Excuse Me, Sir . . .

"Excuse me, sir . . ." I heard the gentleman say, but I kept on walking. Put simply, I didn't want to be stopped. Yesterday we headed for the airport to finally head home. We got to the Qantas (believe it or not, there is no "u" after the "Q") desk to check in for our flight and the clerk warned us that if our carry on luggage was too heavy, then they would send us back downstairs to check it (apparently at an additional fee). "I suggest that you throw away anything that you don't want because it seems as though you might be a few kilos over weight." He then told us that they did random weighings of carry ons upstairs. "Great," we thought before heading upstairs. As Susan passed the clerk, the clerk said nothing. But then when Tyler went by the clerk, he was ordered to have his carry ons weighed. Being a good dad, I tried to bolt past Tyler in hopes of avoiding having my carry ons weighed (don't forget: he is a teenager now and he is taller than me). But the clerk instructed me, and then Amy too, to have our carry ons weighed. Somehow (hmmm?), we were under weight. We breathed a sigh of relief. But then when our carry ons were x-rayed, there was a new problem. Now if we only had two carry ons each, then I would not have felt so awkward, but when you have a few extra carry ons, then you stick out like a sore thumb. After a few minutes, however, the matter was resolved and we were free to go to the gates to board. Susan, Amy, and Tyler then boarded the plane without incident. But as I handed my ticket to the clerk and started walking down the corridor into the plane I heard, "Excuse me, sir . . . " I couldn't believe it, but I kept on walking in hopes that the man was not talking to me. "Excuse me, sir . . . " he politely said again, so I turned in his direction. "I'll have to do a random bag check on you, sir," he further stated. By the time he finished going through my four carry-ons (hey, we did have to add to our rock collection, you know), the plane was held up for a good ten minutes or so. Finally, after being personally searched, I was given the okay and proceeded down the corridor and into the plane. That is, until I reached the door of the plane. They then asked me my name and mandated that I produce my ticket again. Who knew that getting out of New Zealand would be so tough. We then left at around 8 p.m. on Sunday night, but arrived at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. How that works, I still don't know, but it was a memorable Sunday to say the least. And who was waiting for us at the airport? Good ole' Randy. And before long, we had a McDonald's Iced Vanilla coffee in our hands and we were driving on the right-side of the road again! It's weird to be in America again, but it sure is nice. And we look forward to seeing you guys soon. Thank you, for all the encouraging emails.

Kiwi Blessings

As much as we enjoyed the North and South Islands of New Zealand--we drove over 2,000 miles in our 12 days there--they did not compare to the friendships that we made with some very special Kiwis. We spent two nights with Dave and Melissa in Wellington and three nights with Andre, Annette, Nicki, and Caleb in Auckland. We didn't get too much sleep on those evenings, but we laid the foundation for some awesome friendships. We were totally blessed by their hospitality and friendship.

One Last Time

About two weeks ago, our tent's zipper got snagged and we were barely able to zip up the tent for the night. Thereafter, each night we carefully zipped up the tent only one time: when everyone was ready for bed. And we only unzipped it one time: when everyone was ready to get out of bed. Put simply, the tent was on its last leg. On our last night in the tent--in the very middle of the night--it began to rain. Since we place our tent on a tarp, we knew that the tarp had to be completely tucked under the tent, otherwise, the rain would begin to pool under the tent and began to seep through. So when I woke up and heard the rain, I knew that I needed to quickly tuck the tarp under the tent. But we faced a predicament: what if we couldn't zip up the tent again? As such, we opted to allow the water to pool under the tent. And, sure enough, before long, it started to come through the tent and onto our mats. Thankfully, it never got our sleeping bags wet. In the morning, we unzipped the tent and the zipper completely broke. It never ceases to amaze me how God watches over us in such seemingly, trivial matters. Don't forget to thank Him when you realize that He has been good to you.

What Kind of Kids Are We Raising?

As we pulled into our campground last night, I was beat. We had spent the bulk of the day driving and it was nearly 10 p.m. In this part of the world, people actually go to bed when it gets dark, so when you pull into a campground after dark, then you have to be super quiet. At any rate, as we pulled into the campground we saw something on the ground. It was rather small and, at first, we didn't know what it was. We thought that it might be a kiwi, but then we noticed that it was something else. Something we didn't even know that they had in New Zealand. It was a hedgehog! No sooner did we figure out what it was and Amy and Tyler jumped out of the car and started running through the previously quiet campground toward the hedgehog. The hedgehog noticed them running in its direction, so it started to run in the opposite direction. Before we knew it, Amy took off her sweatshirt (quicker than a cowboy could lasso a calf) and through it on top of the hedgehog. She then started to pick it up, but apparently thought better of it. Tyler, without blinking, immediately picked up his latest prize and quickly ran it over for a picture. "What kind of kids are we raising?" I jokingly said to Susan. Yes, it is safe to say that the late Steve Irvin had an impact upon Amy and Tyler. But someone far more impactful than the Crocodile Hunter has grasped their hearts.

Chased by a Sea Lion!

This trip has seen a lot of first for us. This was never so true as the other night when we were walking along the beach at dusk with some people who were from, of all places, Lincoln, Nebraska. (Isn’t the world a small place?) We just had spent some time with these folks while viewing penguins from a viewing station located just above the ocean in a town called Donedin (it’s pronounced "done eatin") and we were making the long trek across the beach back to the parking lot. As we were walking, we looked out into the waves and noticed that a sea lion was swimming parallel to us. It seemed as though he were following us. Just then Susan (who had been slightly behind us) caught up to us, and told us that the sea lion just had chased her and the other part of our group. Initially, I was a bit skeptical, but then the sea lion started swimming to shore. And then the sea lion started hopping along the sand toward us. (Believe it or not, they’re kind of fast in the sand–particularly when they are running at you.) So we started to run. "I told you," said Susan. Perhaps I’ve been to Sea World one too many times, but it seemed as though the sea lion was playing with us, for after we ran away, he then rolled on his back and sort of pretended to play dead. So we stopped again, and, sure enough, he chased us again. When we got away from him, he then rolled on his back and laid in the sand again. And then he chased us again . . . and again . . . and again all the way across the entire beach. Yes, we got away. And, no, we didn’t lose any fingers or toes, but it sure was fun to be chased by sea lion. I only wish I knew if he was playing or not.

Forecast: Showers

Five! Four! Three! Two! Yes, yes, we are counting down the days. No, not necessarily until we arrive back in America, but until the day that we get to shower in our own shower again. You see, we've grown just a tad bit tired of campground showers. In fact, today, Tyler said that he would gladly have taken a shower in the campground's facilities . . . 18 years ago. Yes, the old concrete slab had seen its better days quite some time ago (then again, maybe not). But you gotta do what you gotta do. Speaking of which, if you never have been camping before and have not had the privilege of taking a shower in a campground shower, then let me give you a few pointers. First, if you do not own a pair of flip flops, then make sure that you buy a good pair (or two . . . or three (just in case!)). If necessary, take out a line of credit on your house to buy some flip flops. Trust me, you won’t regret it and your lender will understand. And it may even be a tax write-off. And whatever you do, don’t call them thongs anymore. The meaning of that word has drastically changed in the past few years. Next, if you wear glasses, then do not bring them with you to the shower. No, the concern is not that you’ll loose your glasses, rather, the concern is that you’ll actually be able to see clearly what is in the shower. Third, if while showering you accidentally touch the wall, then rinse and repeat (and use chlorine bleach). If that doesn’t get the germs off, then amputation is always an alternative. (Don’t worry, young children have no idea what amputation means. They think that its that thing that takes you to the hospital. Come to think of it, if you touch the shower wall more than once, then just call an ambulance. The 911 operators will understand.) Fourth, if you happen to drop your bar of soap while in the shower, then leave immediately–the five second rule does not apply to bars of soap dropped in campground showers! Fifth, always make sure that the campground has hot showers. Some campgrounds try to pull a fast one and tell you that they have cold showers. A cold shower is nothing more than a garden hose hooked up to an ice chest (that’s an Esky, for my Aussie friends). So if you would not willingly have an ice chest dumped over your head (winning the Super Bowl is the only known exception to the rule), then don’t fall for the cold shower talk. Sixth, if you actually survive the shower, but drop your toothbrush on the ground on the way out of the stall, then kick it near the trash can and leave immediately. Whatever you do, do not touch the trash can, for it is the dirtiest item on the face of the planet--even dirtier than the shower you just got out of!! Last, but surely not least, if you have a convertible and can find a local car wash, then just go through it instead; it’s a lot safer and you'll be glad you avoided the campground shower altogether.

What a Day May Bring

When we woke up the other morning, it was raining and cold. Our plan was to simply hop into the car and make a quick stop at a place called Pancake Rocks. But then we noticed a sign for a hike along the beach, so we did that one first. On the hike we saw some dolphins leaping in the air (I thought they only did that at SeaWorld). With the rain lifting, we decided to do another hike. This time, we hiked along a beautiful river. The river was so beautiful that we decided to go kayaking up it. Before long, Susan was negotiating a great deal on the kayak rental: four kayaks for $25 for one hour. Not bad, huh! We then kayaked our way through the river and had a wonderful time that we will never forget. When we were done, it was almost 4:30 p.m. While we planned to be at our next campsite by that time, we had no regrets what the day had brought.

Feed My Lambs

As we pulled down an alley on the waterfront of the old historic town of Oamaru, New Zealand, we saw a wool warehouse. Inside was a man sorting the wool into various piles. It looked like it would make for a great picture, so we swung around to the front entrance of the warehouse and I dragged Tyler along as a prop. Once inside the small warehouse, I again saw the gentleman, so I thought that I would ask him a few questions about his trade. He told me that he sorted the different grades of wool into 60 different piles and that his role in the whole process was only a minor bit. Before long, I asked him a question: "I’m not sure if you are aware of the biblical account or not about Jesus telling Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep, but what is the difference between lambs and sheep?" "Lambs are nine months old and younger; sheep are older than nine months old," replied the man. Suddenly, I had a newfound appreciation for Jesus’ telling Peter first to feed his lambs, then to tend his sheep, and finally to feed his sheep. We chatted for a few more minutes before I exchanged Tyler for Amy as my new prop. We went on our way, no longer confused about the difference between a lamb and a sheep. And then Tyler made sure that we would never forget by saying, "Now it makes sense: ‘Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, not Mary had a little sheep, little sheep!"

A Friend of a Friend of a Friend

Leaving Australia was different. It was hard to believe that we were actually leaving and heading for New Zealand. Quite frankly, it kind of feels like we live in Australia now. At any rate, as we boarded the plane for Auckland, New Zealand, the only thing that we knew was that a friend of a friend of a friend was willing to store some of our bags for us until we finished traveling through New Zealand. When we landed in Auckland, which is on the north island (there are actually two islands--this was news to me!), it was about 80 degrees and a bit muggy. It was 4 p.m. After we went through customs and immigration, ate at McDonald's, and got our rental car, it was around 7 p.m. And then it started to rain. Thankfully, however, the family that was going to watch our bags for us, offered to let us stay at their house for a couple days. You talk about a God send! It was perfect. Better yet, our new hosts are absolutely wonderful people. We stayed up late talking before heading to bed. This is going to be an amazing visit.

One Last Trip Downtown

We made our last trip to downtown Sydney today. We leave for New Zealand tomorrow morning, so we wanted to just go see some of the sights one last time and pick up a couple refrigerator magnets, coffee mugs, etc. (you know, all that junk that you buy for some reason when you visit a foreign town). As I was sitting down on a bench looking at the Sydney Opera House, the old Phil Keaggy song came to mind: "Cherish the moment, cherish the thought. You may have never been this way before, and you may never be this way again." As much as we have enjoyed Australia, we are also well aware of the fact that we may never pass this way again. God truly has done wondrous works in and through us during this trip and should He call us to Australia, then we would happily come. But until then, we're going to enjoy our last few hours in Australia.