God is good!

Dear Friends and Family,

We are grateful to the Lord for his care and leading in our lives here in New Zealand. It is a scary thing to start a life in a place unknown to us and a way of life that is different than what we are used to. God has truly taken care of our needs and given us supportive friends. We could find things to complain about and dislike, but there is so much more to be thankful for. I don’t think we realized how big of a step we were taking by leaving all that we knew and were comfortable with. It’s a great experience and we are amazed with how things have turned out.

The Samoan family we are living with have been so gracious and wonderful to us. We weren’t sure if we would adjust well with the living situation, but it has worked out great so far. We are getting to know them better and have come to love them. Their kindness is a blessing and we enjoy their fellowship. Dale and I were talking a few nights ago about how amazing and cool it is to have so many friends of different nationalities. We wouldn’t trade anything for what God is teaching and leading us through.

The car we are borrowing was due back at the end of this week and we were starting to search out the possibilities we had for buying a car of our own. Sunday night we found out that we have the care for an extra two weeks longer. Also we found out that a reimbursement check from Dales job in Arkansas is coming to us. It is enough to cover the cost of buying a car. We are amazed at the timing of it all and we praise God for his continual care.

Dale is doing great at his job and he’s liking it more and more. It has been a rough start, but things are getting better now that he has a feel of it. He’s starting to feel like he’s making a difference in the lives of some of the kids. Not just in teaching them math, but in showing them that he really cares and that he‘s there for them. He plays basketball with them after school sometimes and he shows up at their rugby games, which most of the parents don’t even do that. Some of the other teachers advice to him was to think of the students as brats and himself as the boss. I don’t think Dale took their advice because he really is investing time into his kids.

A two week break is coming up soon, so everyone is looking forward to that. We are going up to the tip of the North Island for a week of fun at the beach. The Lamanus have a family beach house up there and they are letting us use it. We are taking Michel Walter and Merlynne with us. The Lamanus are the people we are living with. Michel Walter and Merlynne are the two oldest of the family.

I have finally made an appointment for a check up at the medical clinic. I don’t know the date yet because they have to mail me a letter telling me when it is. I called in today and gave all our information. They aren’t sure if a midwife is available and that’s why I have to wait for their response. I will get a personal midwife who will come to my house to do all the check ups. When I go into labor she will be there during the process but a doctor will deliver the baby. At least that is what I have understood it to be. They also are scheduling a scan (ultrasound) for me, which I am excited for. Everything has been going fine, just these past four days have been a bummer because I’ve been sick.

Lorri is learning all her animal sounds, which is so adorable. We want to start teaching her the sounds of the alphabet, but I don’t think she finds it as interesting as the animal sounds. We are excited for her first birthday coming up in a month. She will be a one year old! Crazy. Dale and I will have our three year anniversary too. Life is going by so fast.

Thank you for all your prayers and we hope you all are well!