The New Zealand Experience - Sunday, September 21st, 2003

What a week! Beautiful sunrise, Christchurch, Kaikoura, Doubtful Sound, Lake Manapouri, Queenstown, rain hike to see glow worms, seal colony, penguins, curvy roads . . . very curvy roads, give way one-way bridges, dodging stray cows in the road, "No Worries," hostels, very cold and wet weather, creative meals (way to go, Karen!) in creative kitchens, Bible studies, picture taking, picture taking, and more picture taking. . . .

Okay. Today, Sunday, September 21, 2003, started with breakfast (ahum, Karen went the extra mile with the muffins, and so did the oven) and Bible study on the command to feed Christ's sheep. Then on to packing up and stuffing the van once again with all our luggage, food, and camera gear. We headed first to Cape Foulwind (after filling our petrol tank) and visited the seal colony situated among huge rocks and crashing ocean waves. I had asked God for clearer skies hoping to enjoy some photo shoots without getting drenched. Praise the Lord! We made it through the whole thing without getting wet! It was a "new" experience not to have to clean off my lens each time I wanted to take a picture in order not to have big water spots on my image.

Heading out from the seal colony we encountered a unique fragrance that smelled like a belt burning or something of the sort. After pulling off the road, Rowan decided to go back to Westport for a mechanic to take a look at the van. The mechanic showed up about half-an-hour later and concluded that the clutch was out and that he couldn't get a new part for several days. We chartered a bus to take us the rest of the way to catch a ferry back to the North Island. It actually ended up being a blessing, since we had more room on the bus making it easier to get some sleep.

The Lord has protected and provided for our needs. As I write this report we are close to arriving at the Arahina Training Centre. Yippee! This past week was filled with excitement and blessing and I look forward to what God is going to do this week.

–IPS Student Becky Rees, from Oak Brook, Illinois

View the gallery of today's pictures