life goes on...

How?
That is my question to you.... to myself.... and to God.....

Right now I feel I have bit off more than I can chew. I know I haven't but you know those days or weeks when you think back and you're like, wait what did I actually do.... That is how I feel. We just had another EARTHQUAKE tonight which is a bummer, it was 10km out of Oxford which is where I live it was a 4.4. Sucky is what it is. We went in all day yesterday to Christchurch to shovel silt again! I love helping but I am exhausted. My daily schedule is C-R-A-Z-Y... I have to physically write my weekly schedule in order to keep my life sane. I know it may sound worse than it is because honestly I love it! Thinking about it though and this past week we had teaching on evangelism from Joel Parker, he started the Nations Foundation. He was inspiring and made you think of your dreams and visions that God has given you. Then he asked about the fears you had and what would stop you, and thinking that it's not possible is what the enemy wants you to think. Which is true I guess I never though of it like that. When people ask me what my passion is I used to say cooking, which it still is but I guess you could say that this is one dream that I was blessed with. Now I have another passion just for people of everyday walks of life. Young, old, indian, kiwi, aussie, anything really. I love hearing peoples stories.
Praise the Lord this week is over. You know it's just been one of those weeks that you look back and say "wait what did I do?" Today is my 22nd birthday, I don't feel 22 but then again I do. I'm glad it's Saturday... Ok so correct me if I'm wrong but when you're 16 you get your license and people think ok, we can give them some more responsibility, then you turn 18 and gain more independence by going off to college or moving out, then 21 and you're finally an adult well then 22 hits and you should by the world standards be graduated from college and have some sort of idea about where you're going in life. Right? Well let me tell you my friends this is what I used to think. It's not true at all. For me I couldn't wait to be 22 because that's when people take you seriously because you're over the hump of being 21. Now that I am 22 granted it's the first day, but I don't have that view anymore. Age doesn't matter you can be wise when you're 6 or 13 and you can be lost when you're older. Who knows how life will turn out.
I was talking to my mom the other day and I think I have just gotten used to calling New Zealand home that it no longer feels like a vacation. It's life. We took the students to Christchurch yesterday and we were walking around the mall and I felt like this is real, it's not some holiday, it's real life. Because (let me explain this) when I'm home in the states, you walk around the store with a purpose because you're looking for something. Well when I would walk around the stores here it was really to kill time not because I was going to buy something. Yesterday I had that feeling though like, oh, I could get this, this and this and I know which stores have it or where to get it. Ok that was a poor description and I apologize I'll be real, I feel like a local and it is different. When I moved to little ol Argyle from Grand Marais I felt like an outsider because I was a local in Grand Marais and still to this day I am. When first in Argyle though it felt like if you don't know where to go or what to do then you're a foreigner. I know that's not how it is and smaller towns have something about them because you know everyone and everyone knows you and your mother. I guess coming from MN and the mindset was from a tourist town of there are new people always traveling through that you just don't care what everyone's up to but then in a smaller town you can't help yourself. Anyways here in NZ it is the mindset of MN where no one really cares because they have so many travelers through the year that you can't keep track of who's coming and going. It's fun being a local but you're a foreng. That's all I really have to say about that.
There's a kid here from Buffalo, MN and it's so great to hear the accent again and he made me realize the way he talks is how my brother talks. It is fun to talk about home with someone who knows what you're talking about. After a while you don't talk about home because you have to explain what you're talking about. It can make you homesick after a while. So yes that was nice to talk about home with someone who knows...
That's about all I got, I am going to spend my 22nd birthday in NZ by hopefully going to the beach or wherever my friends lead.
Peace...