RSS Feed (xml)So lately Sam and I have been getting along well with the newer group of people who've come to stay at Hairy Berry. Sam particularly likes this guy named Stuart, a british guy (with a very strong accent), who's funny, wacko, and obviously fun to be around.
This past Saturday there was a party/bbq. Technically it was for the return of one of the staff from a week-long holiday, but we all know that it's also just because everyone wanted to have a good time, and Lingham's return was merely an excuse. He knows it too, considering the fact that he spent half the evening trying to get everyone to eat and not really eating anything himself, haha.
A couple of people brought out some guitars (Jimmy can actually play harmonica and guitar at the same time!), and so there was a good amount of live music, particularly the blues, with random people inventing different verses (all about the horrors of working hard for very little money), in the end calling it the Kiwi Blues - it's no secret here than you might work at a job that is very tough physically and also ungratifying. I actually got most of the song on video, so you'll get to see it when I come home. Kim, who volunteered to grill the food (sooo good), also did some fire-twirling, or fire tricks, or whatever it's called, which was a nice source of entertainment.
The next day, about 10 of us decided to head to Whakatane, a coastal city about 60km east (almost 40miles). We were planning on going on a nice walk/hike they have, then hang out at the beach, maybe take a swim. There being 10 people, we had two cars. Unfortunately, Sam and I got into the car that happened to break down only 12km into the trip. The first car made it down there, but my group was stranded, wondering why the engine was smoking, and trying to figure out how to prevent the car from overheating. We made it to a petrol station, bought some coolant, worried about the radiator, etc etc. Nothing worked, and we couldn't figure out what was wrong (although we deduced that something was leaking - it was later determined to be the water pump?), so we had to drive a couple minutes, stop the car when it overheated (sometimes it would start smoking again), and rest for 15 minutes waiting for the engine to cool down again so that we could drive another 2 minutes. In the end, a nice older man stopped by and offered to tow our car back. He already had rope, which was well worn - looks like he's done this before for other people. Good man! Especially considering the fact that he was heading in the opposite direction when he stopped, and towed us all the way back, which was about a 10-minute drive.
It would have been a waste of a nice day, but another guy had a van, and we decided to head to a nearby beach (we'd been stranded for 2 hours on the road!). Papamoa Beach was only about 15 minutes away, and even if we couldn't swim, it was really nice. After a couple hours, the other group had come back and joined us at the beach. Sam was itching to play ultimate, but since no one had a frisbee, they resorted to using Sam's racquetball. I got to collect some gorgeous shells, spend some time trying to remember my French - practicing on a girl named Nollwen from Lille, France - take pictures, etc. Several of us also spent about an hour making a massive mountain range out of sand, haha. The beach was absolutely beautiful.
A very good weekend, despite the car troubles. Next weekend I think we'll be going whitewater rafting!
3 comments:
yay, pictures!
i'm so glad i got to talk to you, even if it was for a couple minutes! the piccies of the flowers are so pretty and i wouldn't like being neighbors with cows/sheep - it would smell so baaaaaa~ddd =D.
lois! wow there are a few updates here AND pictures! i stopped by awhile ago and wanted to comment but rye had to go to the bathroom and then ella was hungry and then we had to go out...and then i haven't been back since! but it's been fun to catch up.
you wrote an entry back about identity crisis...
i thought what you wrote...about being stripped of what identified you at home...was really interesting. if any of us were stripped of our usual contexts of family, school, church, job...would we find ourselves faced with the kind of identity crisis you're struggling with? i totally think so.
in a way, i think it's such a scary luxury, to be in the type of situation where you're stripped bare of your contexts and left with you. just you. i'm sure you're developing/creating your new zealand identity, at the same time, reaccessing, without much distraction, what you were before - and seeing more clearly who you are. and being humbled by it, haha.
that's where the context of Christ comes in. i don't know about you, but when i'm in a situation where i actually see myself, raw, the no embellishments me, i really feel sort of empty and even a bit of despair. i thought getting married, having a partner who is supposed to know and love me inside out would help, but it isn't the answer. you still feel so strangely unsatisfied - no matter how you try and adjust your contexts to ideally suit you.
i'm slowly learning, that moments of real and true joy always come when i frame me and my life within the context of Christ. i don't always pray or read the Word, but when i do, wow, everything just seems clearer and more beautiful. everything, even seemingly meaningless me, makes sense and there's total peace and security. no identity crisis in those moments.
and i think you know that. and that's why you won't let Him go. you'll have seasons, lois. Lord knows i've been through long seasons of the worst kind, but the hope is this: nothing dies in the winter; everything living is simply gathering what they need for the spring. and the fruit is always good. =)
so keep thinking and listening and talking to God - especially at those gorgeous beaches that make it really easy to look up. =) this is a really good time for you. i don't know what season of faith you're in, but i'm sure it's to prepare you for the next one - whether it be a deeper winter, or more hopefully, a nice flowery spring (btw, loved the flower pics. the blue/green ones - hydrangeas. i pay like $7 a stem for those, from New Zealand in fact!)
ok, this is getting way long. keep updating, it's so interesting, everything! even sam's hair, hehe. miss you and please come back soon to take care of my kids! you're our favorite babysitter - oh! which reminds me, ryan randomly asked for you just the other day. i was really surprised. all i could say was: auntie lois is in australia! (he doesn't know new zealand, but Australia, well, the Wiggles are there...)
ok, going for real this time. miss you!
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