Fiji Vacation

Bula!! (Fijian greeting)
We could not have asked for a better week in Fiji. Our trip started off a little rough.. something was wrong with the plane's radar something or other, so we ended up being delayed about 4 hours. We did, however get 2 free meals out of it, so in the end it was good :) We arrived in Fiji and were greeted by our hostel's shuttle service. We spent our first and last nights on the main island in Nadi (pronounced Nandi). The morning of the second day we were shuttled from our hostel to catch the Amberley(boat taxi) from Lautoka about 30 minutes from our hostel. We had a 1.5 hour ride to Waya Island--apart from being a little choppy, the views were incredible! We arrived to Octopus resort and were greeted by the staff there with a welcome song and a refreshing glass of some sort of tropical fruit juice :) Each day the resort had different activities that we were welcome to take part of, some were free, others were not.. we stuck to the free ones (: Saturday we mostly just sat on the beach, and in the afternoon we learned how to weave bracelets out of pandanus leaves. Sunday, Mariel and I went to the local village to attend the church service. It was completely in Fijian, but it was still interesting and a good reminder that we all are worshipping the same exact God, just in different ways. The rest of the day we spent on the beach. Monday we rented snorkle gear for 5 fijian dollars and spent a lot of time in the water. There was a reef literally right off the shore- i felt like i was on finding nemo :) Tuesday we went to the village- went on a "tour" participated in a Kava ceremony, and visited the "craft market" the women all come to put out blankets and cover them with things they've made to sell. Great souvenirs! They offered jewelry making in the afternoon but i chose to keep reading. I managed to read 3 books in 4 days. ahhh.. I LOVE VACATION! The final morning we spent soaking up our last bit of sun, before our boat taxi left at 2pm. This was an all inclusive deal, so each day breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at certain times. Sometimes it was buffet and sometimes it was a sit down meal. The food was exceptional and the people there were just SO friendly. About 1/3 of the 340 or so people who live in the nearby village are employed by Octopus resort. The children on the Island go to a boarding school nearby so each Sunday they all pile in to one of the resorts boats and are taken over for the week. We had fresh flowers on our beds each day after the ladies came in to make them. Time really did seem to stand still while we were there. I can't put into words how beautiful it really was an how relaxe we were when we left...

Sidenote-- I'm consiering joining the Amish in light of my camera screen breaking on me while we were there. It seems to me that every piece of technology I have has now broken, so maybe God's trying to tell me something.. :) I was still able to get some good pictures tho! I wish i could share them here, I will try my best.

But for now, let the studying continute!! I already had one final and I have 3 more to go! I have one on Monday, Friday, and the following Thursday--prayers are appreciated! There is a cold front goign through the area right now, so it's back to sweatshirts and mittens, but hopefully our last weeks here will be warm before coming home to the cold! I hope you all have a great week!

Leavin' on a jetplane... TO FIJI!!

Oh, look! Another week is gone! This week was again filled with homework, and trying not to get wet in all the rain! We have had off and on patches of nice weather, but it still rained quite a bit! I was able to spend about an hour at Albert park ( right next to campus) laying in the grass under the sun on Thursday afternoon..There was a guy playing his guitar and singing about 20 feet from me.. I can't think of a better way I could have spent that hour!! :)

The city buses were on strike for just over a week, but the strike ended this week so we were able to take the bus to the Otara Markets, about 40 minutes away. It was a fun way to spend the morning buying souvenirs and experiencing a different part of the culture here in Auckland.

I'm finishing up my final paper of the semester right now and it feels great! I can spend the rest of my free time this week starting to study for finals! Hopefully the weather will be nice so I can spend more time at the park this week!

Friday we leave for Fiji. I thought this day would never come! We've been talking about it and looking forward to it since we got back from our south island trip! We are staying 2 nights in Nadi (on the main Island) and 4 nights on Waya Island on Likuliku Bay. Here's a map of where i'll be and a picture of the beach we're staying at for you to be jealous of... :o)





We leave Friday after classes ( which is Thursday night for you all ) Please pray for safety as we travel! We will have limited internet access while we are there however I do not think we will have cell reception except for when we're on the main island. Our "to do" list consists of: laying on the beach while reading and studying for finals. There is a lot to do at the place we're staying if you want to check it out here's the link! www.octopusresort.com

I also want to thank you all for the mail that you send. :) It really has made me feel loved and missed back home! I have consistently received mail while I've been here and it always makes my day when I open up our mailbox and find envelopes inside :) I love you all and can't wait to post again when we get back!

The countdown has reached 29 days...

Blessings to you all!

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:8-12

approaching the finish line

The end of classes is almost here.. we have the remainder of this week and all of next week and that's it! I have one assignment and one paper to write and then it's time to study for finals! Next friday we leave for Fiji until the following Thursday, and since it is still rainy and cold here in Auckland, we are VERY MUCH ready to leave :)

I probably shouldn't be counting the days.. but only 36 left... :( Apart from the one week of travelling we have left, we're pretty much staying in Auckland. The final exam period lasts for about 4 weeks, and from what we've heard, we're going to need all that time for studying!!

This past week was extremely busy for me, I had 2 rather large papers due and a long weekend of working on stats. they keep trying to tell us we'll use this knowledge in statistics in our everyday lives, but i don't believe them! :) i'm the only person i know that has taken this long to complete the assignment, but the good news is that i'm nearly finished :) the bad news is that my saturday this week will be spent at an 8 hour workshop in preparation for the final :(

I got my laptop back but they were not able to revive it. On the upside, they were able to back up my pictures for me :)

That's about it. Prayers are always appreciated :) We're still trying to enjoy every moment we're here:) I love you and miss you all and I can't wait to see you all soon!

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." --Acts 20:24

Rain, Rain GO AWAY.

Well to be completely honest it's been a pretty crappy week. The weather has been nasty-probably due to the Tsunami that hit Samoa and American Samoa and Tonga- while i'm thinking about it, remember all those people in your prayers! New Zealand lives were lost in the tragedy as well as a lot of relatives and friends of many people from our University! but the weather just doesn't seem to want to let up, and I could use some sunshine in my life :)

Mariel and I opted out of a fun weekend staying on Rakino (an Island about 40 minutes away by boat) We both have a lot of work due this week and I had a workshop on Saturday that i needed to go to for Stats.

We did, however, spend a fun night out in Auckland this week while Jillian was still here! We went to see Mama Mia!! Tickets were ridiculously cheap- under $40USD and we had decent seats! Following that we got giapo ice cream and walked back to our apartment in the rain... i will now be singing those songs in my head for a good month most likely....

anyways, I'm sorry i don't have much exciting news to report this week, but the next weekends are going to be spent here in Auckland preparing for exams. We booked one last trip at the end of classes before the exam period begins.... TO FIJI!! The mere thought of lying on a beach in the warm sun with a good book in hand is what is keeping me motivated in my school work.. SO, that's that. 3 more weeks of hard work will pay off in the end! 12 more days of classes, 19 days til Fiji, and 43 short days til I'll be flying home :)

oh, and I havne't heard from the computer place yet, so hopefully this week i'll have it back. even tho it's broken for good, i'm hoping and praying they were able to remove the pictures from my hard drive!!

blessings! have a great week!