hasta la vista...

Jared made me watch Terminator Two...

and it scared me. :)

Did you know that James Cameron got the idea for Terminator when he had a dream about a machine like man coming out of a raging fire. freaky. I wonder if he had pickles or something before he went to sleep that night.

I promise that the Terminator is not the reason I have been absent from the blogosphere.

My mother in law has been staying with us while my father in law is in the Solomon Islands on a mission trip. He has had great success in that effort and feel free to keep that in your prayers.

I think I am going to update you by showing you pictures. I am going to post pictures of the house soon because it is finally finished, however with company and being out of town...i have to get it back in order before I snap photos and put them in cyber land.

Two weeks ago, Jared and I decided to go to the Farmer's Market that takes place weekly up the road. I thought I knew what to expect until I saw Purple Cauliflower, whole fish and very few people that spoke English. The vegetables were beautiful and the prices were even more beautiful. :) Grapes are usually $9.99 a kg and they had them for $3.99 a kg...i do believe I'll take that!!

There was a little old man with a beret playing his accordion while everyone was bustling around making a deal. He was so nice looking...until after I took this photo.

 

I had a hankering for something that tasted familiar. I made some buttermilk biscuits from scratch and we had breakfast for dinner Saturday night. Don't judge me...I just had biscuits. :)

I love the fact that people here play music all of the time. When you are around the square, you hear people playing and singing. At first, I would think people were yelling...and then I realize they are singing. A little boy in Wellington was playing the violin and was incredible!!! The last time I heard music on the square it was these young men who played a song that I loved. Listen to this...

                                                                  Love it my friends.

This weekend Jared had a conference in Wellington. He's ridden the train before (which I am jealous of) but since the conference lasted all weekend, we made a trip of it. We have great friends in Wellington. This time we stayed with Carl and Adeline. They are always so welcoming and we always have such a good time with them.

Friday morning we headed down. We got there around lunch time and stopped into Heavens pizza on Cuba Street. We ordered the Kiwi pizza. This was a pizza that had bacon, egg and cheese.

 In a word.. it was...interesting. Definitely not something that I would try again. Walking down Cuba Street and window shopping a bit, and it was time for Jared to walk to his conference.

This was my cue to head to Te Papa. Te Papa means 'our place' and is the National Museum of New Zealand.

I had about 4 and a half hours here and I needed every moment of it. The museum is free but there is a charge for an exhibit called 'Unveiled: Wedding Fashion throughout the Centuries'. The exhibit is on loan from the Royal Museum of London but I didn't make it that far.

As I sat at a cafe taking a break, I was joined by an American girl and a Frenchman at the counter. They were obviously on a date. Their conversation included the fact that she was depressed that New Zealand didn't actually have hobbits and that his religion revolved around the five demon days (which I know to be Ancient Egyptian in origin...thanks history teaching job). Random.

My favorite part of the conversation was this. When she continued talking about there being no hobbits, he said in a thick French accent, 'Well, at least there are a lot of sheeps!' And she said...'Yeah! Ships are nice!'

I almost fell off of my bar stool. I even pretended to look at a book on fashion while listening. Judge me if you will.

At Te Papa, there are many exhibits on the islands and geographical make up of New Zealand. Due to the Christchurch quakes and other quakes they have had before, they have an entire area devoted to earthquakes.

I experienced my first earthquake the other night. I was lying on the couch and it felt like Jared was behind the couch, shaking it as hard as he could. Nothing fell and it was over in a matter of seconds, but it was eerie none the less. So as I entered into this exhibit...I was a tad afraid.

They should have added 'the earth quake experience is when the exhibit you are in starts shaking and can be distressing.'

For example. I was sitting down while taking this video. The tv is a fixed object in the room. The shaking is real and symbolizes the way an earthquake in 1987 shook a New Zealand town. The light flash in the corner is from me trying catch myself and keep from falling off the seat. Enjoy!

We spent Saturday and Sunday with the church and going to Porirua services. Between services, Jared took me out to see where he grew up. There is a man renting his parents house that they still own and he works on the Lord of the Rings. He was quite short but I don't think I found a hobbit. :)

There was also a little boy playing outside at the other house Jared used to live in. Jared got to talk to him for a bit and tell him that he used to live there when he was a boy. That was really cool. We drove around Scorching Bay and up the Oriental Parade...it was beautiful. They say that 'You can't beat Wellington on a sunny day'. We had fun but we were glad to be home!!

I hope that you have had a great few weeks! Thanks for reading my blog...even though sometimes it's a little time in between posts!

em-ma

I think I am a magnet for people named Emma.

My sister in law is named Emma and yes, she is quite awesome. She is starting her law career in Brisbane, Australia; dresses like a super model and does Bikrim yoga in 115 degree rooms. She rocks.

I got to talk with her last night and that just compounded the thinking about another Emma that I have been doing.

Emma Featherston

I don't know why, but Mrs. Emma loved me. Mrs. Emma loved everybody. Everybody loved Mrs. Emma.

My earliest memory of her was going to her house to visit. She lived on a road I could never remember the name of, but I always knew that was Mrs. Emma's road.

Mrs. Emma liked for everyone to call her 'Em-ma'. It added pizazz...not that she needed any!

Mrs. Emma liked to sing. Hers was a very musical family in the first place and music and happiness seemed to follow her everywhere that she went.

Mrs. Emma made the best jalapeno cornbread...only she christened it with the name 'Hallelujah!' Cornbread. I desperately wish I had her recipe.

I grew up and went to college. I didn't get to see Em-ma a lot. I knew we were both growing older and my life quickly got so busy, so I never thought to take time to visit when I was home.

This summer, I went to visit Mrs. Emma in Crossville. She didn't live on 'Mrs. Emma's Road' anymore. She lived in a nursing home in the middle of town.

I had mentioned Mrs. Emma several times to Jared and I knew that he had to meet her. She was always trying to set me up with her grandson so I had to make sure she knew that I got a good one! She whole-heartedly approved and gave him some sage advice on how to treat a woman like me. lol. When we went to visit, we took our wedding invitation to her. She promised that if she was well enough she would be there. She asked me about letters that she had sent me when I went to Freed-Hardeman. She asked me if I remembered the verses that she wrote.

I tried very hard but could barely recall the letters even being received, having been so wrapped up in myself. It had been 5 years so maybe that would count for something.

I knew she had sent us an engagement card. In it, she apologized for her handwriting claiming that it was "strokey" but still as always concluded with the effervescent...'Love...Em-ma'

I felt that I would give anything to see those letters...to be able to recall the verses that she wrote to me of encouragement and wisdom.

She came to the wedding.

After the 'big kiss', Jared and I walked into our new life.

As a simple knee-jerk reaction, the moment I spotted Mrs. Emma by the door, I let go of Jared's hand, gave her a big hug and leaned down to kiss her cheek. I was so ecstatic to see her and I didn't know if she was going to get to come or not.

She hugged me tight and whispered...'you look beautiful!'

When she came through the receiving line, I leaned down and hugged her tightly. I was so honored that she had made the effort to be there. She handed us an envelope and told us not to open it until the next day. When we did, it was full of wisdom and loving words from her heart to ours.

That was the last time I got to see her.

Three days before we left to come to New Zealand, Mrs. Em-ma achieved her life long goal. She got to go home!! She got to join in with the magnificent singing and I guarantee you, her voice added to the glory.

But I have never felt the total mix of happiness and sadness so deeply at the same time.

I found a letter a few days after I got to New Zealand.

It was the one she had asked me about. The one she wrote me when I was at college. It was in my Bible.

We left the 9th of January 2012 and it was dated January 8th 2004.

It said:

Hi Rachel

You are a most special and strong Christian young lady. I admire you for your strong desire to do the things that are pleasing in His sight. God Bless You.

I love you.

Emma (alias Em-ma)

P.S. Good luck at Freed-Hardeman!

At the bottom of the letter were the verses she had mentioned.

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Psalm 146:5

Philippians 4:19

Look them up. They are pretty awesome. I didn't pay much attention to them when I received the letters in college, but don't you know...now that I am around the world, those words comfort me more than she ever would have thought. 

'Remember also your Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near where you will say 'I have no delight in them'.

'How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.' 

'And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ.'

Someone asked me recently who my greatest Christian influence has been. It seemed almost like an illogical question. I was born into a strong Christian family, blessed with strong Christian friends...everyone influenced me! But if I had to pick one...it was her.

She was always a quiet steady force reminding me that I could do it if I kept my faith in God and followed His desires for my life. Her constant encouragement means the world to me now. I see the pay off of kind words, even though they may be forgotten for a while, they will influence long after we go home to our reward.

Tell someone a few encouraging words and that God loves them. It would make Em-ma proud. :)

chocolate fish

it's 9 pm.

Jared went back into work for a bit to get things ready for the bus.

I am in bed.

I am drinking a mug of hot Choysa Tea. amazed.

I am fighting the ever present battle of keep Gizmo off the bed as his fur likes to make me yell 'Unclean!!' when I look at our freshly washed white sheets.

I am eating chocolate fish.

What are chocolate fish you may ask?

They are fish shaped marshmallows covered in chocolate.

Pretty self explanatory I guess.

I am teaching the 3 to 7 year old Bible class on Sunday and talking about Jesus cooking fish for his disciples. We usually try to provide a snack for them and of course my first thought was 'GOLDFISH CRACKERS!!'

They don't make those here. (which is depression worthy within itself)

So plan B...I decided to go with Chocolate fish. 

There is nothing like a three year old on a sugar high returning to their parents right? :) Getting to the point, i bought them for Bible class today and it seems like every time I pass the pantry I think 'This would be the perfect moment for a chocolate fish!' Pour a cuppa tea...you know what goes good with hot tea? Chocolate fish!!!'

It's a deadly struggle with a lesson learned...don't buy candy for class before Sunday :)

[side note: enough chocolate fish remain for the kiddos...I simply ate the ones who were broken enough. I put them out of their misery okay?]