Pics: Motuaka, Abel Tasmen, NZ

I hitched a ride w/ Annette Shaskey's mom and dad and their pastor friend up to the north part of the South Island, to a town called Motuaka, near the famous national park called Abel Tasman. We had fun talks in the car, and I heard a great story about how the pastor guy met his wife. It went something like this. He was walking along a beach when he saw 3 girls coming towards him, and believed he heard God say to him, "You're going to marry the one in the middle." Well, shortly after, he went off to Asia to be a missionary. He prayed about what he heard for a long time. He came back once to meet her again, but somehow another guy joined in their only opportunity to be alone. So nothing was said. He went away again, back to Asia, and prayed about it more. Then he believed God told him to write her a letter, telling his feelings and asking her to marry him. Meanwhile, this girl, back in NZ, was praying about direction for her life, and she heard in her prayer-time, "You're going to get a letter from this guy in 3 weeks, and when you do, answer Yes." Well, the letter came, in the exact time it was foretold, and she answered Yes. She was the daughter of the president of the missions organization the young man was a part of, and later he became the president. Interesting enough, they figured out later that the exact day that the young man was prompted to write was the same day that she heard she was to say Yes.

The pictures here are mainly from Abel Tasmen Park. Beautiful jungly hikes around beaches. I felt like I was in a tropical rain forest. I stopped in one place where I saw some kids playing Cricket. Similar to our baseball. Kind of. I watched them for a bit and then I asked if I could play, and they said yes. We had lots of fun. I especially liked that they thought I was really good. I didn't tell them it was because I was a Big Kid, so I had an unfair size, strength, and sports experience advantage. Then I realized I had to make it back for my boat to pick me up... Walking would take an hour and then some, and I only had 40 min. I started to jog. I felt like Pocahontas, Indian Warrior Princess, running through the woods. My backpack broke, which added an extra challenge, but I can't say much because it was my $3 one I bought back in Bolivia. There were so many times, especially going uphill, that I wanted to stop, but I knew I had to catch that boat - it was the last one of the evening. So I kept going, 15 min, 20 min, 30, 35, I think I'm going to die. God, give me strength. Down the last hill, jumping a creek, pounding up a ridge and then, there it was, the beach where the boat would come! Thank you, Father! I collapsed on the sand and felt my lungs and heart thundering in my chest, trying to catch up. After recovering past the "i'm going to die stage" I took a swim in the freezing water, ouuuiiii! Only 5 min, but it was enough to cool me down and make me be real thankful for the warm sunshine. Then the boat came and I climbed on board. I was so glad I didn't have to camp there over night.