Mother and Son Make The World Their Classroom for a School Year: January 18, 2015 (Queenstown, AU)

This morning I was woken like someone was looking at me almost. I rolled over to see what was there and it was the sun barely rising on the other side of the mountains across the lake from our hotel. It left the mountains in silhouette and was so beautiful. Every few minutes I would be moved to look back at it until around 7 a.m. the sun broke out over the top of the mountain and it was just completely majestic. I got out of bed and stepped onto the balcony and took the photo below. It was just magical- like I was in middle earth, like I had crossed into this magical dimension that made me question where was I. I stood on the balcony taking in those early morning rays and the stillness of the water and just felt so blessed to be where I stood at that moment.

The weather changed so many times today from bright and sunny to cloudy and breezy, to rainy, to calm and still. This is what everyone has said about NZ, never leave without layers since the weather changes from minute to minute.

We caught a ride into town to where the little branch of the LDS church was. It was such a small building, there were only about 8 adults from the branch with their kids and then 4 of us visitors. They asked Sam as a deacon in the Priesthood to pass the Sacrament at the branch. I was asked to give the opening prayer. 2 of the other visitors were asked to speak and bear their testimonies and then one of the missionaries spoke as well. It was a great example of how in our church everyone is asked to pitch in and it makes going to church, especially out of the country and small branches, exciting since you never know how you will be needed each Sunday. The woman who spoke was Australian and relayed a story of going to one of the scenic Fjords this past week and how she had met an English woman who was also a mature woman traveling alone. She mentioned how the woman was dyeing of Cancer and had a year to live. She said how she was so impressed with this woman and how she wasn’t wasting a minute of her last few months on earth. The woman speaking told how they had really meaningful conversations while they were on this overnight trip and how she was able to share her knowledge and beliefs regarding life after death and how this was a great comfort to this woman. It just confirmed to me what I have seen throughout this year of traveling, that we are all hear for a reason, as we move through our lives and are open to truth and to others, we can grow and learn from each other and are placed in each others paths for a reason.

After the three meetings, where everyone was a participant since there were only a few of us, I offered to help support the fireside (special speaker with a spiritual message) they have having next Sunday night which we will be here for. They are having Devin Graham an extreme sport videographer speaking and inviting the community to hear him and have him share his story of faith and his career as the youtube sensation of action videos. www.youtube.com/devinssupertramp It just makes me realize the community that the church offers its members or anyone that wants to come to our church… provides an sense of family and support and community wherever you are in the world. I am so grateful and grateful that people are willing to pitch in and share their faith and experiences and that we can all grow from each other.

Jill Hacker was the Branch President’s wife and she offered after church to take us to the car rental place where we rented a car and then headed to Arrowtown. Arrowtown is just a charming little old mining town with old pubs and stables that have been converted into charming eating establishments at the base of steep green mountains. We had a delicious lunch outside in the afternoon sun and then walked about town where I bought a fedora to replace the one I had in Africa. It turned out to be a nice rain hat today, as the afternoon turned rainy as we walked around the Kiwi Bird Park.

At the Kiwi Bird Park we were able to finally see Kiwi birds, which I mentioned before are totally nocturnal. They had two enclosures with dark red lights that our eyes had to adjust to and then we were able to see them out and about picking through brush. We walked the park and although there were a few interesting birds, I don’t think any place will ever match up to World of Birds in South Africa. We were able to see some possums that hunt the Kiwis and they encouraged us to purchase items made from possums so that they could manage the possums since they are responsible for killing thousands of kiwis.

As we left the bird park it was raining really hard and we ran into the Caddyshack Indoor Mini-Golf Course to stay dry. It was awesome! The most elaborate mini-golf course I have ever been to. They had 5 pars since some of the “greens” had 4 levels and all kind of contraptions. We had a fun round and Sam beat me… well done. We made it back to our hotel just before 5:30 p.m. when Sam had a home school session with his teacher April. She has been very patient with us and our schedule since it was 9:30 pm. Saturday night in Utah while she taught Sam this evening. Thank you April!. Still raining, hope it clears for our Sky Dive tomorrow, and for our 5 day hike!

This evening after Sam had school we went into town for dinner. We ate at a funky Pizza Pub called Winnies. The rain finally lifted and while we were waiting on the pizza the ceiling literally cracked open and the roof opened up to the blue skies above. It was so awesome to feel the cool air of evening and blue skies while we ate inside this festive pizza pub. As we walked out from dinner around 9 p.m. there was a large group gathered right by the waterfront. An entertaining street performer put on a rather engaging and humorous show engaging the audience and ultimately riding a bike suspended on the top of a pole while juggling a knife, an apple which he took bites out of as he juggled and a fire stick. Fun show and lots of laughs along the way. Sam insisted that after we go for ice cream at Patagonias, ranked best ice cream in the area. I couldn't do it again tonight, but Sam went for his favorite Banana Split and it was just as good as it was last night. We took our totally ghetto Sunny Nissan that we had rented today back to our "crib" and settled in the for the evening.