Rest, rest and....oh ya! rest :)

Sorry to everyone who's been waiting for our next post! We have just been so busy resting in hobbit holes and getting our hands dirty on the farm that it has been impossible to write anything!

Well, when we last wrote of our journey, we were still in Auckland. Thursday we made plans to work on a beef and sheep farm in Whangarei, but that wouldn't begin until Tuesday. We had the whole weekend ahead of us! What to do! Since we had spent so much money in just the first week of being here and hadn't stopped going since we got off the plane, we decided to save our money for more exciting adventures later and just hang around the house, relaxing, catching up on sleep and watching movies. I know! Who goes to New Zealand and watches movies?!?!?! Two young ladies who want to save their money for more adventurous activities, that's who! After our much needed weekend of rest and cleaning house for our wonderful hosts, we met our new housemate that following Sunday. Alice is a friend of the Peters who have generously opened their home to us. We were blessed to hang out with her for the rest of our time in Auckland. She took us to church that evening where we had a wonderful night of fellowship with other believers and played at the park with the little children.  That night, Liz, the intern for the church that the Peters are involved in, stayed the night with us. Slumber party!!!! We had a wonderful time painting our nails, watching chick-flicks (like Jane Austin) and having some girl time!

Monday, the three of us did a Bible study together and had a really good time reading God's Word and of the mysteries of God that have been made known to us. Later that day, we walked to the shopping center (Westgate) and went to a couple's house from church for dinner. We played games with the kids (such as: princess, the zoo and school) while the other adults were getting the food ready. It was breakfast for dinner and Liz made some amazing pancakes! Those last couple of days in Auckland were such a blessing to stop and think of those around us and how we could lend a helping hand. We were so blessed to have that opportunity to serve!

We said goodbye to our new found friends and by Tuesday morning it was just the two of us once again. We headed downtown about noon to visit some places before we left for the farm near Whangarei. After dropping our bags off at the bus stop, we went to Moustache for milk and cookies. As we were enjoying a stroll downtown with our delicious cookies (or biscuits as Kiwis call them), there was an old looking stone church that we decided to go check out. As we walked in, we noticed that they were setting up tables to pass out lunch or something. We soon discovered they were going to be making pancakes to give out to the public as a celebration before Lent. We offered to help and they gladly accepted. Making pancakes in the streets of Auckland with the other volunteers was a great way to spend our last day in Auckland.

We left the church around 5:15pm because we had to catch our bus at 5:45, or so we thought... The bus had actually left at 5:15 and we missed it!!!! Since there was no other bus going to Whangarei that night, we had to buy two more tickets for the following morning. Disappointed, frustrated and tired, we got our bags, called the folks who were to pick us up in Whangarei to inform them of the new plans, found a place to eat dinner and discussed our options for the evening. We decided to go back to the Peters' house for the night; a place that has come to feel like home. Even though we were sad that we missed our bus, it ended up being a jolly evening since we were able to have another lovely chat with our friend Alice.

 Alice was kind enough to take us back into town early the next morning so we could catch our bus to Whangarei. We made it to the bus stop in time, grabbed a muffin at a street cafe, boarded the bus and arrived safely in Whangarei before lunchtime. Woohoo! As we stepped off the bus, we were filled with an eagerness to get to work, an excitement to meet our new hosts and a readiness to immerse ourselves into farm life!!!