Staglands Reserve

After a pretty rough week, Jen and I decided to head out for the day and spent the morning at Staglands nature reserve which is in Upper Hutt about 50 minuites out of Wellington. It is home to a wide variety of ducks, birds, parrots, pigs, donkeys, goat, deer, a horse and some guinea pigs! It also had an Old Bush Settlement. We both had a bag of feed to ensure our popularity with the animals. The ducks are certainly well rehearsed and know that the people wandering round are extremely likely to have food! I think next time I will go, I will not wear jandals so that i'm not so paranoid about my feet getting pecked.
After making our way through all the ducks, we arrived at the Kune Kune Kainga which is a unique NZ breed of pig! There must be a funny caption to go with this pic of the very ugly pig. He was quite a bully of the other smaller pig in the pen!

We made our way round the track passing through the Kea Gully(A Kea being a rare mountain parrot), the donkey stables, a trout pond, the toe toe avery and accros the river on a swing bridge.









We had a bit of a laugh at the recreation of an abandoned Akatarawa settlement, as we had a drink in the bar and ended up in jail.

















Then of course were the goats, horse and deer! After enjoying lunch in the cafe we made our way to the shopping mall and had an afternoon of retail therapy - I didn't buy any shoes though!!!!!!!

Ana vs Anna

People keep mistaking me for someone else. They keep thinking that i'm someone called Ana (long a at the beginning). I have no idea who she is! Seriously, I don't know how to say my name in an English accent without people thinking I am called Ana. I can't say it in a Kiwi accent without sounding like i'm taking the micky. I might resort to wearing a name badge, I have once introduced myself: 'Hi, I'm Anna, A-N-N-A.' Any suggestions are welcome!

Flatties!

Here they are! My new Flatties, Nyree and James! I'm looking forward to getting to know them better and sharing lots of fun times together.

Aqua Jogging

Today, Val and I discovered the joy of aqua jogging. Apparently it is as good a work out as a jog but not so stressful on your body. We collapsed into fits of giggles on several occasions as we felt quite silly but we soon discovered that it was actually quite hard work! I can thoroughly recommend it as a fun work out. The pictures are not of me!!!!

The Office Crew

This picture was taken last week at morning coffee which we have every wednesday for devotions and prayer time.

From the left and round the table is: Raewyn, James, me, Gina, Jen, Ben, Emily, Karen, Liz and Val! Nigel, our National Director was unfortunately missing for this photo! We now have a bigger table as this one is too small for so many people!

Beautiful, Beautiful Wellington

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19 vs 1

Last night, I decided to head to the top of Mt Vic in Wellington with my new camera to take some pics of Wellington and the sunset. I don't think I was expecting quite such a beautiful sunset. I feel very blessed to be living in such a beautiful city with very clear evidence of the above verse. Isn't God spectacular!

New Staff Orientation

Ok, So this week has been a pretty tiring, helpful and busy week with new staff orientation traning. I have worked 12 hour days from Monday to Thursday. Monday to wednesday was for the new staff from overseas where we had a lot of cultural training. We looked at the treaty of Waitangi (when the Maori's signed a treaty with the Brits) and all the cultural ramifications from that. We learnt some Maori and also a bit about some of their history and beliefs. On Tuesday lunch time, we went out for Yum Cha which is kind of a chinese version of Tapas. I feel I was very adventorous trying chicken feet! All I can say is NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!

Wednesday mornign started with Val (head of student ministries) winding up the cultural section before we had a time of prayer. She played us a song called 'Welcome Home' by Dave Dobbyn - a famous Kiwi singer who became a Christian a few years ago. The words to the song were as follows:

tonight I am feeling for you

under the state of a strange land

you have sacrificed much to be here

'there but for grace...' as I offer my hand

welcome home, i bid you welcome, i bid you welcome

welcome home from the bottom of my heart

out here on the edge

the empire is fading by the day

and the world is so weary in war

maybe we'll find that new way

so welcome home, see i made a space for you now

welcome home from the bottom of our heart

welcome home from the bottom of our hearts

keep it coming now - keep it coming now

you'll find most of us here with our hearts wide open

keep it coming now - keep it coming now

keep it coming now - keep it coming now

There's a woman with her hands trembling - haere mai

and she sings with a mountain's memory - haere mai

there's a cloud the full length of these isles

just playing chase with the sun

and it's black and it's white and it's wild

all the colours are one

so welcome home, i bid you welcome, i bid you welcome

welcome home from the bottom of our hearts

welcome home, see i made a space for you now

welcome home from the bottom of our hearts

from the bottom of our hearts

It was quite a big moment for me, recognising that i was genuinely welcome here and accepted. I look forward to embracing some of the differences in culture and enjoying some similarities. Missing family and friends whilst knowing I am in the place God has called me for now.

The rest of the week we were joined by the new staff who were either kiwi or had lived here a long time. We looked at fundraising which was helpful and our roles together with TSCF. It was such a helpful week and with Monday and Tuesday off work I have time to recover physically, reflect and relax.

My New Place

So today - Sat 9th Feb was my moving day from Keith and Raewyns house (see earlier post from June for a picture), into my new house just down the road. In true Anna style, I have managed to shif all my stuff, unpack and go to a wedding all in one day! I'm so grateful to Keith and Raewyn for their hospitality but am also looking forward to settling into a more permanent living arrangement. My new House

My room - still a few bits to sort!

Another part of my room.

Pictures of my new housemates will follow as long as they let me take a picture!!! ;o)

Visa at last

I have my work visa in my passport!!!! It's such a relief to have this! It has meant that having returned from conference I was able to have my first week in the office! This also means that I have a job title - Personnel Officer and Events Manager! This week I have a new staff orientation conference in Wellington and then after that I will be busy learning about what my new role will involve in more detail and really get stuck in with the office and supporting the field staff of TSCF.

Me at my desk in the TSCF office!

Grandad Seaton

I would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to my Grandad Seaton who passed away yesterday.
It has been really nice to have him close in Milton Keynes and have the chance to spend some quality time with him.
This picture is of him with his newest great grandaughter jessica at Christmas.
I am so pleased that he made a commitment to Jesus just over a week ago. I pray that he enjoys eternity getting to know his maker.
Goodbye Grandad, you were very much loved.

NZI Sevens World series

The sevens is a truly unique experience which I was very fortunate to get to see. The tournament sold out within 25 minutes of the tickets being released. James and I were very kindly invited along by the Pollock family and so were right at the front in the family area which meant we got to meet most of the players from most of the teams on their way round. England won the bowl which is the third competition (cup, plate, bowl and shield) which means we weren't great but at least we won something.









The atmosphere was amazing, it seems to be tradition that everyone dresses up and I think it is fair to say that some of the costumes were truly inspired and some people just didn't look in the mirror before leaving. Unfortunately as I was away at conference, I didn't plan an outfit very well and my England shirt is somewhere on a boat on the way to NZ so I had to where my all blacks shirt.













New Zealand won the cup and the noise was incredible when they
won, it makes me wonder what it would be like to be at the final of the world cup in 2011 in NZ if they won! I think the following picture would go towards explaining some of the crowds excitement!

Journey home from conference

We took a fairly long winded way back to Wellington from Nelson and drove 8 hours down to Christchurch airport from which we flew back to Wellington. It was a good chance to spend some time with Tim and Lizzy. We had lunch by one of the Nelson lakes which was beautiful although we got surrounded by ducks. We aslo stopped at the hot pools for a quick soak and then visited the oldest liscensed pub in NZ for some tea.

Staff and families conference

So, from Monday to Friday this week, I have been down in the south island near Nelson for the TSCF staff and Families conference. It's a great time with all off the TSCF staff nationally and their wives and children. The week was fairly structured with meetings all morning, the afternoons were free and tehn we met again in the evenings. It was a great chance for me to get to know other staff members and their families. The afternoons were good fun with lots of activities to have a go at. I went swimming in the pool and the lake, kayacking in the lake, went down the large water slide into the lake, across the lake on a flying fox and finally on a high ropes course up in the trees - I think I can honestly say that I have never been so scared in all my life!!! I'm not really sure why I agreed to do it, I think it was a weakness in the area of peer pressure but when I know that i'm scared of heights, it probably wasn't a very sensible choice. Although I do have a sense of achievement from finishing it, I did not enjoy a single moment and never want to do anything like it again.

Grandad Cook

I would like to pay tribute to my Grandad Cook who passed away this week. He was a wonderful man who served God faithfully through his life as a Baptist minister and he will be missed very much, especially by his family. This picture was taken just a couple of weeks before I left the UK. I'm very sad that I can't make the funeral and wish I could be with family at this time, but I would like to pay my respects to my Grandad who has now gone to be with his saviour! May he be very much at peace.

Fun

As you can tell from my previous post, I have been very busy getting things set up, but I have had some time for some fun aswell. James and I went to see some of the NZ Vs Bangledesh test match in Wellinton the other weekend. It was a bit one sided but good fun none the less!

I have also had the chance to take some nice evening walks round the bay where I live and have seen some nice sunsets:

Then on Monday here it was a bank holiday so James and I took quite a long drive round the coast and then walked for about an hour to see a seal colony, we didn't expect to see any seals but managed to get very close to one which was pretty cool! My legs ached the next day but it was a lovely walk.

Getting Started

So, I've been here two and a half weeks now and I have started to get myself sorted out with practicle things. One of the first things on my list to buy was a car! You definately need one living round here. Trade me (NZ equivalent to ebay) sells everthing and I mean everything - people sell their houses on trade me and this is where I got my car. For those who are interested its a 1996 Toyota Rav 4, 2ltr, 3dr, 4wd in a burgendy colour. For those just interested in how it looks, here's a picture:

The picture was taken just a couple of minutes round the coast from where I live!

I have also submitted my visa application which I should here about soon and I have also found a place to rent! (Pictures and more details to follow soon).

I move into the new place on 9/10th Feb and so have had to get a few bits to go in there like a computer which I'm typing on now (from trade me), a desk to put my computer on (from trade me), and a bed to sleep in (bet you can't guess where I got it from!) ;o)

I have Kiwi bank accounts set up ready for my salary to go in to. So as you can tell, I'm pretty much set up fpr the next little while.

The Beginning of a New Chapter

And so, here it begins! I have arrived in Wellington for my next adventure in life! I can't believe time has gone so quickly and I am here!
It has been a while since my last post and lots has happened what with my house going through, leaving parties, new family members arriving, Christmas, finishing work and another visit from James, it has been pretty busy and I won't bore you with the details. Now, after a very tearful couple of days in MK saying goodbye to people, I am here!
The journey here went pretty smoothly after a slight issue at check in where I was told I had to buy a return ticket to be allowed on the flight! I will be able to get it refunded but it was a bit traumatic at the time as I was trying to deal with saying goodbye. I got on the flight though and had no other problems and arrived in Wellington at 9am on Saturday 5th January!
It was a lovely sunny day! I am now on day 3 and am having to start on practicalities like buying a car which I am having fun looking for! I have my medical for my visa on Wednesday so all my forms need to be filled in for that!
I thought it would feel like I was on holiday for the first few weeks and so i'd have a bit of a buffer before I started missing people but it doesn't feel like holiday at all, it feels like this is it for now and I am missing everyone a lot.
The weather is not so good today and should only get up to about 22 degrees! ;o) It is very windy and I am very quickly learning that my hair is going to be knotty all the time!
I am looking forward to seeing what happens next and I will keep you all posted!

Another overdue update

What would I do without the Hodges' prompts? Sorry about the large gap between posts again!!! Time is moving on extremely quickly and things aren't as sorted as I thought they would be! My house still hasn't gone through which is frustrating as it eats up all my money which I need to be saving!!! Support raising is definately a challenge and an excercise in faith where God is constantly reminding me that he is in control.
My visa is also an ongoing project of waiting at the moment to see what immigration have to say about TSCF employing me!
Things are moving forward. I swing between extreme excitement and then fear and sadness at leaving my friends and family. It is definately an emotional rollercoaster!
I am looking forward to the future and seeing what God has for me round the corner.

Overdue Update

I have been very kindly prompted that I promised updates on my continuing journey and have not kept that promise. So I apologise and hope this update makes up for the lack of blogs for the last month or so.
I have been busy since my return from Wellington. I have sold my house and am waiting for contracts to exchange in the next couple of weeks. Once that goes through, I will be back living with Mum and Dad while I save.
Visa's have been quite a complicated process but I am trying to engage some kiwi attitude and remain relaxed and calm about it. :o) (some days this works and others it doesn't)
Time seems to be passing extremely quickly which is very scary and I feel like I have so much to do.
I promise to try and do another post soon!