Home Life

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller

We have been so blessed to staying in a home this summer. It has 5 bedrooms (although we only sleep in three), one bathroom (or "toilet" here in New Zealand), a kitchen, and a sunroom that is full of windows (which keeps our house either hot or cold, depending on the hour!). Sadly, there is no central heating, but Mangere Baptist Church has let us use some space heaters, which mainly helps in drying our clothes. We have a washer, but no dryer. The carpet has been torn up, so its wood floors (with some nails) throughout the house, which doesn't help in keep it warm! The house is across the street from Iosis, which is a community social service center. We will be able to volunteer with them soon. We don't have a ton of down time, but when we do, it's been fun to sit in the sunroom and chat, or curl up in our bunks and read. I've been reading a ton since I've gotten here, finishing Ted Dekker's Blink , and am almost finished with Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution and Francine Rivers' Lineage of Grace. So that has been exciting. We have divided up the chores and regular household life. We have cooking partners and rotate cooking responsibilities. It'll be a challenge, cooking on a budget and just cooking for 7 people in general. But fun! The food here is pretty great, similar to America, just smaller portions, and not as sweet. So I'm glad I have been enjoying everything so far. We also split all the chores, and I am "blessed" to be cleaning the bathroom weekly (cheers!). Our house is also surrounded by some beautiful plant life, including a poinsettia tree and a poisonous lily! So that's a glimpse into my living conditions. Definitely not able to complain, God has blessed with a great place to live!