Our week in pictures

We've returned to the tropical north after a wonderful week in Oxford. The faintest whispers of spring are in the air as the temperatures are slightly rising, the magnolia trees and a few other early flowers are blooming, and the sun is shining later in the day. Before we know it, summer will be upon us.

But before I get too ahead of myself, I still have the opportunity to relish the joys of winter, especially in regards to our week down south. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed a band of snow that was moving up the east coast of the island, although there were two short snow showers that I managed to see on the day before my birthday ~ they only lasted a few minutes each, but it was enough that I did get to witness snow falling from the sky. I must say, it's strange to associate snow with my birthday, seeing as how I spent 25 years of my life enjoying summer birthdays. No weather even close to resembling summer in Oxford, though! It was cold, cold, cold there! As much as I wasn't impressed walking through freezing hallways to take Taylor potty in the middle of the night (we slept with the heaters on, so at least our bedrooms were warm!), during the day I loved the fact that it was cold outside and we were warm and cozy by the fire inside. Although it wasn't near as cold as winters that I'm used to back in the States, it was way colder than Tauranga winter, and it reminded me so much of home. I loved it!

So anyways, here are some pictures from Oxford:

There was a park that Taylor loved playing at. She especially enjoyed going down the big slide!

There were huge trees at the park, and Taylor wanted to pose next to one. Sure is a big tree compared to the little girl!

The snow on the mountains was beautiful!

Keeping the home fires burning

Quite literally. We've been enjoying the wood burning stove all day today, thanks to Aaron. There's nothing like a fire that says "Warm and cozy". Did I mention that it's cold here? Probably the coldest I've ever felt in New Zealand. I love being warm and cozy inside while it's freezing outside; it's just like home! There's even some snow in the forecast for the region for this week, but who knows if it will actually snow here in Oxford. I'm holding my breath, though trying not to get too excited. But I would be perhaps the happiest girl in New Zealand if I woke up one morning to world blanketed in white. Or if it was snowing after nightfall and I got to go for a walk in a winter wonderland. It would be even better if that happened on my birthday, which happens to be on Tuesday. Oh, how it would remind me of home! But I'm not getting my hopes up. Really, I'm not.

Taylor and I drove to the airport in Christchurch to pick up Aaron this morning. It's great to have him here with us! We've enjoyed a quiet, low-key day as a family watching the olympics, playing with Taylor, and basically just relaxing. Off to go start making dinner!

Here Safe and Sound

Taylor and I have arrived here at YWAM Oxford after two uneventful flights. Fortunately we missed out on this drama at Auckland Airport; it must have happened just after we left. We've settled into the guest house we are staying in here; it's comfortable and just what we need for the week. Though I can't believe how cold it is here! Fortunately we have plenty of heaters, and Aaron arrives tomorrow and will get the wood burning stove fired up. (No, I never was a girl scout and wouldn't have a clue how to light a fire in a stove). I won't be complaining about the cold, though, if it snows in Oxford this week. What an amazing treat that would be!

In other important news, I have just watched New Zealand win a gold medal at the Olympics in the woman's rowing. Twin sisters that Aaron went to school with when he was a kid have captured the gold by mere millimeters ~ it was an amazing race to watch. As much as I've loved watching the olympics here, it has been very different watching them in a foreign country. Mostly because we don't see any of the medal ceremonies for American gold winners and miss out on hearing the Star Spangled Banner. Fortunately we still get to see many of the Americans compete, but of course the programming is planned around the competitions that New Zealand athletes are in, and all the commentaries are favoring New Zealand. Which isn't a bad thing at all ~ it's just different than watching and listening from an American perspective.

Time for me to start thinking about heading off to bed; we drive back into Christchurch in the morning to pick Aaron up from the airport. 'Night!

Off to Oxford

In a few minutes, Taylor and I leave to fly down to Christchurch to meet up with Aaron and spend a few days together as he ministers at the YWAM Oxford base. I love Oxford ~ it's a quiet small town where the pace of life is slow and offers the chance to unwind and relax. Looking forward to some good family time in between Aaron's teaching.

Good news from a far country...

...Sure is life to the spirit. Or however the Proverb goes. 'Tis true, though. We've had a good friend of the family from Kansas City visiting the Walsh clan this week, and has it sure been wonderful to have her here! She is a true encourager; she has spoken life to us and to our team here when we have really needed it. It's been great to re-connect with her and also to re-connect with Kansas City through her; what a precious gift for us in this season. It sure will be sad to see her go at the end of the week.

Waffles, real maple syrup, and a big welcome home

Aaron returned home on Saturday after 10 days in South Korea. Taylor and I are both so glad to have him home ~ he's been traveling lots recently and it feels like he's been gone for ages. So, in true Walsh tradition, I made waffles yesterday for Sunday brunch. They were especially yummy, because I received a jar of real Canadian maple syrup by a very thoughtful person who has been visiting Tauranga this week. Although we can get the real stuff here, the price tag on it is costly; it could easily be equated to eating liquid gold. Waffles, kiwifruit, whipped cream, real maple syrup.....doesn't get much better than that!

Rainbows on a rainy day

It has been an unusually cold and wet winter. Today was the first day in (what felt like) weeks in which it hasn't rained at all. As much as the continual rain can get a bit wearisome, and as much as the squally showers on partly-sunny, partly-cloudy days can get quite annoying, one of the benefits of the unpredictable weather is the number of stunning rainbows we get to witness here. I have never seen so many rainbows ever before in my life. Often we will see three, four, or even five different rainbows in one day. And no matter how often I see a rainbow, my heart always skips a beat when I see one, and I can't help but to wonder and consider how glorious and merciful is the Creator who painted it in the sky. These pictures don't do justice to the glory of rainbows here in Tauranga, but I figured they were worth posting regardless.

A Day at Lollipops

Today Taylor and I met a friend from pre-school and her mom at Lollipops playland, an indoor play place for kids. Although I have known about it for a while, Taylor and I have never been before, so today was particularly exciting for her. She loved it! She was quite a bit hesitant at first to climb and explore without Mommy, but once I did it with her a few times, she gained a bit more confidence to go off with her friend and enjoy the tunnles and slides together. We spent five hours there (yes, you read that right). But we had nothing else going on today, and Taylor was having so much fun, so I figured we might as well just stay as long as we could and enjoy the opportunity while we had it. Here are some pictures of our fun:

Striking a pose.

Playing in the ball area

Having fun on the merry-go-round-type ride

The super-size air slide

They also had a huge bouncy castle which Taylor enjoyed, but no doubt her favorite activity of the day was going down the plastic tunnel slides. They were really fast (this I know by experience!), and at first it was a bit scary for her, but once she figured out that she wouldn't get hurt (and that Mommy would catch her at the bottom), she couldn't stop going down! Since I was catching her every time she went down, I never got any photos of it, but I wish I could have, because the look on her face of pure enjoyment was priceless!

Needless to say, somebody went to be super-early tonight!

Bearing the Stigma

I've been thinking today about the words of Jesus in Matthew 10, "You will be hated by all for My name's sake." What a sobering wake-up call to the reality that the church in the last days will be living in. I don't think any of us really have a grid for just how un-politically-correct the church will be in that hour of history, and how un-popular we will be with not only the world, but also with those professing to be followers of Jesus, but who really aren't. Ouch. I mean, in some circles, it's a bit "extreme" now to take a stand for the basic 101 Christianity of the Bible. (You know, the Matthew 5, 6, and 7 stuff). And the consequences for such an unpopular stance today are barely more than a wee bit of social sigma or rejection. (Although take heart. The religious leaders of the day called John the Baptist demonized and Jesus a glutton and a drunkard. At least we are in good company). But what's going to happen when the issues we take a stand for are way more controversial than anything we've seen yet? Like the judgments of God breaking into planet earth? (Or the mere reality that there is a God, and we love His Son, Jesus). And the consequences for doing so are way more intense than they are now? (Like along the lines of death or imprisonment.) I mean, this takes any controversy, any misunderstanding, any false accusation that we may have experienced, and puts a "times 1,000" next to it, and then multiplied about another thousand times after that. And this is what we've signed up for.

Is it just me, or is that a bit sobering?

Remembering Sovereignty

After listening to and telling some of the stories this evening of how THOP was established and how the Lord led many of us here, I am reminded yet again of the goodness of the Lord's leadership ~ over regions, nations, ministries, families, and individuals. I have been pondering in my heart yet again the bizarre stories of how I ended up here in New Zealand ~ starting with my "accidental prophecy" when I was a child, to all the events between 2004 and 2006 leading up to our re-location to New Zealand. I have been considering how the Lord so wisely and carefully began knitting together in relationship the prayer movement and the missions movement in a new expression that we are watching emerge before our eyes. I have a fresh sense this evening of His sovereignty, and our destiny that He is so kindly and attentively orchestrating, and it makes my heart rest. This whole thing is His idea, not ours; He is building His house, not us. That's really good news.

For all the American pecan-pie lovers in Tauranga...

...We can now make it, because Bethlehem Countdown now sells corn syrup! Miracle of all miracles! I'm actually not a huge fan of corn syrup, simply because it's so bad for you, but every now and then I come across a recipe that calls for it that I would love to make regardless. Unfortunately, though, corn syrup was no where to be found anywhere in New Zealand. Not anymore! I found it yesterday by accident when I was looking for something else. It's called "Glucose syrup, derived from corn"; it's in the baking aisle, on the same shelf with all the extracts, to be exact.

There's a certain amount of comfort found in the fact that the corn syrup is there on the shelf in the grocery store up the road, available to buy, just in case someday I decide that I want it. Never mind the fact that I rarely use it. (There's a commentary on the consumerism-driven American psyche for you.)

Happy baking!

I love what we do

Tonight was another great night at the house of prayer. It was one of those prayer meetings in which I was reminded again of the kindness of the Lord that He touches us with His presence and sends the Helper to enable us to worship in Spirit and in truth. I was reminded again why I love so much what we get to do; the superior pleasure of lifting weak words and weak hearts before a strong God with a company of people is just awesome. I'm so grateful to the Lord for all that He is doing, for this community that He has gathered here, and for the grace that He gives to pray.

It's late and I'm tired. Off to bed.