it's december already. woah.

Hello again, sorry about the long time no talk.

Life gets kinda crazy and going really fast over here. Its already December.. how does that happen!

But heres a few things I’ve been up too:

-Kim(Rush) came and visited us last week! This was great! She came on Monday! She go to experience a week with us and got to hang out. It was soo good to see a familiar face and a Canadian accent ;) It was great getting to have little chats with her and getting to hear about her trip. And how she is learning in so many ways how to completely depend on God. Its so great.

-We have officially met the whole Kirby family. Josh, the oldest son works at a camp a couple hours away in Taupo. This weekend was his first visit home since we’ve been here! He came home Thursday night, we had thing big dance party, played some cards and chatted a little! Getting to hang out all together!

-Than we crashed a 21^st. Turning 21 is a really big deal over here, you are an adult. And Josh and Nicole(friend from church) where going up to Bevans 21^st birthday party! And somehow we found ourselves in Joshs car on Saturday, driving 2 hours to Taupo to attend a birthday party of a guy we have never met before. It was spontaneous! The car ride was fun, we sang, laughed and got to talk. Bevans was on a boat, we met him and some of his mates. Got to know quite a few people actually, and made lots of friends by the end of the night. Funny story; at the end when we were getting off the boat, Bevans parents asked ‘so, how do you know Bevan?’… well we don’t. we know josh. They responded ‘oh yes, but what about Bevan’ we repeated we know Josh, we just met Bevan. They smiled politely and than we just started to talk about the fact we are Canadian and use our accent the distract them. We stayed the night at Joshs camp, beautifulll place! And we got to spend the next day getting to help Josh clean(yahh!) but we got to know Josh better and get a good opportunity to chat!

we are planning our summer, we have 2 camps we are going to and Parachute; its kinda like Creation Fest, gonna be this big music festival with speakers and lots of people! We are planning our in between trips and where we are going to travel around there and such. its great! cant wait for more adventure and challenge.

somee pictures.

some more of my time and adventures in new zealand! :) picturess! dont have time for more anything more at the moment.
i'll update a better blog real sooon! and tell some stories!
but this is all for now! ta ta for now!
:)

and the story continues! :)

soo... all the things we have done recently:
-ate lamb tail
-slept on a marae; this is where like moari communities grow up, come together, have funeral, big meetings and lots more that im sure im not aware of. but it was beautiful; we all got to sleep in the same room like 'family' (lots of snoreing and sounds! ahh)
-we have built some really sweet relationships with some girls from the school and church! awesome friends!
-got to walk 700 steps up a tower to see the point where the sun first rises in the world (it was beautiful, all of east cape had an amazing view!)
-got to paint the church at the marae, doing community service; such a good oppurtunity to help and serve
-got a radio in our big white van; sooo exciting! some new friends that we have made were able to fix it for us! soo nice of them!
-gone to the beach and played volleyball
-gone on a 9 hour drive to get to east cape, this pretty place where we painted the church
-we play settlers all the time; i miss it.
-we did a hangi; where we buried 370 lilttle containers of meat and veggies into this biggg hole in the ground and let it cook for like 5 hours. it was an experience and a half! getting up at 3am to start the fire and get the food in to cook
-we didn't end up doing that big long hike, instead we did a short one! about 2 hours; which still took us to really pretty views.. but my shoe got stuck in the mud and my sock and shoes were covered in that mud!
-we meet one of the guys off of the show called Shortland Street(its a really big deal over here in NZ... to us; not quite as much, but still cool! :)

im not sure of a whole lot else too say.. im sure theres more! so for now; heres some pictures :)

legit. solid.

God is good. all the time. all the time. God is good.

legit and solid are becoming the words that the Canadians say. and people are starting to pick up on them. its great.

Things are going really good over here. its cold. but gooood!
We are going to Equippers Church, we are involved in the youth group there and go to the young adult service. The youth group is reallly sweet! we are meeting a lot of cool people. and some really sweet young girls, we are just getting to laugh with them and getting to have some good discussions and getting to challenge and keep eachother acocuntable. i think lots of good will come from it and these relationships.
At youth this week we had to sing O Canada, voluntold pretty much. haha but than they did the Haka for us. it was soo intense. its like a tribal thing/like a call to war.
this is a link of it, if you wanna see it. they do it at the beginning of the all blacks rugby game. soooo coool! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cle20lQg0Qs&feature=related

We are also helping out Te Ora Hou. Which is like a youth program. We have a little meeting with all the leaders (at first it was really awkward.. we didnt really know anyone) But then we had to go and pick the kids up. And we went to this farm and forest, in the middle of nowhere. And played some games in the dark; almost like capture the flag and spotlight (where you have to get from A and B without getting the light shined on you and without getting caught)(I made it, pretty proudd!) And we got to hang out with some kids and the leaders, and just have a enviromemnt where you can laugh and hang out. build connections and friendship. Than the leaders went back to the base and had tea, by that time we were all laughing and hanging out together! :) we got lost on the way home.. minor detail really.

We are also getting to teacher aid classses in the morning. with year 10's which are grade 9's back home. that is gonna be an interesting and challengeing experience. but i see a lot of potential in it!

So everything is really good so far. this is a few stories!
britneeeee! <3

we like cookies and cream ice cream.

hi friends!
So I have been learning to drive a bit, standard. its scary business. oh! and what i get to drive is a big white van! but its great reallly. itll be our little adventure van! :)
We have arrived at our home over here in New Zealand! Its great, we have our little area with our rooms and a bathroom; than we can go over into the house for food, movies and hang out time! The family we are staying with are super great so far! So nice.
But we live on like a legit farm. like legit. the back of a dairy farm actually! We have yet to see the cows, but she said she'll take us down there for a little tour soon! So our milk comes straight from the cow.. thick and creamy, its great eh!
We are slowly meeting people and going to get really involved in a church and youth group. Melody also works at a all girls highschool, and does a small group; so we'll get to hang out with them as well! There are lots of retreats and fun stuff that we get to do coming up!
This coming weekend we are doing the Tongariro Crossing, its like a 7 hour climb up a mountian. crazzzy. but its pretty exciting! (http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/)
and in January, which is the summer here in New Zealand, there are lots of camps that we get to be involved in! soo greeat. and we are planning to go to Parachute, which is like this big 4 day music and concert festival! it'll be some greatt time! i will be sure to update you on them! with pictures!

here are some pictures of where we are livingg:
this is the little home where we livee. the outside. my bed and my desk, its great. but kylie and i have sleepovers, so i haven't slept in my bed yet. hers is bigger. its great times :)

whats to comee!

The Gathering is now overrr! And it was great, I meet so many new people, new friends. Played some great cards, Iron Lady and had some funny, challenging, sarcastic conversations! Today we are staying the night in ChristChurch. Than tomorrow driving up to Wellongdon and staying with a family that we meet at the Gathering! Than on Friday we will be with our home stay family! The Kirbys! Sooo exciting! and that will be in Whanganui! And Melody (the wonderful lady that has been setting us all up and helping us along this process!) She has some friends at different churches, so we can be meeting new people and make some friends our own age. As well as getting involved in the Youth groups. There is another program we will be getting to work with where we do like a youth night and than small group times with some young girls! As well as Melody has a group of girls that she hangs out with, so we will get to tag along with that! Meeting lots of new people and making new friends! As well as getting to do weekends with other people in different places in New Zealand that work for New Zealand too. Getting to drive around, see lots and meet lots of people! Can’t wait!

challenges. amazing. only one week in.

(September 27th!)

I know I haven’t blogged in too long! I have been away at a retreat with no internet! Actually as I type this it is on a word document at the retreat with no internet! So it will be posted a few days after its written.

At this Gathering we are getting to learn what it means to be a part of Incedo(Youth for Christ). The values that we hold as an organization/a team. Some dreams and visions we have for the near future and what we would like to see come from them. I have got to have lots of conversations with people that are very thought provoking. I got asked some tough questions and challenged by some of my new friends. (I can already tell that this trip is going to be a huge growing experience.)

Yesterday I got to get in a small with 2 other people. I got to learn and hear what churches in New Zealand are like, the affect they have on there communities and how people react to them. Overall I’m very excited to go and visit from churches in the next few months and see what I take from them. It also made me very greatful for my church at home and the community I have there. Our church is very welcoming, we have a come as you are policy, we share our passions and hopes with you but above all we want you to know that God loves you and we love you. I got the idea that that was these peoples motives as well.. but sometimes the churches aren’t the best at saying this, we were discussing how some of there friends would go back to there home church and be completely judged and how some of these churches are acting. (and yes this is all hear say, but it is interesting to learn and get a feel for what to expect, im excited to see for myself what they are like). As well as the percent of people that go to church on a regular basics is dropping dramatically in New Zealand. Where as we live, most people you meet will either be involved in a church or somehow be linked to one by friends or family. It was all very interesting and gets me excited to go and explore!

(yet! I have also heard they are the same as ours at home.. so we will see soon!)

We also had a discussion with someone tonight about Family. It started out as we were all getting to know eachother, than he asked where we see ourselves in 10 years.. we said married, maybe with kids.. family. And we asked him. And he said the same but than he also added probably having other people around and living with us. This did not make sense to us and we automatically thought that that was a very silly idea, don’t you want your alone space and time as a family? How can you let other people into your house like that? So much chaos? But he started asking questions too.. like well is it really ‘your space’? God was the one who gave it to you.. why do we feel that it is our right to own it.. And not sharing what you have with people who need it. His thought was that this is what God wants us to do, this is what the bible says. To live in community! To let your neighbors and the people who may be struggling into your lives and helping them make it through the day. It was all very intriguing. And I haven’t decided my feelings on it yet, very cool idea and I see how that would be something Jesus would do. (I wanted to share it with you, hear your opinions, discuss it more) but all I know is that it reminded me that life is to short to not love and help others, its too short to not live it 100%!

So this was a little bit of the sweet things I have been learning. Its beautiful here! Amazing. Random animals everywhere, sheep, cows, horses.. Mountains with no cars, no roads interfering, no cities.

We went to the Hot Springs today, that was pretty sweet! But hot.. you know how that goes. We are learning that Kiwis are verrryyy sarcastic! And its okay.. we were just not aware of it before we left. I said ‘shoot’ today because I dropped something. And they had us convivnced that is was a realllly bad word to say in New Zealand. Its not, but that what I mean! They all went along with it, expect Melody! She’s great! This one guy also had Kylie convinced the other day that (on the toilets here there is a half flush button and a full flush button) if you push both buttons than you can get fined. So she better watch out they don’t come find her. Silly, silly kiwis.

This trip is going to teach us soo much. We’ve been here less than a week and I feel change happening, grow happening and God breaking my heart for what breaks His.

I’m thankful that I can go to the other side of the world and find a community that I feel loved in.

our first awkward video!

this is kylie and I! we are in Christchruch, down town at the shopping centre!
(hope the video works!)
sorry the awkwardness :)

here we are, in New Zealand.

hi there friends!
I'm sitting in Christchurch, New Zealand.
In a hostel/hotel/wherebackpapersstay... type thing.
its great.. lots of random kiwis running around. oh! and did i mention the co-ed bathroom.. ops and they call it 'toilet' not restroom; that's far to polite! lets get right to the point!
but here i am. New Zealand, its not real yet. maybe cause we are sooo tired and ready for bed, but its only 7Pm here, not quite bed time yet.
we are gonna do some tim tam slams soon, white chocolate ones; legit eh?

there are sooo many different things that i have noticed soo far, they drive on the other side of the car and the road.. sketchy. there are suchhh cute clothing stores (Tessa you would loveeee them!) cute little dressed and sweaters. ohh ohh! dont worry, theres starbucks too! don't forget they have an accent, but yet they look at us like we are weird and have the accent.. crazzy really.

So, we are just getting started. been here for less than 24 hours. (well maybe not with time change, who knows!) but we are going to be at 'the gathering' for the next week. bonding, learning, growing and getting to spend some time with people all over the country that work for Incedo/Youth for Christ. so that will be sweeet! an adventure, but we are sooo willing and excited to see where this journey takes us! Next week will be a great intro, to meet people who having been doing what we are about to. build community and make some awesome kiwi freinds.

thats all for noww! :)
i hope to update soon and maybs a video!
but im unsure if we'll have internet at the gathering.. we'll see.

much love, britnee.

here we go.

in 15 days.
im about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime.
im going to be heading to new zealand for 6 months.
working for an organization called Youth for Christ.
with my friend Kylie.
not to sure what we will be doing the whole time yet.
but im very excited for laughs, meeting new people, trusting God and following His will.
we are going to learn a lot and grow a lot.
ill be keeping this blog well im gone to keep track of what were doing and learning.
and to keep everyone else in the loop, of course!
there will probs be some video blogs to come, and some funny moments that will pass us by.
i cant wait to see what God has in store for us on this trip, i know there are big things to come! big, big things.
stay tuned. there will be more to come!
-Britnee