A thing about nature

4 February 2007

I’ve been very quiet for a few weeks now. Sorry guys and gals! In the following posts (Whenever they happen) I will tell you some stories of holidays in December and the “Levin Organic festival”

It does seem quite strange that I have to make apology for being very busy over the past month, I am living on an Island after all and they are notorious for laid back living. Truth be told, I have relaxed a lot from my old busy-bee self, but a little of that multi-tasking thing still remains.

It is quite surprising that in a place as beautiful and diverse as Wellington, I’ve longed for a place to be alone. I hoped for a place of solitude with only the comfort of trees whispering silence and streams lazily telling stories of yesteryear.

Today I found such a place. I walked over a steep hill and up a wooden staircase on the sun drenched hillside. Wild flowers smiled as I passed, beetles greeted me welcome as only they can. So here I am, surrounded by a forest of pines, enjoying the company of trees of many years. It is strange how close and approachable God feels in places like this. It must be the silence that never really stays silent. Even before we get started on all kinds of ritual and pomp to make Him feel welcome, He’s presence is announced in the rustling of leaves and the patterns of shadow that chase each other on the forest floor. Before we start to say all the wrong things in attempts to say “Hi”, He puts a finger to our lips as we are silenced by a sun drenched feather floating by. Instantly I know I’m not alone, and I prefer it that way!

And on this note I'll show you some of these friendly field flowers... I've waited for an opportunity to show off the micro photography I've been getting into lately. Enjoy!

The entrance to my forest... Yes it's real hehe

Actual Size

A little closer...
Some people are like the photo above... They seem to become more and more beautiful the closer you get to the

Spot the dewdrop

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So it starts

20 March 2006

And so this little adventure begins!

I suppose that some history regarding this adventure thing is in order! I will, however, cut down on the details a bit and keep some narrative splendour for the day of tomorrow.

In 2004 I enjoyed a pretty supernatural trip to the USA after which I had a liittle premonition that I would not be living in South Africa all my life. So in November 2005, when a good friend of mine told me he wanted to move to New Zealand and instantly, this journey began!

Now my friend, John Davidson, his wife Annelize and I are carried to the "land of the white cloud" on wings of grace... There are a million things to organise before we go, things to sell, people to tell and paperwork to complete. Agghhh the paperwork... TONS of the stuff.

We plan to arrive in New Zealand with no more than our 20kg's of luggage and stay for at least 3 months. With the help of a South-African expat at a New Zealand based employment agency we will be attending some interviews in the first few weeks after our arrival and trust that God will provide work for us as he has before! After this little job hunting excapade we have to organise work permits (which is a walk in the park if you have a job offer) and then navigate the gauntlet of Immigration's residency application. :-)

Seasons like this always have more implications than is immediately visible... Some of the sacrifices we make now in the hunt of a few dreams are really challenging but how do you put a price tag on the reward of living ones dream? One of the hardest things I have faced is seeing the unbelief and sadness flood a friends eyes after you tell them you have to leave. I have known some real lonely times so I treasure every single friend I have... O Lord of the Heavens, bless them and comfort them even now...

Sooo before I get way emotional I'll stop this little post with a quote (Pardon the plagiarism y'all)...

"Ends are new beginnings,
as one day soon you'll see,
the best is never over,
the best is yet to be!"

And sooo it begins.

This is what you look like when you have just purchased your plane tickets to brave the unknown… What a feeling!

John and I being, well, silly I guess…


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