Kia Ora!

Hello there!
Finally, right?! Well, kind of finally...because this is only Part 1! There was so much to our trip in New Zealand (Which I will often refer to as 'NZ'), that I couldn't really figure the best way to put it all into one blog post. So we're going to do a two part series here, bare with me! When we got back to Omaha I didn't realize we'd be as busy as we were with work, births, school, kiddos...etc. I also did not expect my over all processing of the trip to be as extensive as it was. Let's dig in, shall we?

First off, I want to answer some of the most common first questions I've had since returning: 1. No, we did not noticed their toilets flushing the water the other way, haha! 2. Yep, there are accents. And they are truly the coolest! 3. Yes, New Zealanders often refer to themselves as Kiwis! Also, the coolest! And lastly, 4. Yes, it really is as green and lush as what is portrayed in Lord of the Rings. Talk about beauty in every which direction!

Anyway, when we landed in New Zealand it was about 8 in the morning. It was a bit of a rough few hours of transition as we had left in the early morning from Omaha and arrived in the early morning to NZ...and sleeping on planes is next to impossible. At least when you're pregnant and nauseous it is! So we had arrived, got our rental car (which Jared did great driving around in!) and arrived to our host home. A HUGE thank you to the Cherry family for opening their home so graciously and allowing us to live with them for a few days!

We got settled and were then told to try our hardest to stay awake in order to help make the jet lag less abrasive, so to speak. So we walked to a local cafe for breakfast! With an 18 hour time difference, I think the hardest part was not the jet lag...it was definitely getting our digestive systems to adjust! But we did eat and walked around some more until I just couldn't do it any more and decided to pull the pregnancy card and catch a two hour nap. Which I'm convinced is what made jet lag non-existent for the rest of the trip!! So we woke up from our naps and headed over to meet our next round of people: The Hutchisons.

Jared, Anna, Whitney and Nate

Let me stop there quick. We knew going into this trip we'd have some great experiences...but we did not realize that those experiences would be happening right off the bat. Meeting the Hutchison family was like the breath of fresh air that Jared and I never knew we needed until that night. Nate and Whitney have been in NZ for about 10 years now and to say they are like wise ol' souls is a severe understatement. Their family was so open, honest, raw and full of encouragement in, again, ways we didn't even fully realize we needed. We had dinner together, talked, drank coffee/tea until Jared and I were almost falling asleep mid sentences. It was such a great start to the trip in having some insight into NZ and the culture in which they have been living. We did meet with Nate and Whitney a few more times throughout the trip and talked more in depth about what to expect in NZ, how to handle the transition in culture, and understanding the field in which they work.

Muriwai beach, day 2

We woke up the next day and decided to go to one of the black volcanic sand beaches we had been told was neat to see. After Siri decided to take us down "bob's road", we finally were able to walk to Muriwai beach and see the black sand ourselves. We then eventually met up with our friends Randy and John, who work for South Pacific Christian Fellowship, for lunch and got to catch a view of what the other side of the beach looked like. (Which is where we took the pictures of announcing baby Landt #3!) After much walking and "tramping" around (what kiwi's refer to as hiking), Jared and I headed back to our host home and hang out and eventually watch our first rugby match: the All Blacks.

Day 3 we woke up and head to church at Shore Community, the church our friend Randy and his family were a part of starting many years ago and is now flourishing well! It was great to meet so many others who have been a part of the church and also were native to NZ. This was also the point in which I met Eleanor, a midwife there in NZ. Obviously, if you know me, then you know I was completely on cloud nine! After church, we went to lunch with Eleanor and I was able to ask all the questions I wanted to my hearts desire. She informed me of what the birthing culture was like and how different it was in comparison to the United States. Especially the further outside of Auckland you got, where more midwives were prominent. Particularly in the areas of homebirth. It was wonderful to speak more with her and hear her experiences as well as wisdom on being a midwife in New Zealand!

After lunch, we headed to the beach to meet up with Nate and Whitney and watched the kids play as well and learned more about NZ culture in regards to families and friends. It was so neat to talk and then also observe how other people interacted. Parents tend to be much more lax in just letting their children play freely and learn about what they can and can't do on their own accord. Something that was interesting to hear communicated to me was how there isn't fear, or at least nearly as much, instilled into parenting in this culture. Media and social outlets don't feed parents about all the potential risks of just about anything and everything like our culture here in America tends to do. Hence why, of many reasons I presumed, many kiwi families are more laid back. Either way, it was intriguing to people watch as someone who comes from quite a different background.

That evening Jared and I had dinner with Jeff and Indra Palmer, and their three sweet kiddos! The Palmer family has been in New Zealand for 6 or so months now, so their fresh mindsets of integrating into culture was great for us to hear. Jeff and Indra are such a wonderful couple who opened up to us about living in the area they do & what they felt they were being called to while serving there.

John. W and the Palmer family

 Both are wonderfully passionate about their faith, family and just life in general, I could tell that many people around them were already quite drawn into knowing more! Indra had invited me to see what the school setting was like for one of her kids, and it was amazing to see (after only 6-7 months of living there) people light up when they saw her walking by and saying hello. Have you ever met someone briefly and left thinking, "I've got to know more!"? Well, Indra is very much that person! (I hope you aren't blushing reading this, but you've just got to know how amazing you are! Lol!)  Anyway, our time with them was hugely informative as they were able to give more intricate details of the necessities of moving with young kids, what to expect and what to tangibly plan for. We were so thankful to get a few more times to hang out with them all over Auckland and hear more of their story throughout our time there.

Monday, day 4, morning came early as we got up and ready to head over to a networking brunch and meet with all the people who were working in New Zealand and associated with SPCF (South Pacific Christian Fellowship). It is truly amazing to meet so many people who have different backgrounds

Brunch meetup

come together and speak about what was going on in their ministries, how to pray for them, and also encouraging others about what their seeing in shifts with culture. Each individual or team were in different areas and doing various things in culture, but all for one purpose: loving the people and living out their faith. There was no bible-thumping or preaching fire and brimstone...each and every one of the people there are genuinely there to serve people and love them in any capacity possible!

Ferry to downtown Auckland

We were thrilled to be a part of a meeting that was uplifting as well as filled with many who offered some advice and direction for others, too. After the meeting we headed out with our friend John and the Palmers to see more of Auckland. We took a ferry into downtown and walked aronnd the docks to see all the different boats and various other things as well!





I will continue to write out the rest, but wanted to give a Part 1 of our trip to give you just a bit of a taste! Stay tuned, Part 2 should be done soon!

Muriwai Beach

A little kiwi and a whole lotta Jesus

I think this might be my 20th time at taking a stab at this particular post. Most of that comes when I'm in a decompressing mood and just need to type for a bit. If you've been following me to this point, then you know my best processing is often times through blogging. Shall we start?

The last time I had blogged was when I was going through another miscarriage in February this year. And the amount of love and support we received from people/family was just astounding; so THANK YOU to all who supported us through such a tough time! We are doing much better and feel much at ease knowing we have so many loving people who are supporting us.

Just after February, Jared and I decided to put our focus on what the next step was for our family. We had so many people flooding in, and all with one question..."So...what's next??" They all knew that Jared's last year of school was this year with him graduating in May of 2017. (Not that I'm counting...but y'all, it's SO CLOSE!!)  This was the question that has almost haunted us for years because we have ALWAYS wanted to live life and raise our family serving people in different cultures, and most everyone knew it...but yet we just seemed stuck with no answer to that question. We had pursued various opportunities, and many of those pursuits never really came to fruition. To put it mildly, the attempts at some of those opportunities were quite devastating to say the least. Anyone who knows Jared and I well, know that we've always had a heart for serving people overseas. To be more specific to that passion, we have been particularly drawn to being in community with people who have been exposed to sub par representations of the gospel, who Jesus really is and what He means to this world. For as long as we can remember, we've always been in close proximity to those who have endured some pretty severe heart break from the Church.  For Jared in particular, his schooling has very much prepared him for encounters like this. The amount of depth and exposure to the context and history surrounding every aspect of biblical times has opened not only his eyes to truth, but mine as well. (Shameless plug: Thanks, Pillar Seminary) So, we've prayed and we've prayed hard with what to do and what the next step was in our walk. Where did God want to take us? WHO did he want us to live our life among??  Pursuit after pursuit and door opening after a door slam, we finally feel we've gained at least a little bit of traction.

Not but a couple weeks after the miscarriage, and Jared and I having a heart to heart about Omaha, did something just kind of plop into our laps. We had literally just told God, "listen, we're going to plant ourselves right here. We're not going to do anything besides focus on right now.". You'd think I would have learned my lesson in the realm of telling God I'm going to do this or that...haha! Because He ALWAYS has a different thing in mind. Not long after, Jared was out to coffee with a friend he had met a few years ago. Little did he know that this friend, and missionary, was going to tap into some of our deepest heart strings and in what seemed to be the most unlikely scenario.

In a place filled with beauty and history was a place also in rapid decline for any affiliation with religion, especially Christianity. In the last two most recent census' taken, religious affiliation has dropped by 10% each time in this particular place...and continues to do so. Just in 2013, 4 out of 10 people claimed no affiliation to religion in any way. That, in turn, means an entire younger generation bringing up their own children with little to no understanding of who Jesus even is. Which begs the question...what happened?? How did a country who is considered a "reached nation" come to where it is now? Who and what were they exposed to? Having said all that, let me say this...what snags me the most is not what you might think. We are not ones to go out and bible thump people, preach in their faces and turn blue trying to convince them to follow or go to hell...no. No, that's not how Jared and I roll. What is so concerning to us in this scenario is that there is an entire nation who is quickly turning away from Jesus...and it has been incredibly thought provoking to try and understand the "why". Why if the Gospel is so compelling, and we believe that it is, are people so eager to walk away from it? So Jared and I found ourselves becoming increasingly more interested in finding out more about the "why", and even more so, we found ourselves beginning to feel like we needed to experience this firsthand.

So, where would a place like this be? New Zealand. Yep, you read that right! We were quite baffled ourselves, but at the same time not entirely surprised considering our own exposure to many other countries who have found themselves in this current state. However, we've not ever been to this particular country ourselves, but we felt led to start praying about an open door to experience it. Not long after we began praying, we actually got invited to join in on a 10 day exploratory trip with that very missionary..for October. Of THIS YEAR! We were invited about late August and thought, "there is absolutely no way we can raise funds and put together an itinerary in that small amount of time!" But, we figured we'd keep it in prayer and give it a valiant try. So try we did...and did we succeed?  Holy. buckets. Yes!!  Some of our closest friends and relatives caught wind of what we were doing and attempting to plan and wanted on board to support us in every way possible. So we set a goal: $2,500 by Sept. 20th (just one month from the day we were invited to go) or we would shelve the idea for a later time. Little by little, and with a generous contribution from the organization we would be working with long-term, we made our goal...a week early! So we bought our plane tickets! And now we only have a small chunk to raise before we actually take off for New Zealand. How crazy is that?! Our consistent prayer in all of this has been, "God, if you want us on this trip, provide the way and the people who want to support us. If we are not to go on this trip, give us peace about not going and close the door, giving us clarity."

We're very excited for this trip and what it could possibly mean for next steps for our family. While we are in country, we will be meeting with various families and individuals who are church planting and working in different areas of the northern island. For me, one of the most exciting parts is that I will be doing a campus visit to a university to inquire about the midwifery programs!!  I will also get the chance to sit and be with a midwife who has been in practice for quite some time now!! EEEKKK!!!  Needless to say, we will be busy but it will be absolutely worth it.

Before I leave you, I want to ask one thing: will you pray with us? Send good, uplifting vibes? We are asking for strong discernment and guidance while on this trip especially. And on a related note, will you pray for our kiddos as this is the first time they will be away from us for this long? Both Sonja and Harper will be staying with my parents up in Iowa, so maybe pray for my sweet parents as well as they take care of two cute but crazy kids!

And lastly, thank you. Thank you to all who have followed us on our journey, loved us no matter where we've been and also continue to support us in all the ways you have. We are SO appreciative and eternally grateful for each and every person who has contributed in the many ways you have. I will continue my blogging as much as I can while we are in New Zealand. And once we return I will be sure to give you all an update! Much love to you all!

- Anna & Jared

A simple hair tie

Do you ever have that fleeting thought in a given situation, though you'd not tell a soul, "something just isn't right." I've not had too many of those times, but when I have they are always right. A mother's instinct, woman's intuition, gut feeling...whatever it may be, it's almost as if, I believe, God set that there to help ease the load of what is to happen.

Last night, Saturday the 20th, Jared and I went to bed and I had this odd thought as I was pulling my hair out of its ponytail for bed, "I should keep my hair tie on my wrist in case I need it if we go anywhere in the middle of the night."  It was such a random thought it surprised me and almost left me a little lost on why I thought that. I went to bed knowing that the next day would be putting me at 11 weeks pregnant, almost out of the "danger zone" as many call that first trimester. But yet I just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right and to keep that darn hair tie on my wrist.

Fast forward a few hours later, 4am to be exact, when I wake up and have another thought to just go to the bathroom. I looked at my hair tie, put my hair up and off to the bathroom I go only to find I'd begun the difficult process of enduring yet another miscarriage. Waking up Jared I felt panicked yet calm enough to tell him what was happening and begin deciding what to do.  We quickly called my sister-in-law, Leah, to see if she might be able to come over and be with the girls when they woke up. She was to our house and ready to go as if she had been waiting all along, but she's also just awesome like that and always quick on her toes. :) 

Now, let me pause there and give you some back story:  Our first miscarriage, which was 5 years ago this August, was quite literally awful. Our ER experience was awful, the doctors and nurses were very calloused and not exactly the friendliest of people...so that being said, I was not too terribly fond on having to go to the ER.  I even work for a doctor's office and frequently find myself getting upset at even the thought of potentially having to see my own doctor. I've always believed in just leaving sickness/ailments alone and let them run their course, no doctor needed. But this was obviously very different.  

We arrived at the ER and were greeted by some of the sweetest receptionists and triage nurses I've honestly ever encountered. Upon being put into our room, the nurse said many times she was so sorry for our loss and also reassured us that this was not our fault. So at this point we had multiple people in and out, every one of them taking the time to talk with us and genuinely care about what was happening. I was so very blown away by the meaningful dialogue and listening ears we encountered during this stay, I will forever be grateful to that staff for bringing so much peace to us during that time.

Anyway, as you can imagine, tests were run and all the usual stuff that needed to be done to ensure my body was doing what it needed to do in order to heal itself. After those tests came back normal and the doctors felt good enough, I was discharged. Obviously, at this point I was just about starving. So that good ol' husband of mine and I decided to head over to Panera for a bite to eat.  About 10mins into our time at Panera I was sitting at the table across from Jared and felt my sight and hearing begin to go out, my arms became tingly and a severe bout of nausea set in. I'm sure I completely freaked Jared out as he was attempting to wave his arms in front of me and almost have to catch me. So! Back to ER we went!  I was monitored for another couple hours just to ensure my blood pressure didn't plummet like it had at Panera causing the episode. The nurse we had (a guy named Tori) might literally rival even the sweetest midwives I've met during my time of doula-ing. He was absolutely incredible! He was informative, caring, and also so good at lightening a mood.  If you ever meet a male nurse named Tori (not sure of spelling) from Nebraska Medicine, I highly encourage you to thank him for choosing the profession he is in. Because he rocked it!

We left, came straight home and opened the door to a completely cleaned apartment. My sister-in-law is absolutely AMAZING!  And I cannot even begin to express just how thankful I am for her existence in my life, and not just because she cleaned and watched our kids! 

So, why do I type all of this out?  Why give you the details of such an awful experience? Because I am one of those people who has to process everything out in this kind of way. There are times as people we live through experiences and it all seems as if it was just a dream. I often blog and write because it brings experiences in every form back down to earth and allows for the grieving and healing process to take place. I have way too many people in and out of my life who have not taken any time to really process a said experience, and I see what it does to them and how it has affect their life. We are emotional creatures, and that's ok! Learn to embrace that. And emotions can be such a difficult thing to navigate, and that is why I choose to blog/write. My heart learns to accept the grieving instead of stuffing it away and as time allows I begin to heal as I understand what has happened. I also write these blogs to help be an encouragement to others whom have experienced loss. May you take the time to grieve and heal; know there is no time limit on that process. Take comfort in knowing there are many of us out there who have experienced this kind of loss, we can come together and be a village who extends an understanding hand as comfort. Please do not be afraid to let your friends and/or family in, allow them to take some of the burden and just hold you during such a time. Let them take the hair tie, pull your hair back and say, "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Let your tears flow, I've got you." 

And as for my own hair tie, it held my hair all day but is currently making my head hurt. Thank you all for taking the time to read and allowing me to grieve and heal. Much love!