A Typical Study Day...

This whole week is a study week. We're going to be doing some traveling toward the end of the weekend and then for a good part of next week, but for now, our focus is studying hard.

I figured I would give you all an idea of what a typical study day is (since I now have some sort of routine... which will be changing quickly with all of the traveling we have coming up):

Usually I wake up sometime between 7 and 7:45 (depending on if I feel like taking a shower, etc.)
8:00 Breakfast and Devotions with our team
9:00 Issues in International Ministry class
10:15 Homework
12:30 Lunch
1:15 Homework
[This week, Katie Cline and I have been having a hot chocolate break sometime in here... there is an espresso machine that we can make milk foam with... we haven't had coffee for over a week, which is kind of crazy, but probably good.]
5:30 Dinner
The evenings usually contain a walk of some sort... typically a Euchre game or two... sometimes a movie, girls night, or game... and on nights like tonight... more homework.
[Tonight we had our first Chinese class at 7 pm... it sounds like that might become more of a habit - it was kind of overwhelming. So much to learn...]
Bed... sometime between 11 and midnight usually

FYI: I actually like this routine... I even get my fruits and vegetables in on most days, so I feel like it's healthy and mostly balanced, which I like. [random, I know]

Perhaps I will be inspired to take some pictures of the Bible College so you can see what it looks like here. There is a ridiculous sign that gives directions on how to walk up and down the stairs. I hope to post it soon...

Maybe tomorrow I'll post a little bit about New Zealand culture... we'll see.

Missing you all especially tonight for some reason...
~Holly

Girls Nights are my favorite...

The rest of this week is going to be a pretty intense study week. We are trying to be diligent with our studies. Last night was a lot of fun after having a day full of homework. Katie Cline and I went on a walk with Rina and Rebekah (two women that are students here at the Bible College). It was fun.

When we got back, we saw most of our team out on the field playing Capture the Flag. We decided to join them. After the first game, several of us girls decided to go to Pak 'n Save so that we could prepare for our first girls night (It was supposed to happen awhile ago, but ended up getting rescheduled).

At the store, we bought milk, ice cream, chocolate syrup (it is SO expensive here!), and peanut butter.... to make milkshakes! It was a lovely time... and Hannah and Chelsea did an amazing job with them. After our tasty treats, we all shared our highs and lows from the trip so far (brought back memories of being an RA with Scott & Laura) and then had some prayer time together. It was sweet. I'm really thankful for the girls on this trip. I'm excited to see what God has in store for the rest of this trip.

Okay... time for me to get back to studying.

~Holly

A Very Full Weekend...

Last week was a very difficult and challenging week in a number of ways. I can't really verbalize everything, but this trip has turned out to present more challenges than I expected. As difficult as last week was (with so many "broken" things), the Lord remains faithful, even when I don't understand Him or the way that He is working. I am thankful for the prayers and support of amazing friends and family.

Our Bible class has been very challenging for me. Last week, Matt asked us what our passions and dreams are. I had another lady at the Bible college ask me what my "gifts" are. I've got a lot of thinking to do... particularly as I think about life after graduation.

We've also been reading through the Gospels and Acts. It has been challenging to see the way Jesus responds to people in different circumstances. There's a lot of things that I don't understand.

Okay, now for an update on my most recent travels:

We went to see the sun set at Piha Beach on Thursday night. The ride there was incredibly bumpy, with sharp twists and turns and steep mountain roads. Several of us felt pretty sick after the ride, but I have do admit, it was worth it. The beach was GORGEOUS. Piha Beach is a wave beach with black sand. We saw all kinds of signs warning how dangerous the signs are. Brent turned us loose with the warning: "Be careful. This is the beach you see on TV with rescue teams." I decided not to swim - partly because of the warning and because it was kind of chilly (not as cold as it is in IN, but too cold for swimming). I was able to salvage a few pictures from my broken camera:

This was our view of the beach from near the top of the mountain.

The sunset made it perfect for taking silhouette pictures.

I'm really understanding more and more why peple say New Zealand is so beautiful. We drove to Raglan over the weekend (the west side of the north island) and the scenery was breath-taking. We stayed at a place called Solscape. The cabins were made from old train cars and cabooses. I was kind of nervous about the train car I stayed in because it was right next to the bathrooms and lounge area - where there were a bunch of hippie-ish drunk people. Don't worry, the girls and I made sure to stay together. It was kind of run-down, but we managed just fine.

The beach at Raglan was also a black sand surfer wave beach. I've decided I like black sand beaches best - the sand really looks like it is glistening with diamonds all over. The first night (Friday night) we were there, I attempted to ride the waves a little bit. They were very powerful, but beautiful. On Saturday morning, I decided to take a walk along the beach and found a beautiful sea shell. It's one that you can make a necklace out of without needing to make any holes. It is not a perfect shell, but it is really beautiful...

Saturday night we went to the Parachute Festival in Hamilton. It is kind of comparable to Cornerstone (or picture the Pulse Fest for four days with nine stages and 170 bands). We were hoping to see Hillsong United, but they were only playing Sunday night (which didn't work with our schedule).

Highlights:

• World Vision One Life Interactive tour - I was given the identity of Beatrice, a 7-year-old girl who had to care for her niece (fortunately she did not have AIDS, but had no one else in her family to care for her)
• Had pikelets for dinner (In NZ pancakes are called pikes... so pikelets are baby pancakes). The couple that made our pikelets were SO sweet and nice. I liked talking with them.
• Found a beautiful pearl necklace with sweet shell on it
• Saw part of Switchfoot... until we had to take Bethany to the medical clinic because her toe got stepped on really hard and broke the nail (she's okay now)
• Noticed everyone is pretty much still living in the 80's in NZ (dress)

On our way back to Henderson (where the Bible College is that we're staying at), we stopped at a waterfall called Bridal Veil Falls. It was gorgeous! If I can get someone's pictures, I will share them with you. Some of our team members went swimming in the falls and I was wishing that I had remembered to wear my suit... until Josie got bit by an eel! She's fine, but it was kind of scary.

For dinner, we had kebabs (A Middle-Eastern dish - basically wrapped sandwiches). I was feeling adventurous, so I ordered a Doner kebab (that means it had lamb in it). It was actually kind of good. We had our dinner at the top of Mount Eden and then drove to One Tree Hill to watch the sun set. It was gorgeous.

Okay... my apologies for such a lengthy update. So much happened this weekend... I guess I will end this post with a picture I took with my dear friends and family in mind:

It's true. I do.

~Holly

II Cor. 4

Hey friends,

We're going to be gone this weekend... visiting Raglan and going to the Parachute Music Festival. I'm thinking/hoping it will be very relaxing and refreshing. Last night we went to Piha Beach (a BEAUTIFUL beach with black sand and dangerous surf waves). I'll try to post pictures at some point (if my digital camera decides to work - I accidentally dropped it in the water last night). Technology and me on this trip are not getting along. Anyway, I will give a more thorough update when I get back.

~Holly

Overwhelmed... with His love

Today was totally an overwhelming day - started off with the bad kind of overwhelming and ended up with the really good kind of overwhelming.

In our ministry class, we are doing an intense, in-depth study of the Gospels and Acts. It's been way sweet... and way challenging. Today Matt (our prof) asked us what our dreams and passions are. It was kind of an intense time... something I've been praying alot about on this trip.

It's amazing how much God has been teaching me about prayer... and how He is so faithful to answer! He totally overwhelmed me with His love today... through sweetness:
- good, much-needed processing time this morning (my mind has been on overload with everything going on since this trip has started)
- had a sweet conversation at lunch with Emmanuel and Christine (New Zealand people here at the Bible College). We talked about giftings... and postmodernity. Very interesting.
- Went to a sweet coffee shop called "Columbus." Bethany, Hannah, Katie and I ended up having SWEET conversations. We were planning on doing homework... but that didn't really end up happening. But that was totally okay; the conversations were much-needed. I'm so thankful for those girls! And the server gave me a free dessert, which was way nice.
-God totally used our ministry class homework to remind me that He is SO worthy of trust.
- Went on a walk with Rina (another student at the Bible College) after dinner and discovered the most amazing place to take walks, pray, read, etc. It is really close by and is absolutely gorgeous. I will post pictures when I get the chance. The really sweet thing about it is that I was praying for a place kind of like that (there's not a whole lot of places to exercise here at the Bible College).
- Movie night with the girls. We watched "Mean Girls." I'm so glad my high school experience was not like that!

I'm so thankful for the way God pursues me with His love. He totally overwhelms me at just the right time...

~Holly
Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 62

Summer Rain, Failing Computers, & Prayers

So, yesterday we got to experience some of the more typical New Zealand weather that I was unaware of: rain. Although I had been hoping to do my homework outside, I decided that I'd much rather have rain on a study day than on a travel day. Besides, the rain sometimes helps me concentrate on homework. Bethany, Rachel, Katie, and I had a couple of Euchre breaks too, which was nice.

I have some unfortunate news, I'm afraid... my computer is no longer in service. I was working on it before class yesterday afternoon and had no problems. I put it on standby so that I could open it up quickly when I got to class... and no power. I figured that maybe it just needed to be plugged in, so after class, I quickly plugged it into a power source... and had no luck. We tried taking the battery out, plugging it in a number of different ways, etc. Brent checked my power cord to make sure it was working - no problems there. I hate to admit that I shed a few tears... it sounds so materialistic, I know. A few tears led to a few more and just feeling overwhelmed with many things. Katie Cline was very encouraging and comforting, as were several of the other girls. I felt so ridiculous for being upset about such a materialistic thing. God is teaching me a lot through this, I think.

We decided to let it sit over night and try it in the morning. In the meantime, we spent some time in prayer. In my Issues in International Ministry class, we've been studying the Gospels and Jesus' habit of prayer. I've been rather challenged to work on sharpening this habit in my life. The computer episode provided some opportunity for that and led to opportunites to pray for many other things that have been on my heart.

I would like to tell you all that my computer is now fully functioning... but that's not the case. My amazing Dad is working on things and found out that our warranty does not expire until August 15 of this year. Praise the Lord! And my team has been great... I found out that a bunch of the girls were praying for me last night... and I've had some sweet conversations with some of them since then. Already, I see how God might be using this for his glory. Several people have told me I can use their computer whenever I need to, so that takes care of my school assignments and hopefully still staying on top of emailing.

Note: my computer is not the only one having issues. A couple of the guys are also experiencing difficulties... and several people have been sick. So, please be praying for our group.

Sunscreen, the Beach, Shopping, and randomness

Yesterday, the thirteen of us girls hopped onto a bus and went to the Mission Bay Beach. On our way, we had a little bit of an adventure. We have noticed that it is not a good idea to walk alone at night (or even in small groups) around here... but at 11 am, we didn't think we would have any trouble... particularly since there were 13 of us. However, that didn't seem to make much of a difference. As we were walking to the bus stop, a truck of guys drove by yelling and honking and squirting some blue stuff at us. Then, they slowed down and attempted to cut us off as we were crossing the street... and squirted more blue stuff. I think it was just sunscreen (I was hoping that was all it was). But, it was rather unsettling. More rude and obnoxious than anything else.

Anyway, we ended up having a wonderful time at the beach. It was sunshiny, but really windy. We all managed to get some sort of sun, though. I was almost about ready to give up on wearing sunscreen (I wasn't seeing any results from the sun), but later on, I noticed a few places where I apparently missed putting on sunscreen. Almost everyone has some patches of sunburn where they forgot to put sunscreen on. It is kind of funny. A few people got burnt really bad. Needless to say, I think I'll stick with the sunscreen.

After spending a few hours at the beach, we took the bus into Henderson to do some shopping. I finally found a purse, which was nice - within my budget, will work as a beach bag and as a purse (had to leave mine in Beijing), and it is cute and matches nearly all of my outfits (a nice bonus). I also bought a Hayley Westenra CD. She is a New Zealand singer. I realized that I associate a lot of my memories with music. Since this is a new season of my life, I decided some new music would be good to associate new memories with. Her music is very calming and gentle. I like it.

Upon returning from the beach, Brent ordered pizza from "Hell's Kitchen." It is a very interesting place - they have unique names for their pizzas - such as mordor, greed, lust, brimstone, etc. The pizza was delicious... I didn't notice any pizzas titled "gluttony," although it may have been an appropriate title.

Chelsea's birthday was yesterday, so we also bought her a cake and had a small celebration after dinner for her. It was the first of many birthdays on our trip.

This morning, we went to New Zealand Bible Church. It was interesting to visit. It didn't seem a whole lot different from many of our churches in the U.S. After church, Katie and I stopped at Pac 'n Save to buy garlic bread and salad for lunch. Brent and the guys cooked an amazing spaghetti meal for us. It was delicious.

Oh, I also had a sweet time chatting with a couple of the girls on our trip yesterday. I'm so looking forward to getting to know everyone better. I know it takes time for all of that to happen... but I'm definitely looking forward to it. We're having our first official Girls Night tonight. It will be sweet.

Yesterday was a very restful and relaxing day - free of homework. Now it's time to get back at it...

Time for a Study Break....

Last night was fun. About six of us girls went to Pak 'n Save (one of the cheaper grocery stores around here) to buy popcorn and snacks for our movie night. Pak 'n Save is right across the street from the Bible College we are staying at, so it is a nice, short walk. It was tempting to buy Cadbury chocolate and Tim Tams... but I decided to settle on nuts and raisins (trying to be somewhat healthy can be challenging when you have so many sweet options in front of you...)

When we got back, we had praise and worship with our group. Matt Swank led worship (he is teaching our ministry class). It was a really sweet time. Very encouraging. I'm excited about what God is doing... and what He has in store.

We then proceeded to make popcorn and hot chocolate over the stove in preparation for our first movie night in NZ. I was in charge of the hot chocolate... it didn't turn out as well as I was hoping, but it was decent. We ended up watching "School of Rock." I fell asleep the last 5-10 minutes of the movie (not a surprise, I know), but enjoyed it most of the way through.

Today has been another study day. It's nice to be getting into some sort of rhythm.... but World Civ is driving me up the wall. It is very time-consuming. The redeeming quality about World Civ is that I don't need my laptop for it, so I can do it outside (which is something that I'm going to try to do a better job with - taking advantage of the gorgeous weather). I'm kind of starting to get restless - doing homework all day like this for several days in a row is going to take some getting used to. I don't have as much to do as some people though, so I am thankful for that.

Okay... time for me to try to get a little more work done before dinner...
~Holly

Finally... some pics!

This was from our Starbucks adventure in the Tokyo airport. It's amazing what two girls will do to get mocha frappuccinos...















Then Sarah and I had an unfortunate and expensive coffee adventure in the Shang'hai airport... We were not very happy.















A beautiful New Zealand site... this was right outside of one of the malls that we went to on one of the first days. Isn't it gorgeous?















After dinner our first night in New Zealand. Good times.















Shopping with Bethany at Salvation Army...















The beach... absolutely beautiful. We found lots of lovely seashells.















New Zealand sunset... unfortunately the clouds got in the way... but I still think it is beautiful.















Overlooking New Zealand from the little mountain we were on.

Hope you enjoyed these pics. There will be more to come, I'm sure! :)

The first few days in New Zealand...

It is beautiful here... and warm! It's hard to believe that it is January and it is summertime. Yesterday we went to the beach. We didn't stay too long, though. Everyone has been warning us of the danger of sunburns. Apparently, they often announce the "burn time" when they are telling the weather for the day. Yesterday's burn time was 12 minutes. So, since I wanted to avoid my tomato-burn experience from the Outer Banks this past summer, I applied SPF 30 three different times. I think I was a little too cautious... because I hardly got any sun at all. But, that will change within a short amount of time. I'd rather be too careful than get another bad burn like that. Aloe costs $17 here. That's a little ridiculous if you ask me.

Yesterday morning, Brent started off devotions with Psalm 63.
"Because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you."
It's so true!

We also did a little bit of shopping yesterday in the Henderson area of Auckland. Brent showed us the cheaper places to shop, which was fun. I didn't buy anything, but just did some window-shopping, looking for a purse (had to leave mine in Beijing) and people-watching.

In the evening, we went to an extinct volcano/mountain to watch the sun set. We had a nice time. Unfortunately, the clouds covered a good part of the sun, but I was able to get a few nice snapshots... [I was going to try to upload some photos, but it's taking too long... maybe later]

Today was mostly a study day. We started the morning with breakfast, devotions, our first class (Issues in International Work), and then had some homework time. I am taking the following classes this semester:
Introduction to World Civilization (a history class that is a TON of busywork)
Area Study (examining history, geography, culture, etc. of the countries we are visiting)
Issues in International Work (the class I'm MOST excited about)
Chinese I & II
1/2 P.E. credit (I just have to log my hours)
It's looking like I'm actually going to have more homework than I thought this semester. But I think I'll be okay... as long as I stick to my little daily plan. :) I'm kind of looking forward to working independently. I think it will be a nice way to end my college career.

I also got to skype with my lovely familia today, which was fun... even though we got interrupted a million times by the shaky internet. It was nice to see them again.

Made it to New Zealand!

What a whirlwind this past week has been! After 7 airports and 32
hours of actual flight time, we are here in Auckland, New Zealand.
Thank you for your prayers. Already, I have to say, I think the
journey was worth it. I am excited about what this semester holds. We
haven't had a whole lot of time to explore and experience the country
and culture of NZ, but the few hours that we have had have been
wonderful. It was above 70 or 80 degrees today (24 degrees Celsius, I
think). We are staying at the New Zealand Bible College. They are
currently on their "summer" break, so we get the dorms and campus
pretty much to ourselves... which also means we get our own rooms,
which is nice.

The three days that we spent in China were incredible and packed with
the following: orientation to China (including a crash course on the
history and geography), riding the subway, riding the metro, spicy
food at McDonald's (which I was not terribly fond of), introduction to
courses and syllabi for the semester, Papa John's pizza, three visits
to authentic Chinese restaurants with amazing food, introduction to
believers and workers in China, Tian'anmen Square, boutses, joutses &
gi dan bing (for breakfast), bargaining in a Chinese market, church at
Beijing International Christian Fellowship (internationals are legally
allowed to meet - they check your ID before you go in), scorpions and
seahorses on a stick in the market (edible for some, but not for me),
walked through a few shopping malls (mostly to avoid the cold),
experienced the bitter cold of Chinese winters (in a sweatshirt),
a few Chinese language lessons, tasty mandarin oranges, squatties,
and a sweet conversation with a young Chinese teenage girl on the airplane... it was a
very full few days to say the least!

I must admit, the first full day in China was extremely overwhelming
for me, particularly because of jet lag. Culture shock was in full
swing for a good part of the day. We learned a lot about Chinese
culture during our short time there, but have MUCH more to learn! I am
looking forward to the time we will spend there in March and April.

My team is great. We have spent a lot of time together - most of that
time traveling and tired. So far, everyone is getting along well. I
think it will be nice for us to have some time to get to know each
other better as we get settled in New Zealand. One thing I am excited
about here: the clean air. Beijing is SO polluted. Although not
everyone wears masks, we saw a decent amount of people walking around
with them... after traipsing around the city for a day, we decided
maybe it wasn't as ridiculous of an idea as we originally thought
(although none of us actually bought masks while we were there).

In New Zealand, we are 18 hours ahead of Indiana. So, I need to get to
bed...

13 Hour Plane Ride, Amy Carmichael, & Starbucks

So, 13 hours is a long time to be on a plane. By about hour 9, Katie and I were getting quite restless. I'm glad we were able to sit together. There was an older man on each side of us. Katie's older man was nicer than the one I sat next to. He snored really loud, was getting over a hacking cough, and didn't seem to want to talk at all. It was all okay, though. I think I liked my long plane trip to Northern Ireland better.

The good news is, I got to read some of Amy Carmichael's biography, which I've been looking forward to for months!!! I almost left it in Detroit, but one of the guys saw found it for me, so I was very thankful. It would have been way too disappointing. I have several thoughts to share from Amy's biography (it's called A Chance to Die, by Elisabeth Elliot). I don't think I have a whole lot of time to share now, but for now, I'll leave you with this quote:

"All that pleases is but for a moment;
All that grieves is but for a moment;
Nothing is important but that which is eternal"

Good stuff...

And now for our Starbucks adventure:
Entering the Tokyo airport reminded me so much of my Japanese friend, Mari, from high school. Katie and I were wanting Starbucks so bad... so we exchanged our American money for the Japanese Yen and went on an adventure, seeking Starbucks. We got quite a tour of the airport, and noticed that the Japanese dress way nice... we felt kind of like slobs - jeans, t-shirts, no make-up, and in desperate need of a shower. It was kind of funny how much we stuck out. Anyway, after managing our way through numerous moving sidewalks (which are pretty much the funnest ever) and navigating through numbered terminals, we found our Starbucks. The barista was SO nice. We gave her a tip because she was so nice to us. We were nervous that we wouldn't find it before our group left for our flight, but we made it back in plenty of time (thus the post). I will post pictures when I get a chance.

Got to go... time to board the plane!

Getting Ready...

So, I'm at the Comfort Inn & Suites tonight. Today has been kind of surreal, but good, I think. We had orientation and I met with my World Civ prof. It sounds like we're going to have more work that I thought, but it should be pretty manageable.

I'm excited about the people on my team. There are 18 of us plus our leader, Brent. We went to Applebee's tonight and it was fun to just hang out for awhile. It's a quality group and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone better. I'm excited that my friend Katie Cline is here too. We made arrangements to sit together on our 13 hr. flight tomorrow. The plans are as follows:

5:30 arrive at SB Airport (which means we are going to have to get up very early!)
8:00 Leave SB Airport for Detroit
12:30 Leave Detroit for Tokyo (13 hrs.)
Then we have another 4 hr. flight after that, but I'm not sure when.
We should arrive in Beijing at 9:15 pm on the 10th (I think it will be like, 8:15 in the morning at home). Then, we'll get to check into a hotel and SLEEP... I think it will be good because we'll probably all be pretty tired.

I definitely have mixed feelings about this trip, but I know the Lord's timing is perfect and I'm excited about this new chapter of my life. Lots of new memories to make... a new adventure to embark upon.

All of my goodbyes have been said... saying goodbye to my family wasn't easy, but I'm so thankful for them. They're AMAZING.

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

~one of my new favorite hymns... I'm so thankful that amidst all of the goodbyes and changes, Jesus is my constant, my Solid Rock.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain