Sunday the 12th

Today is Sunday and we still haven’t gotten a chance to get internet. There is going to be a lot to read once I post everything. We have been in New Zealand for five days now. It’s been crazy getting everything settled. We haven’t adjusted to the time very well. At first we were sleeping hard anytime our heads hit the pillow, but now we are going to bed around 6 or 7pm and waking up at 4:30 or 5am. It’s very different from what we are used to, but almost everything is that way here.
We moved into our flat on Friday, which took the whole day. We bought some household essentials and a lot was given to us to borrow. That was a huge blessing because we didn’t have any towels, sheets, pillows or even a bed. They also let us borrow chairs, table, kitchenware and a fridge. God has truly taken care of us. We live close to the school, the markets, library, train station and a park. It seems the perfect place to be to get by without a car. We are renting one for just a week, which is over on Thursday.
We live in Papatoetoe which is the slums to most of Auckland. We didn’t think so when we first arrived, but when we saw the rest of Auckland and compared the two there was a big difference. There are a lot of Indians, Islanders, Samoan, and Asian that live here in Papatoetoe.
The family next door to us are the owners of the flat we are renting. The whole family have been working in our yard clearing bushes and overgrown plants. Dale went out and helped with picking up branches. It’s been a great chance to get to know them. They are very kind people and excited to have us here.
I’m very excited about the way they do laundry here, they hang it out to dry. We just hooked up the washer, so I’m excited to start hanging the laundry.
On Saturday we went to the Otara farmers market. In every booth each table was overflowing with all types of fruits and vegetables. It’s crazy how cheap and good it is. Almost everything else is very expensive. We then took a scenic drive to Karekare and went to a few overlooks. It‘s BEAUTIFUL! It has been raining every day that we’ve been here, but it rains for an hour or two and clears up.
Today we found a good fellowship of believers at a Wesley Methodist church just down the road from our flat. We enjoyed biscuits and a cup of tea after church with most of the congregation. It’s nice that we found a fellowship so close because we won’t have a car for several months. After church we caught up with an older couple that has been helping us with settling in and took a long tour of Auckland. There is so much to explore, we’ve decided to start with Auckland and work our way out. It’s a good thing we are here for two years, otherwise I don’t think we’d get the chance to discover everything that needs to be discovered.