Day 478-480: Ambury RP, New Zealand

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Wednesday, May 19th

We woke to yet another beautiful and sunny day in Auckland. We were amazed at the good run of weather we've had because by rights it should've been cold and wet, but instead it was sunny and warm. We had a lovely scrambled eggs breakfast, then spent most of the day doing research and reading with our feet sticking out a side window, soaking up the sun.

Just before 5pm we had a shower and then left for the Young Adult cell group (that’s us… regular young adults). We had to leave Ambury Farm earlier than we needed to because the gates of the park are locked at 6pm. The cell group didn't meet until 7:30pm so we drove into Manukau and found an Indian place where we enjoyed a delicious dinner.

When we tried to find the address our GPS couldn't locate it, so we sent a text to AJ asking for directions. By the end of dinner we still hadn't gotten a reply, so we set of trying to find their place without help (later we found that AJ had indeed sent the text but we never got it). As we were driving around it got tense between us, because we had different ideas of where to go so we ended up pretty irritated with each other. We almost called it a night and went home, and that would’ve been just what the devil wanted.

While still in this irritated state of disagreement we had an altercation with car full of Maoris. In Ferdi’s angry confusion about where to go he accidentally angered these guys and instead of just waving an apology, the sound of their curses (they were hanging out the car giving us the finger and screaming at the top of their lungs) angered him immensely and foolishly he turned the van at them so that they had to get out of the way or be driven off the road. Furiously they chased after us screaming death threats. We can’t blame them. It was an ugly scene. They must’ve yelled all their anger out because we gave them the slip very easily and we thank God for bringing a dangerous (not to mention stupid) situation to a safe conclusion even though certain parties behaved like a horse’s-ass

Back at church we tried to phone for directions but our credits ran out. Luckily AJ phoned back and we got the directions to their place. We finally arrived at our destination after what felt like forever and were rewarded with a great meeting. Together we prayed for Karinda and for their unborn baby. We prayed for work for those of us who need it (surprisingly it wasn’t just us two). It was great! Since we couldn’t get back into Ambury we stayed the night on Pastor Karel’s driveway. Ferdi is always very hard on himself when he makes mistakes, and tonight’s actions rank up there as one of the Top 10 Most Stupid things he’s ever done. Even so, God enabled him to forgive himself and not spend the whole night beating himself up about it.

Today's highlights:
1. A sunny and relaxing day.
2. Escaping the clutches of the angry gang.
3. Great cell group meeting.

Thought for the day:
Why do we humans seem unable to continue to serve the one true God and instead start chasing gods that can do nothing for us, gods like money, power, status? This same thing seem to have happened all through the Old Testament. God saves His people, but soon they turn to false gods.

Thursday, May 20th

During the night Talita suffered a terrible coughing fit that kept us awake for what felt like hours. When dawn came around a great blanket of fog covered the low-lands before us. We had breakfast with AJ, Karel and Marinda and spent the early morning sharing our story with them in more detail. Pastor Karel phoned Helena, a member of the congregation who owns a television production company, and we arranged to meet at 11am.

We were very excited. We met with Helena at her home/office in east Auckland, not far from Howick (which some Kiwi's call Little Jo'burg and some SAffers refer to as Howick-fontein because of all the SAffers that live there). She was very keen to help us and showed us around the place. After getting to know each other better we agreed to meet with an immigration lawyer (another member of the congregation) the following day and run through things in more detail.

Cautiously excited we drove to Browns Bay where we opened our first NZ bank account, then visited the cutest kittens at the pet shop. Talita nearly melted when a little black kitten came to say hi to her. We enjoyed lunch by the wet beach and then paid a visited to Mel and Keira.

We left Browns Bay too late and got stuck in terrible traffic (caused by the rain we presume). When we realized that we wouldn't make the 6pm gate closing time at Ambury we found a holiday park in Manukau where we had a shower and did a bit of laundry.

Today's highlights:
1. Meeting with Helena.
2. Our first NZ bank account.
3. Visiting Mel and Keira again.

Friday, May 21st

We got up early so as not to be late for our 10am meeting. We received a warm welcome at Helena's and met Walter, the immigration lawyer. He had a mind-boggling wealth of knowledge and ran us through the next few steps in our route to residency. By the time we left we were buzzing with excitement, almost unable to believe how quickly things have come together.

Back at Ambury it rained like crazy but cleared up as the afternoon progressed. We had a shower and then sent the exciting news home. We also met a guy that lives in a tent close to our camping spot called Jason. We've noticed him around and he's always alone, so Talita suggested we invite him around next time he walks past.

Today's highlights:
1. Exciting meeting with Helena and Walter.

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Photos

Hanging wet towels on an electric fence...
...you better watch out!