One Year Ago

One year ago today we stepped off that plane to start our new journey here in Christchurch New Zealand. I can still remember it so well as if it were just yesterday. Inside I was being rushed with so many different emotions....excitement, sadness, curiosity, scared, protectiveness for my family, relieved that we had made it, and so much more! It is a hard to believe that so many emotions can happen at one time.
Even as I write this now it is overwhelming to me to realize I still have a lot of the same emotions a whole year later. I am excited for the new year of students and what God is going to do in the group, I am still sad to be away from my family and be missing life back home, I am curious what God is going to do in my own life, I am always protective of my kids, and I am relieved we made it through the whole year of changes in one piece!
PLUS I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU OUT THERE! So many have prayed and supported us in this last year. I can't even imagine how our life would be without such an amazing group of God loving men and women in our lives.

New Student Ministry Website

Over this past holiday (Kiwi Summer/US Winter Break). I worked on re-developing the student ministry webpage with some of the students. It was a big undertaking, but it was also fun and I think it turned out pretty "flash" as they say around these parts. I thought I would share it with you and see what you think. You can check out what we have been up to with the students and there is also some great Bible Study content as a resource for you use as well. If you click on a link in the resource section you can download a printable PDF version of our current study or any past studies too.

Hope you enjoy!

http://ucnavs.org/

University of Canterbury Navigators Ministry 2011

Last year was quite an interesting year for the students and all of us involved in the Navs student ministry here in Christchurch, NZ. It certainly had it's highs and lows from the devastating earthquake in Feb to the entertaining and uplifting events we experienced together as a group. This short video commemorates a bit of the experience in still images. Enjoy!

Weka Pass Railway & a Birthday

This year Levi begged us to take him on a train for his 4th birthday. So Erin found out about a historical railway that is run by volunteers just north of Christchurch. It was just right for the little guys and just enough for the bigs ;)
Here's the webpage about it if you're keen to find out more... http://www.wekapassrailway.co.nz/

Happy 4th Birthday Levi

Happy 4th Birthday Levi! I can't imagine our family without you. Four years ago our family was complete! You were the third blond boy and you came out ready to play. You were such an easy going baby which was such a blessing because we were a busy house. You love playing with your brothers. Right now you love anything with wheels...cars and trains are your favorite. You also love playing Legos. Levi you make life so fun with you smile and the excitement you bring to life. You are my baby and I am so glad that God put you in our life!My baby...you were so cutePapa and GigiYou and Your brothers!Auntie giving you cuddles!Durango with Gramma Jeanne and Poppies!Disney World1st Birthday!Love for your cousins!Disney LandPoppies and Gramma Jeanne Come to Visit you in NZ

1st Day of School 2012

It came and it went! I would love to tell you every detail of what happened but let's face it I have boys so I am still trying to get one or two details out of them!

Golden Bay

After camping for two nights we continued onto Golden Bay where we stayed in a home for 4 days! It was great, we were right off the beach. We pretty much spent the whole time at the beach and just went in the house to eat and sleep. It was a great way to relax after a crazy year of moving, starting new schools, new jobs, earthquakes and lots of change. Thankful to God that we were blessed with this time!Logan caught this fish his first night there. He was out every moment possible after that, although this was his only catch! He was proud to provide dinner for the whole family!

Landon was not too sure about the boat! He said it was too small and the ocean was too big. He lasted for about 10 minutes!

Now Levi loved the kayak and would of stayed out for hours. He kept saying go farther. I told him there was just two problems...1: we needed to stay in the safe zone and 2: Mommies arms could only take us so far!

Logan digging for sea creatures! He loves science at the moment and finding things. One thing that was really cool was that there were Jelly fish that don't sting in the water. So they could hold them and learn about them! Very cool! They do know there are some that sting!

Logan and Levi being silly in the water!

Landon playing in the water! He is always a little nervous by the ocean and doesn't always get in so I was so proud that he played heaps in the water! Fun times :)

As you can tell Levi is turning into a character. He loves having fun and making us laugh!

We headed over to Farewell Spit to check it out. I am not sure what I was expecting but this was not it! It was miles and miles of sand bar. We walked it for about an hour and didn't even make it very far! You might not be able to tell by the picture but it was extremely windy here and the sand is very fine so didn't hang out long but the view was cool!

Check out this map to see where Farewell Spit is! You can see it is just a small portion of land that goes out into the sea. Many whales get stuck here when the tide is high and get trapped. There are a lot of volunteers that help try and get the whales back. I (Erin) would love to be trained. I have always wanted to do that!

The house we stayed at was Parapara. This is the top west part of the South Island! About 5 hour drive from our house!