Get me to the church on time...

Don't worry, there are no weddings planned. The title will become clear a few paragraphs on.

So we left Auckland with Samuel early (though not as early as planned) Saturday morning for a road trip to Palmerston North to visit some of the young folks from SU camp. Route took a little detour as we were close to Waitomo Caves, after a lot of begging and pleading directed at Sam, he caved in and took us to see the glow worms.

We arrived at the caves and got out the car, gathered our essentials for the tour and turned round to see this in the back seat...












That would be Sam's car keys, OOPS! We found that when breaking into a car in New Zealand people are very helpful, the ticket office supplied a hanger (apparently this happens a lot!), and after a wee prayer a mechanic appears next to us. I of course had already set everything up for him ;)

So at last we were ready to see the spectacular glow worms, and spectacular they were. I never thought a wee beastie could be soo beautiful, but it honestly felt like you were under the stars. I'm afraid we weren't allowed to take pictures so here's one I stole from the internet.



After Sam presented us with beautiful paua shell necklaces we got back on track to pick up Jason for another 5 hour trip to Nick's house. Might have been 4 hours but the boys seemed to struggle a bit with the AA's directions. ;P



We arrived at tea time, dropped our bags and headed out to pick up Leila. I assumed this was for dinner but the young folks, and Jenn, demonstrated some interesting moves on a skateboard before we finally hit the kebab shop for a munch.





Finally it was bedtime; we wanted a decent sleep before church on Sunday morning...





Up early, the boys made us pancakes with bacon and syrup for breakfast (we were to 'sit and look pretty' as we'd looked after them the previous week at camp. These young people are completely inspiring!), showered and dressed and we were ready to go. We'd been told church started at 10.45am, so were relieved when we pulled up at 10.50am to see the service didn't start till 11am!



Church had a nice feel about it, they were serving teas and rolls (Jenn commented on how nice it was that the congregation turned up early to have a bit of fellowship before the service, and naturally I agreed.) we had a chat with a few folks before taking a pew and preparing for worship. 11.05am and no minister, no one was even sitting down. But hey, they're quite laid back in NZ. 11.10am, we start to get a little restless, what's going on here. At quarter past Jenn jokes that maybe the service is finished. We have a giggle, before noticing the guitars have disappeared from the platform... I turn to a group behind us just in case... (I'm sure you can guess where this is going) AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH! Service is at 9.30am during summer holidays.

The boys then proceeded to plan the next couple of days out while Jenn and I sung our favourite worship songs. I'm not entirely sure what happened next, but suddenly Jenn and I had been exchanged for two 16 year old boys and were now heading to Rotorua on a family holiday.

Wow, this family are amazing. Just another example of the hospitality Jenn and I have been receiving since arriving in NZ. Jennifer and Murray treated us like their own children and showed us some of New Zealand's most beautiful landscapes. And 'ORSIM' ice creams!







We visited the Maori cultural museum and witnessed boiling mud pools and hot springs as well as the Maori show, starring the Soul Touchers! Hehe



It really was a fantastic few days touring and being well looked after by some of our new friends. If you’re ever in Scotland…

Make sure if you’re reading the blogs to leave a comment, they really are such an encouragement to Jenn and I!

Loads of love and blessings,

Laura <><