it's time to travel baby!

hey everyone! it seems like so much has happened lately that i don't know where to begin...

well other than all of the friends that i'm making, it seems to be quite the time to spend with God as well. it's really intense most of the time, but it's nice 'cause then everything seems to be getting out in the open. it's so nice to get everything out in the open, deal with everything, and then be able to move on and really listen to God and what he wants.

sooo, i'm going out to the ASIA PACIFIC! so, i'll be hitting up fiji, phillipines, thailand and cambodia... then ending in isreal. i'm so pumped about it! it's going to be soo awesome. and, the people that i will be going with are alyssa, this other 18 yr old canadian chick that's pretty sweet. we're getting along pretty well, and it's good to have another canadian on the team. then there's this girl val. she's awesome! i'm getting along with her really well, and we may travel afterwards... we'lll see! then there's this guy called andres who is nice. i haven't really gotten to know him very well yet, but i like how he questions a lot of things, and is really inquisitive. it's really good to have a different, bolder outlook. then there's suzanne! now SHE is sweet. i love that girl. probably because she is from alaska, but you know. j/k. she's just so chill and really nice all around. those are the guys on the outreach. then there's nate and wendy, a married couple that will be leading our group. i'm really looking forward to it. it'll just take a while to get to know them... as the dynamics of the base are a little different for them. wendy's not with us all the time. she's the registrar, so i don't see her that much. but it seems to be alright. i mean i talked to both of them about their outlook on the outreach and what was going to be going on... how open they'd be with us and everything. it seems to be really good. so, i'm really pumped about it!

after we found out about our outreach destination we also were told about the around the world ticket that we will be recieving with it. so, basically with my ticket i will have 3 stops in europe and then 6 stops in central and north america. anyways, we have to have all of our desitnations in by this thursday, so the 26th. long story short, i'm probably going to greece and then traveling some other places in europe until the 15th of october. then after that i'll be going to south america with this funny german bro called christoph. we're still trying to find another person to join us... so we'll see where we go from there. but, i have a lot of peace about it all. God's just totally doing a number to me on that one. it's just faith! and, it's pretty nice. alright, so in mid october i'll be going to south america, and then travel up through central america into the states and then travel to new zealand afterwards. we're not sure about the time line yet, but that's the plan so far. so, it looks really good and i hope that it'll all work out the way that God wants it too...

a huge theme for me lately has been kids. i really am enjoying them here, and we'll see where God wants me to go, but we were having this world awareness night out here, and we were talking about people traficing. mainly it's in the area of the sex industry, and my heart just lept out for these kids/young adults that are going through all of this! we'll see what God wants in the end, but i'm totally willing to do whatever he's calling me to do... no set plans yet!

africa, asia... is it all the same?

hey guys, so i would just like your prayers/thoughts if you have time. the options for the outreach came in and since this is such a small school there were only 3 options compared to the 6 options that we were shown on the internet. although i thought that i was originally going to go to south america, it seems like to be a hard option (as we won't be going there). anyways, our options are africa (south africa, kenya, uganda, morocco), asia pacific (fiji, philippines, thailand, cambodia) or central asia (hong kong/china, india, oman, yeman). all of these will be ending up in israel. so, i would just love clarity in this area. i think that i'll probably be going to the asia pacific, but we'll see what actually's going to happen. i just am kinda worried about it all.

Not perfection, reality

wow! God is actually working here. it's amazing. this is so much more than i expected. i'm really finding some meaning here. nothing's perfect yet, but i don't know if that's what i'm looking for. i'm not looking for fake perfection. i'm looking for real answers. real life. reality itself. and, although this is a false environment it's really helping me to understand whom i am and where i'm at right now. to understand how i can better others. and to focus on the bigger picture of life, while dealing with my own issues. i have found more love for others. and i am really beginning to understand more of life. it's hard, but it's really good! really good. i would love to hear from you all!

whoa, surreal!

hey guys... life's still going well out here. it's a small school w/ high expectations... and i'm really happy to be here. i guess that it's life that's all. but, life seems to be more like a whirlwind then anything. issues are coming up, and i'm not the social butterfly that i usually am (which may be due to the fact that there are the same amount of people from my high school as there is in the whole town of oxford). but, i'm doing surprisingly well. i mean, it's just the fact that i know i should be here. and, that's all i need right now. God wants me to be here... and that's the truth. so, here i am. it still seems surreal, but i guess that's alright. okay i'll talk to you guys later... play safe and have fun. e-mail if you have time!

p.s. i'll try to put on some pics when i have time ian!

here i am!

alright so, i arrived yesturday to rainy oxford new zealand. it's a nice quaint place... w/ the metropolis only being about 1,400 people. i kinda thought that may be a problem as i like to spread my wings and fly out to meet absolutely everyone... but for now i think that this is where i should be. i should make some closer, meaningful friends. so, i'm kinda excited about that. this is life right now. and, i think that i'll be alright 'cause i just have a feeling that this is right where God wants me. and i should focus on that adjenda more than my own more of the time. so, here i am and there will be no complaining! haha...

so, it's easter sunday out here and as happy as i am to celebrate it... i'm going to miss the supper with my family today. i hope that it's going to be a good family dinner minus me!

so, there are 15 students out here, and 6 staff. so, it seems to be rather small! ya, so there are 6 girls in one room (i'm in that room) and then there are 4 in a different room. and then there's a 5 boys room as well. it seems rather nice, and we're all in one house. so, it's kinda intense. oh, and another thing that i found rather funny is that everyone packed tones of stuff! like, i mean i thought that we were only allowed one backpack and then a carry-on. so, that's what i brought, but people were hauling out the suitcases and all the such... i just thought that it was kinda funny!

anyways, the base is pretty small and there is a church right next to it... which is small as well. everything is so quaint! it's going to be awesome. yesturday was a bit overwhelming but it seems to be dieing down right now. the beginning jitters are becoming more stable and i'm beginning to become comfortable. thanks for all the love and i hope that everyone else's easter is going well too!

have a good one... and keep me posted i have pretty liberal amounts of time that i can be on the internet, so just e-mail away!

it's school time

i'm here and i'm safe. and i'm a little bit overwhelmed... but it's all good. i'll write you back later when i can put more energy into it.

neon water?

hey everyone... now where did i leave off... oh ya me going to rotorua (that's how it's spelt... haha!). ya, so i came on the nakedbus... and there were only a handfull of us on the bus, which was quite funny itself. so, as i was getting off the busdriver said, rotorua always smells like rotten eggs b/c of the sulphur geysers that are known for this town. it was quite funny, 'cause i'm here for 3 days and all i can smell is rotten eggs... kinda like my mb home! (j/k)

alright, so i thought rather than just sitting around and doing nothing... i'll go zorbing! it was awesome it's basically like a person in a hampster cage... except w/ a little more padding on the zorb than just plastic. alright, so i went w/ a guy and a girl (girl from toronto, dana, really cool!... and 18 too!). anyways, we put water in the zorb, and basically we were pushed off of this hill to tumble down in this thick plastic contraption. it was so fun! and so weird... totally kiwi like. (people call newzealanders kiwis... so, i'm joining the bandwagon) anwyays, that was my first day.

oh, and i'm staying at this place called "Funky Green Voyager" it's the best hostel that i've ever been at. i love it. there's so much character and there's also so much life to the place. if you have time look it up... i'm not sure how much info you'll get but it's my fav. place ever! i actually would love to own a place like that... seriously!

what else? i went on a long walk yesturday. it was nice, nothing really compared to greatness, but it was nice. everything out here is pretty expensive, so it's rather annoying... oh well! i also went to see a geyser today. i thought that if i'm here i may as well see a geyser. so, i went. it was cool again. but, nothing oh wow! but, some of the places have really interesting colors of water because of this sulphur... i mean like neon water! and, there were mud pools that were boiling. all the water just seems to boil. it kinda reminds me of when frodo falls head first into that swamp... that's what it reminds me of. kinda creepy but rather unique.

so, i'm off tomorrow afternoon... going straight to christchurch, and straight to the YWAM base as of now. i'm pretty excited. talk to you guys later!

missing you guys... just a little

hey dawite, nice to hear from you! no i would've been fine from the fish, don't worry i'm pretty tough... haha! how are you guys back at home? kume how are you? i read your card every day...

i'm getting a little homesick as you can see. i guess that's part of life, and i'll be tough enough to stick it through, it's just that i miss you guys... all of you and i wanted you to know that.

other than that things are alright though. i arived in auckland (NZ) today. and, as i was planning out the rest of my trip... all the good deals seemed to disapear. so, this was rather frustrating. so frustrating. ahh well, you live and you learn, and now i know to look for good deals when i have the chance. so, ya i'm going to rataruo tomorrow (not sure if that's the exact spelling... but oh well i'll switch it when i know for sure). i'm going on a bus line called nakedbus.com. it looks pretty good, and i thought that everyone would like the name! haha (i have no idea why they would name it that... but non the less it's funny). alright i'll stop my rambling. everythings going relatively well. feeling a bit run down lately. prayers would be much appreciated. just remember that i'm thinking of you guys... even though i'm across the world...

this little piggy went to the market...

so... the snorkling experience later turned out to be a burning experience as well. here i am red... and i wouldn't change it for the world. it was such a great expereince.

alright so i went to the market on saturday. it was really cool. there were all these shops and so much variety as well. they would sell fruit and vegies and then they would be selling jewlery and so forth. anyways, i bought a sarong and it's absolutely gorgeous. it's purple w/ white designes all over it... ya. that was really fun.

oh i almost forgot! i broke open a coconut w/ my friend ann out here. it was so fun. we had to hust it and crack it open and then we drank the milk and ate the coconut. it was one of the best experiences ever! ever! ann's really nice too. she's scotish and 30+. oh, it's just fun to meet so many people out here. i mean someone from everywhere. mainly english people though... as i guess they rack in the pounds ($).

what else? i went out to church this morning. really amazing experience. everyone was wearing white... and the singing! ahh i could have died right then and there. it was just out of this world. anyways, i could go on and on... but maybe tomorrow. hope that you're doing all doing well... i still want to hear from you.