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