A Big Catch Up... Settling into life in Randwick Park (November 2022 - April 2023) (Part 1)

Dear Friends,

Last time I wrote was in October and we were about to move, and our shipping container was about to arrive. Update: we did move, and then we moved again, our shipping container did arrive, and we are settling into life in Randwick Park, South Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand. I just re-read my last post, and this was my big prayer request then... that we would start to settle into life here. And God is answering that prayer request! We are so grateful. Here are some big and small ways God is showing up in lavish generosity and faithfulness, in His usual kind way...

• Kids in school. Jubilee, Nova, Ames, and Isaiah all started at Randwick Park School in February. We walk to and from school, their teachers and classmates are delightful, and we are so grateful for this new community. The kids are starting to make friends. Please keep praying for this! And please join us in prayer for growing friendships with fellow followers of Jesus. 

First day of school! School here runs February through December, in four terms of ten weeks each. We just finished Term 1 and two weeks of school holiday. Term 2 starts this week.

Ames school trip. A select group of Year Fives (equivalent of fourth grade) attended a "Waste Education Day" at the Auckland Botanical Gardens. It was an amazing day of learning and fun, including a silent disco through different ecosystems and filtering water from waste management (gross!.. AND... in the words of Calvin & Hobbes... "There's treasure everywhere!"). Above is Ames and his friend, Saison.

Nova school trip. She and her friend Putua, along with all the other Year Threes (equivalent of second grade) spent the day measuring trees, an important part of the environmental conservation work at Pourewa Community Hub. 

"Mufti Day." In the U.S. we call this out of uniform day. :) 

Props. Jubilee and Nova both got awards at the end of Term 1. I am so proud of our kids and how they are each adjusting to a brand new school in a brand new country. Not pictured, but other highlights of Term 1 include: Ames helped lead school-wide assembly, both Isaiah and Ames made the school soccer team, Isaiah wrote story after story and became a stronger and stronger writer, and all the kids came home daily with stories of watching out for one another, making new friends, trying new things, and enjoying this new community.

• Our home and family life. We now live at 4 Advocate Place, Randwick Park, Auckland 2105, New Zealand. We are so grateful for this house! We are paying very reasonable rent to our landlords who are also becoming good friends (and are our next door neighbors). Maria and Chris have already rescued me from locking myself out of the house, and their grandsons are energetic and joyful playmates for our kids. Also, just last night we hosted our annual Easter Feast in our new home, gathering 30+ people in our backyard to celebrate our King Jesus' resurrection and Lordship with singing, dancing, and feasting. It was such a delight to be able to host people in our home. This is something we love to do! And we look forward to many more opportunities to practice hospitality in this space here. That goes for any of you who want to come visit us as well! :) We have already had several amazing visitors. Laura Neal, a dear friend from Memphis, came and stayed with us in November. And then Michael's parents, Gay and Mike, came in January. Both of these visits were incredible blessings to us! 

Ames turned 9! And guess what?... we all dressed up as pirates! I am sure you are all surprised. :) We had a scurvy-free swashbucklin' treasure hunt at Ambury Farm. You can take the pirate out of Memphis. But the pirate just keeps. being. a. pirate. 

The Pinnacles' Walk. Our first full family backpacking trip! Everyone carried a pack. We got tired at points, there were some treacherous ladder portions, but the sunset and snuggles more than made up for the hardships. :)

Blackbeard, Hermione, Poseidon and Ray showed up at our house randomly on October 31. We gave them some lollies (Kiwi for candy... you're welcome for the translation) and sent them on their way.

Laura's visit. What a special treat to have such a dear friend visit us in our first year of living here. She took us on lots of adventures, cooked her usual incredible meals, treated kids to one-on-one "Laura dates," and treated Michael and I to a night away while she and the kids worked on endless art projects.

Cathedral Cove kayaking. We may (or may not have) pirated some kayaks, (and may have actually) paddled to Cathedral Cove, sipped hot chocolate on the beach, and viewed giant stingrays and a lone blue penguin in the water below us.

Weet-Bix TRYathlon. Isaiah, Ames, and Nova (pictured above with our next door neighbor, friend, and fellow participant, Cairo) completed their first triathlon! What a fun Auckland event!

Homeschooling in December was a lot of flag artwork and statistical analysis (in other words, we watched a lot of the FIFA World Cup and called it "school").

My blogger account is wanting me to stop this post and finish in a different one.

Consider this Part 1!