A Seriously Amazing Day

Well, I am a happy wife. My husband finally came home after 9 days of being away in Fiji. It felt like forever. He had and incredible time there, it seems as if everything has gone to a whole new level and intensity which is exciting. Neither one of us is feeling 100% right now, so today we are just trying to get better and get lots of work done. Josh is now responsible for overseeing all the coordinators in Fiji and making sure things get done when they need to. The day started with a breakfast meeting and is still going hours later. I am thankful the office is at our house though, it allows me to cook and work at the same time.

On another note. I got my work visa...on the very day they told me "there was no way they could get it processed before my present visa expired. This ment that they would have the right to forcably remove me from New Zealand and my husband." However, nothing is impossible with God, I got it on the same day! Praise HIM!

It Finally Happened

Well, it finally happened. The week before Josh left he was fighting a yucky, itchy throat, sinus drainage, make you feel weak, cold. I of course caught it and for the last week, I have been trying all the preventative medicine I know as the on set began. As of this morning however, I would say that I am officially sick. Lisa, Josh's sister who is studying nursing, has officially declared that I have a cold, one of those with the yucky coughs.
So today, Saturaday, was spent around the house. Between housework and resting I had a bit of time to think though, and that resulted in dinner. I decided to try to make a Moroccan Dish, so in a few short minutes we will see how it turned out. I'd appreciate your prayers for healing for sure. Being sick and without is not that fun! Enough said.

Life without Josh…..

Today is day 5 without Josh in my New Zealand world, and I am missing him! Wednesday won’t come soon enough for me. According to my brief phone calls with him, things are going really well, and they are seeing some awesome things happen. He’s been traveling all over the islands of Fiji on this trip, and as of today he is in Lambassa….the Northern island of Fiji. Last night after a late night of fundraising, he had to drive across the main island to catch an early morning plane. I’m so proud of him, jetting around the world. He really is Mr. Fix It when it comes to anything IWT…however I miss him!
As far as my life here in New Zealand goes, things are good….but pretty simple. The House of Prayer is going strong, and I have been kept busy organizing for another fundraising event. For a bit of fun, Lisa, Josh’s sister and I hosted a small girls night last night. The first girls night at our new place. It was good to get caught up with everyone, laugh till our sides wanted to split open, and eat good Italian (homemade lasagna is a winner) food and of course chocolate. Good friends really are such a gift!

Geeks and Gangsters

This weekend was a blast from the past from college, my sorority, and theme parties galore. This weekend we celebrated Josh’s sister, Lisa’s 21st birthday. In New Zealand 21st birthdays are Really Big Deals. They are a right of passing of sorts, when traditionally children are given the keys the family home, and released to come and go as they please. Thus her party was really big deal and took months of planning even with two event coordinators helping her out between games Cricket and Settlers of Catan.

For those of you who have not met Lisa, well you need to meet her; for she truly embodies her middle name JOY. Not wanting to be too serious on such an occasion, Lisa decided to go with the theme “Geeks and Gangsters” for her party allowing everyone to dress up and make fools of themselves, and have a good laugh. The party included the traditional feast, and speeches that made everyone cry, and culminated in “The Gold and the Geeky” quiz show, hosted by yours truly. It was truly a sight to behold. Here are some pictures to sum up what a thousand words can not.








On another note, Josh left for Fiji yesterday. He will be there for nine days, which is the longest we will have been apart since being married. Please pray for him, as he goes out to help the coordinators, set up offices, teach in the school, and assist with the fundraising push.

Driver's License

Recently, I got my official New Zealand Driver’s License in the mail. It is my first official piece of New Zealand identification, so I was quite excited. However with driver’s license’s come ugly mug shots that you have to show to people wherever you go, so I opened the letter with a bit of trepidation, expecting the worst. To my surprise though, the picture was actually pretty good. I don’t know if it was the lighting in the building or what, but let me just say there was rejoicing in our house that night.

Fresh Fish for Dinner!

One of the best things about being married to Josh and living in Tauranga is the abundant supply of seafood available for free! One of Josh’s favorite hobbies is fishing. Especially if the sea is as smooth as glass and there is a kayak involved. Two nights ago, after a day of driving and navigating the traffic in Auckland (he had to go put the vehicles for IWT on the boat to Fiji) the conditions were perfect, so Josh and I loaded up the car with his kayak, fishing rod, and my running shoes, and off we went to “the Mount”. On most cases, Josh will Kayak around the mount and I will walk around at the same time. About half way around I could see Josh’s kayak being turned around and pulled in the opposite direction, with his rod bending all the way over, he had a fish on! I was so excited as fresh fish for dinner is one of my favorites and we hadn’t had it in a while. Needless to say, Josh was ecstatic with his catch.

Last night we went up to the Wairoa River with all Josh’s sisters and brother, we found an awesome spot where there is a 10 Meter rock jump into the river, and some picturesque swimming holes. A little secret about me….I love picking fresh fruit, veggies and berries. While everyone was swimming, including the dog, I stumbled across a whole lot of blackberry’s, and before long had an ice cream container filled, now that’s what I call fun! Home to make Blackberry Parfait for dessert! I have to say that was the best dessert I have had in a long time, it even rivals Texas Blue Bell Ice Cream….though I doubt that my Dad would agree.

New Zealand is great for being able to get free food, it just takes a little time a little adventure, and a whole lot of good times!

44 Hours!

Today, Monday, February 12, 2007 is a very exciting day in our corner of New Zealand too. Today, the Tauranga House of Prayer has extending its hours of operation! Today marks the first day that we will have continuous prayer for eight hours a day….which is awesome! We have officially added two new time two hour prayer meetings a day, which moves the number of hours of prayer to 44 hours a week plus community teaching sessions. Isn’t that exciting, for 44 hours the staff here is joining in with the cries of God’s heart, asking for a breakthrough in this city, the country, and the nations of the world. May Satan and his workers get no rest as the prayers of the saints arise!

THOP, Lots of People, and Lots of Food

Wow! What a full weeekend we had. Two of our friends, who had never met each other, came to Tauranga this weekend to visit us. One of them was Rexy, an Australian bushman (no I am not kidding)and Peter, one of Josh's childhood friends. We decided that the out of town company needed to experience a Tauranga summer evening BBQ, and suddenly we had a dinner party for 12. It was a great evening with laughs, lots of good food, cricket, a slide show of Australian bushland, and of course a game of Settlers of Catan. Twelve people is the largest dinner party I have hosted thus far in the role of hostest, and I must say that I was tired by the end of the night.

Yesterday afternoon we kicked off the Tauranga House of Prayer internship too. A wonderful afternoon tea, with a plethora of brownies, provided a lovely get to know you setting for our 9 new interns and staff. We also had a surprise visit from two of our old friends, Steve and Trena Wonless from Wellington. They brought along their little one year old Noah, which made it even more exciting. Adding 9 new people, one of whom is a native Maori, to the mix is sure to liven things up at THOP. So stay tuned for more on that to come....

We Won!

Well today I would just like to say that my husband is amazing! A few days ago he was watching cricket on TV and the show had a competition that you could enter by answering a simple question, which of course he entered as he loves cricket and knows how to find any statistic about the game. Anyway....today, just after we finished in the prayer room he recieved a phone call from the Tv station saying that he had won the competition and won an mp3 player worth over $500, some clothes and some sports gear! Needless to say, Josh was proud of himself and rightly so....he is a legend!