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