02-25T02:40:00.000-08:00

Hello! Sorry to have waited so long to post, but we lost our internet for a couple weeks here at the house. Things are going well here. We started a new series at church called "Revolution" which is going great. We went with the hippie theme and its pretty groovy. Tabi has taken pics and I'll try to start a new link to them as I get them.

Just for fun, I thought I would interview our daughter, Elena, who just turned three. Cheers!

"Elena's Favorites"
Getting to Know Elena (these are her answers):

What's your favorite color?
Maybe orange or something.

What's your favorite food?
I like orange.

What's your favorite song?
Maybe the Barbie song.

What's favorite movie?
Barbie movie.

What's your favorite thing to do?
Color.

Where's your favorite place to go?
To McDonalds and go at the beach or something.

What's your favorite kind of animal?
A giraffe, a lion and a lion.

What's your favorite toy?
Barbie.

Who's your best friend?
Kaylie.

That's all I've got for today.

Bye for now,
Erin

Super Bowl

2007-02-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

So, we're watching the Super Bowl here and I've noticed something very near and dear to my heart is missing...the sweet as commercials. What?! So I ask Linda and our friend Brett (who is an America junkie) what the deal is, and they tell me they don't show the American commercials here. I felt so, cheated. How could they do this to me and all other Americans abroad (well, in New Zealand anyways). Now all that's left is the football (no offense :0) but seriously, like a lot of "American" stuff they try to do over here, they just don't get it right most of the time. It's cute that they try though. Like when we went into Subway the first time, for instance. It looked like a normal Subway, had the same assembly line like our Subway (with some Kiwi additions for toppings), then we went to grab our chips. We looked all around the counter, behind the counter, they were no where in sight, then finally we asked where they were. They said they didn't have any. What?!? They said nobody was getting them, so they just took them out of the store. Danny and I started laughing like you've got to be kidding! She assured us, after seeing our disbelief, they were proposing on bringing them back. What can I say?

There are things unique to here that are pretty awesome though. Like the lattes. They have them everywhere. I mean everywhere. (And they're really awesome.) We went to get our car serviced at this little garage and they had a sandwich board advertising their lattes. It would be like the Scott Brothers (the one where they pump your gas in Battle Ground) gas station making you an extra foam latte while they fill your car. Its crazy. At all the gas stations they still pump your gas and check your oil for free (with no problem and sometimes a fabulous greeting of, "Hello, love!"), kids don't have to wear shoes everywhere (even at my kid's school), and people take time to help you at stores (sometimes that backfires and I lose patience waiting for my turn :0). Overall it is a pleasant and beautiful place to be. Its okay they don't do American stuff well. They're Kiwi, and they're not supposed to! That's what makes our stuff "American". I actually enjoy the quirks of the cross cultural differences. They make me smile.

Is this a blog or a novel? Sorry. I will go now. Everyone was bludgeoning us to blog more, so I'm doing my part! Have a great Monday.

~erin

Wow!

2007-02-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! We made it back to New Zealand after 14 hours of flying. Ugh. We were sitting in the back of the plane near the bathrooms (eew...especially after dinner :0) and it was a bit of a bumpy ride this time, but I actually slept a bit. Linda kept coming back to check on us and she said I was sleeping every time she came back. Yes! On the flight here I watched Danny and David sleep because I just couldn't. It was rough. They have this flight tracking thingie on the tv (every one has their own tv on the seat in front of them) and you can watch our plane (computerized) fly across the ocean. It tells you how far you've gone and gives you an estimated time of arrival. It's really depressing when you're awake and checking it throughout the night because you think you've waited awhile and that a couple hours have definitely passed since you last checked it, but the reality is it's only been 45 minutes. Ahhhh! So this time I knew I slept some cuz when I checked it there was only 3 hours and 36 minutes to go. Yesss! Then we drove about 2 1/2 hours from Auckland back to our home in Tauranga. We were excited to see the kids and they were excited to see us. Everyone did well while we were away.

It was so good to come back and see everyone. We've missed you guys a ton. We're sorry we didn't have enough time to see everyone we wanted to see, but it was such a fast trip. We are so excited that we got to bring Pastors David and Linda back to tell their side of the story. Isn't it amazing how God works? To be sure, I never would have thought last year at this time I'd be sitting here in New Zealand, let alone flying back to tell everyone about all the awesome things going on here. Hopefully we will get some pics posted of the church here soon. Take care.

-erin

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-25T02:42:00.000-08:00

Hello friends. I've decided not to be a "slacker" anymore (please refer to the comments :) and give you a mini update on how things are going! I will begin with the team. Everyone is doing well. Moving on...just kidding. The guys are working at the church and are busy helping remodel big church and launch the youth ministry. They are doing an outstanding job! There are two campuses that need updates and they have one of them finished. It looks awesome. We hold our youth church at this facility. It's a warehouse but it looks super sweet. We have moved all the weekend services to this campus so we can begin working on the other. Laura and Tabi have been busy with the youth dance team and programming, I have been busy helping with some graphic stuff. We had our youth church launch this week and it was awesome. Several people came to Christ and the students seemed to like it. It's exciting seeing all the student involvement. They are really taking ownership of their ministry.

The kids (Gabe and Taylor) started school a couple weeks ago and are adjusting quite well. They have made some new friends and rather enjoy going to school with no shoes. (It's a Kiwi thing.) The schools are keen on the arts, music and learning about the Maori culture. Tabi, Laura and I were fortunate to be able to attend a field trip with the kids to a Maori temple. It was really cool. Elena has been busy potty training, picking up bugs (which are extremely large here) and overall being 2.

We are still living together in the white house on Kennedy Rd. which all our Kiwi friends think is funny. Summer is slowly approaching and the weather is getting nicer here. It's weird having Christmas in the summer. I almost put snow around this tree I made on a flyer, but then I realized there's no snow here. It was kinda sad, but kinda cool to go hang at the beach at the same time.

Our Thanksgiving was good, but sad at the same time. Tabi, Laura and I cooked all day. You should all be so proud because 1)None of us has cooked Thanksgiving dinner before 2)They don't have any short cuts for cooking i.e. no canned pumpkin or yams, no boxed stuffing. We actually had to make our pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin...I know that may sound silly, but really, how many of you have done it? :) We looked up some recipes on the web and tried our best. We had candied kumera (kind of like a sweet potato), pumpkin pie, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, ham and chicken (because nobody gets turkeys until closer to Christmas). Tabi made little name place settings out of mini apples with funny Indian names she made up for all of us. It was funny. We missed our families and friends a lot, but we felt proud of ourselves for keeping tradition alive!

So I think that's all I've got for now. I'm working on linking our photos to the blog, but I'm having technical difficulties. We've got some cool ones so I'll do my best this upcoming week to post them. Talk soon.

~erin~

We Made It!

2006-10-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we arrived at the Auckland airport after 15 hours of the most fun someone could have...next to the fun of giving birth. Traveling with a toddler is, shall we say, a character building experience not only for us, but everyone else on the airplane. Our flight out of PDX was an hour late which put us into San Francisco with just enough time to run to a shuttle which took us to the international terminal. Once we found our gate they were almost finished boarding. Elena was screaming like I had just chopped off her arm, and the people at the Air NZ counter had never seen Danny's type of visa stamp before so they had to call more people to verify. Talk about stress. I'm pretty sure we were the last people on the plane. Thank heavens they had movie screens on the seat in front of you, and they had several kid movies that are Elena's favorite.

Once at the Auckland airport we had to go through three different customs/security checks which included candy sniffing beagles (one of which almost ate our candy corn). Finally we we're out of the airport and were warmly greeted by Pastor David and Linda, Dustin and Robbie. We drove a couple hours through amazing landscape, including Hobbiton which was home to the Hobbit houses in Lord of the Rings. We arrived at our home where Tabi and Laura had made welcome banners for us. Our house is amazing. It's an older home that's been remodeled somewhat but has the original antique wood floors, doors and molding. The yard is beautiful with many flowers and trees and bushes. It's very peaceful.

They have a lot of the same kinds of foods (cereal, french fries, etc.) we have, but with different names and it tastes a bit different. I think food here is a bit less processed than in America. I have found a few things that are new that I enjoy. One is that they have tea everywhere (I like tea a lot, and they drink it with milk and sugar-YES!) then there are these candies (or sweets) called Minties. They taste just like candy canes but have the consistancy of a Now and Later candy. Kind of waxy, but chewy, stick to your fillings texture. They are really great. Also there's fresh kiwi fruit. I never knew there were gold kiwis as well as green. Pretty cool.

Today we went into the City Center of Tauranga. We visited what is called the "strand". It's basically a street with a bunch of shops on it. It was pretty cool. Elena puked right in the food court. Then proceeded to finish her ice cream. It was pretty sweetazz.

All I have to say is that it's a bit scary driving around here. The whole right side drive and driving on the opposite side of the road throws me off. The most different thing is they don't have stop signs. They have round abouts where you have to yield, then take your life into your hands and drive around them. People fly around these things like kamikaze go-carts. You'd think they would slow down, but I'm pretty sure they speed up double. Danny was doing a great job explaining how it works, like how to use your blinker in the situation, who you have to yield to, etc. but I'm pretty sure it will be a bit before I try.

This may sound weird, but I was noticing how bright blue the sky is here and how white the light is. The sunlight isn't really yellow here at all. It's bright white. Maybe it's because there's a giant hole in the ozone?? Whatever the reason, it's really amazing. The people here are super nice and welcoming. We were short a few beds and people from the church just brought what we needed over to the house. We also got some sweets and bedding. We are so blessed.

Well that's all for now.

-erin

From Danny Joe

2006-09-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Can I just start by saying that God is good, He is faithful and just and true and loving.

He has been the leader of this trip from the beginning. He was there when the three of us stepped off the plane in Auckland with backpacks and a 3 Day rental Car agreement. He was there when we bought our first car, only to crash into a dual tailored tanker trunk 45 minutes later. He was heard in the words of the man (person driving behind us, who witnessed the whole thing) who looked at me as I crawled out of the drivers seat after the impact and said that he wanted us to know that we were what's important, not the car, not the loss of money, but us. We were o.k. and that was what we needed to focus on, just that.

He was seen in Pastor David Dishroon in Tauranga that decided to listen to our story, then to buy us lunch, introduce us to His wife Linda and invite to stay overnight in the guest bedroom with their family, (we still haven't left…).

He (Pastor David) offered us work, a one year experience with them, as we try to get our visas approved so that we can begin LHNZ. It will be a time to learn the culture, and to have a place to come for those still at home. A place to be.

And God is here now as I sit at my desk over looking the Bay of Plenty in Tauranga. I get to spend a season here as the Youth Pastor/ Cosultant of TWC. (Tauranga Worship Center.) He is so great and has provided so much. For that we are thankful.

We also thank you, our church family at Living Hope. We miss you so much. We Love and appreciate all of you. Thank you for the support and encouragement.

Be praying for those still at home, they are carrying so much and handling it beautifully. Thank you for everything.

Love, Danny Joe

Something New...

2006-09-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hi! This is Erin. I apologize for not updating the blog in the past few days. Life is crazy when you're trying to move your whole life out of the country! Danny, Dustin and Robbie are staying right now by the Bay of Plenty. It looks like an amazing place. You can google search it and get some neat pics.

We are able to talk with them by phone more than internet at this point. They will be blogging in the next few days when they have adequate internet access. Also they have some pics that we'll be posting as soon as we get them. The guys have met with some local pastors and have learned some things about New Zealand that will be helpful for our ministry. One is that they have the highest rate of un-wed births, per capita, in the world. Two is their suicide rate is higher than their murder rate. This is horribly sad, but has opened our eyes to what an amazing ministry field we have before us.

I appreciate everyone's support and prayers more than you'll ever know. Thanks.

UPDATE

2006-09-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today was our first contact with the other half of our team in New Zealand!
"It's beautiful here!" was the first thing out of Dustin's mouth on the phone with me today. So far they've only experienced Auckland, New Zealand, but their first impressions of the country seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Friendly people, beautiful landscape, and STARBUCKS! (Dustin is pretty fond of Starbucks, if you didn't already know that.) Driving is proving to be an interesting experience, as they drive on the left side of the road and the cars are right hand drive. They said they were off to visit churches and had to be off. (Minutes on the phone cost more than we'd like them to.)
Each day I become more and more excited about our near future in New Zealand. Although I'm struggling with the emotions of leaving my family, I'm also encouraged by the peace in my heart about the "move." God's been giving me some awesome quiet times at home and I'm blown away by how relevant God's Word is -- always.
Please continue to send prayers our way. For the men to find where we are most needed, for homes to become available, for Danny and Erin's house to sell, and for money. We still have many needs, and know God can provide through your prayers and your support and your finances.
Thank you for your sacrifices and for spreading the word about our journey to New Zealand.
Love,
Tabi

::UPDATE::
The boys are in need of places to stay while in New Zealand. If you or anyone you know, have any contacts in New Zealand, please e-mail dannyc@livinghopechurch.com or erinc@livinghopechurch.com with further contact information and details. THANK YOU!

They're Almost There!

2006-09-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Danny, Dustin and Robbie left yesterday and are on their way to New Zealand. They left out of Seattle last night at 6:50pm, flew into Los Angeles, then left LA at around 11:45pm for Fiji. They have a small layover in Fiji then onto New Zealand. It's tomorrow there. Isn't that so weird? Tabi was trying to explain to me the time difference and how to calculate what time it is there compared to here. I think she said just go four hours back (from what time it is here) and add tomorrow. So like if it's 5pm here, it's 1pm there, but tomorrow. I think. Hence the word "trying" to explain the time difference.

I miss Danny already, but I'm excited to hear from him what it's like over there. Once they land he's going to blog, so be watching for it!

The First Few Weeks

2006-08-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

So here we are. Let me start by saying thank you to everyone for their incredible support over the past few weeks. As a team I can say we feel more than blessed by the Living Hope staff and our extended church family. Thank you for everything you’re doing to help us during this time of transition.

What we need most right now is your prayers and encouragement. Dustin, Robbie, Jared and I will be heading over in about four weeks to set things up before the girls arrive. We will be in New Zealand for 4-8 weeks together preparing things for our families, at which point they will come over with the kids. This will be a difficult time for us because we have never been a way from our families for this long. It's going to be a lonely few weeks, you can truly be praying for peace while were apart.

While in New Zealand, for the first few weeks, we will be traveling to some of the major cities, looking for a place we can live and work for the first six months to a year. We will be trying to find jobs for both the support of our families and the church. This is a crucial period for us so you can be praying that we will find people to stay with as we travel, and after settling in, allow us to work until things get off the ground. We need work, not only for support, but in order to change our Visas from "Holiday" to "Working" allowing us to earn wages, rent, housing and to send our children to school.

After this, the rest of the team will come over and we will begin to live and learn in New Zealand. There are so many questions left unanswered, I know. But let me say this. Like John Bishop always says, "Where God guides, God provides."

That said, make sure you check out our "Contacts" page on the web site and send us any prayers or encouragement you might have. The team will be blogging here often, both prayer requests and daily/weekly updates about our progress. We truly love and appreciate you all. Thank you in advance.

Danny and the Team