Arrival!

I have arrived in Tauranga, New Zealand for my medical training through YWAM Marine Reach!  Traveling was exhausting, as the time from leaving my home to reaching the base turned out to be over two days long!  I stayed in my sister Serenity's house before I left, and then my flights took me from Minneapolis to Phoenix to Los Angeles  (where I met two traveling companions) to Nadi, Fiji to Auckland, New Zealand. 

There we waited for our bus and happened to meet two other students.  We had to wait a while for another bus, and happened to meet two other students from there! The last bus to Tauranga was fun because we talked to a Kiwi on the bus about New Zealand and culture things. (NZ doesn't have guns! Not even the police! He told me that he would be afraid in the US to be shot.  Already the culture differences are interesting to see)

We were picked up in the city of Tauranga and taken to our base (about 15 minutes out of Tauranga) and our first view of the base was as it was getting dark, but we could tell it was beautiful!  There's a steep incline from the road to the base.  I don't think there are any straight, flat roads here! Walking into the Center, there were already people there and it was overwhelming being that tired and seeing that many people!  We found our room and it is so nice here. They had NZ candy and pop, a few notebooks, and a cute little note waiting for everyone on their bunks. 

My first impression of the people here is that they are the nicest group of people I know.  Kiwis are very friendly!  The first morning my friend Amy and I went on a jog/walk (we intended to jog the whole thing but the hills really got us!) maybe a few miles away from where our base was.  The farm land is indescribable! There are not as many sheep as I was expected (Maybe there are more in South Island?) but many cows.  We waved at farmers as we went past, and they seemed happy to wave to strangers! 

I've met so many people, and most of them more than once because I can't remember names.  There are around 70 students and 20 staff here.  It's pretty hard to tell between students and staff because many of the students are older than the staff.  The staff is as young as 19 years old. Both staff and students are constantly introducing themselves and being so open and friendly! The lady I was in contact with during the whole preparation time is called Nesi and she's such a sweetie.  Then again everyone is.

I was showing a new arrival to the waterfall this afternoon when I mentioned to her that everyone here is unbelievably nice.  She laughed and answered "We all love Jesus!"

Our God is a God who blesses those who follow His call.

This time I'm here is a blessing.  It will probably be the biggest challenge I've ever had, and I will struggle through finding who God wants me to be.  I will probably mess up from time to time, but learn from it.  This will be the best time of my life to this point.