He's back!

Remember how my hubby left me for 9 days to go

down under?

Well...he's back!!

The trip was awesome

(I'm not going to lie I'm a little jealous I missed out on all the fun).

They learned a ton at the conference, got to network with some other pastors in New Zealand and got an overall lay of the land.

We are all so excited to see what God has in store for us in Tauranga!

Anyways, I wanted to share some pictures with you

of our future home :)

Isn't it beautiful?

This is of the beach in Tauranga, NZ

(the city we will be planting a church in).

Aaron and 2 other guys that went on the trip with him

hiked up "the Mount"

(that big mountain looking thing at the top of the picture)

their first day in Tauranga
.

They said it was the only clear and non rainy day they had in New Zealand.

Everything in New Zealand is super green and lush.

Apparently it's because it rains.

A lot.

Funny how that works.

(It pretty much n.e.v.e.r. rains in Orange County).

here's a view from the almost top of the Mount

Ah.

So pretty.

the boys

My hubby and 2 of our good friends that will be going to NZ with us

One tree hill in Auckland.

All those little white specks....

are sheep.

The boys also spent a few days in Sydney, Australia.

Aaron and I went to Sydney a few years ago for New Years.

It is such a fun city.

The kids and I missed Aaron so much while he was gone!

As soon as Mackenzie spotted Aaron across the airport she ran to him screaming,

"Daddy!!! Daddy!!! It's my Daddy!"

It was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

She loves her Daddy.

So do I :)

We are so glad to have you home babe!

Love you!

Going to New Zealand: The why

A couple people have brought to my attention

that I never really laid out the whole reason why we are moving to New Zealand.

I kind of addressed it here but I thought I'd elaborate a bit.

(If you are super confused right now go here to catch up.)

If you've ever been to New Zealand you know it's a beautiful country.

In fact it's probably the most beautiful country I have ever been to.

That's totally a perk but definitely not the reason we are going.

The reality is

people everywhere need Jesus.

The people in rural Africa,

the people in big city Asia,

my next door neighbor,

you, me

we are all in desperate need of a Savior.

The Bible says we are all sinners.

If you are anything like me, you know this is true.

Since God is holy and perfect and just

and we are not

we are separated from God.

No matter how many good deeds we do

we can never measure up to God's standard.

And since God is a good and just judge

He can't let anyone into heaven who doesn't measure up.

Your probably thinking ok...

this is BAD news.

And it is.

We all deserve to go to hell.

Sin=death (Romans 6:23)

But thankfully it doesn't end there.

God, is his grace, sent his son Jesus

who was fully God and fully man

to the earth.

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life

the life that we, in our sin, could never live.

Then he died, a sinner's death, on the cross

in our place

exchanging our sin with his holiness.

Then three days after He died and was buried

He rose from the dead!!

He did all of this so that we could be in relationship with Him and

spend eternity with God in heaven.

And He did this all by His grace

because He loves us

so. so. so. much.

And that's what it's all about.

Jesus has so radically changed my life

that I want to tell everyone about Him.

He is far too good to keep to myself.

I remember when I first became a Christian,

I was angry

at all the people who knew the Lord

and never told me about Him.

Angry that they assumed I already knew Him

or were too ashamed to tell me

or whatever reason they had to for keeping the Good News to themselves.

I don't know what I would do without Christ.

He is the best thing that ever happened to me.

He is what gives my life meaning.

He is worth everything to me.

Nothing compares to knowing Him.

And because of all these things and more

I can't help but tell everyone I know about Him.

So that's why we are going to New Zealand.

To tell people about Jesus and start a church.

Because the Gospel is way too good to keep to myself.

Still not sure what the "Gospel" or "Good News" is?

Go here for a more detailed explanation or feel free to email me with any questions.

I'd love to talk :)

The wait is over

It was so fun to see all of your guesses as to where we will be going.

And a few of you guessed correctly!

We are praying, planning and preparing to go to

Tauranga, New Zealand

in early 2012.

The plan is to spend the next year and a half

seeking the Lord,

paying off debt,

raising support,

praying, praying, praying,

growing in the Lord and His Word (the Bible),

learning,

being pruned and taught,

etc., etc., etc.

I am excited

and scared

and everything else in between.

I can't wait to see what God is going to use us to do for His Kingdom.

And I'm so humbled by the fact that He chooses to use sinful, broken nobody's like us to carry out His will.

More details on our journey as they come :)

Picture of Tauranga, New Zealand

Some interesting facts about New Zealand:

-New Zealand means, "Land of the long white cloud"

-They have more sheep than people.

There are 9 sheep to every human in NZ.

-A "kiwi" is New Zealand’s native flightless bird as well as the slang term for a New Zealander. Kiwis call the fruit “kiwifruit” or Chinese Gooseberries.

-NZ is the first country to see the sunrise.

-The awesome movie series "Lord of the Rings" was filmed entirely in NZ.

-Bungee jumping originated in NZ.

Can you guess where we are going?

Here are some pictures of the country

(yes country)

we are preparing to go to.

Can you guess which country it is?

Come back tomorrow for the answer :)

Can't wait to hear your guesses.

We are going

Over the past 5 months God has made it abundantly clear

that the Great Commission laid out in Matthew 28:19-20

is not something we as a family can take lightly.

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

So we are going.

Because Jesus said to.

It’s as simple as that.

2/3rds of the world's people don’t know Jesus.

And approximately 1.6 billion people have never heard the Gospel.

Not even one time.

And if we don’t go to

tell them

love them

serve them

who will?

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15

Stay tuned tomorrow and the next day to see where we are going :)