Choice, eh?

Hey everybody! It has been a while, probably the longest I have ever gone without internet actually.

To fill you in, we spent a week at New Zealand Student Life's Winter Retreat just outside Matamata, a small town of about 5,000 I think. It is technically, Hobbiton, or at least there is a sign that says it there! It was sweet as, bro. It started out a little slow for me, but it ended well, with some things and relationships culminating well. I got a good taste of New Zealand culture from the 100 or so New Zealand students there. They were from several campuses around the North Island, like Waikato, Auckland, and Wellington, which is where I am now. The Wellington staff/student interns were also there (STINTers), of which Chris Burton was one.

A couple cultural things of interest. They have a British accent with a twist here, and drive on the left side of the road; a very fun thing to figure out when you're crossing the street here. They say things like "sweet as" or "tired as" or any adjective followed by as, really. And, they also go the Canadian route a bit, by saying "eh?" at the end of things, rhetorically. The toilets, as far as I can tell don't flush the other way, but they are eco-friendly with two settings of water amount flushed.

The conference was like many American conferences. There were main speakers and worship at main meetings. They also had several seminars; one on post modernism that I particularly enjoyed. There was also an outreach event where all 150 of us hit the houses in Matamata and did door-to-door evangelism. Praise God, six people came to know Christ through it. It was rough going for me and my partner. We went to about fifteen houses, most of which were home, but made really quick excuses, such as, "It's raining." We did get to talk to two older ladies (the neighborhood was all older folks). It was very weird. For example, Rosie said she didn't know to the questions about who God and Christ are/were (a definite hard "in" to sharing the gospel). Pray for her if you'd like.

At the camp, we also had a lil' fun with a cartoon themed dance party, where, as I mentioned, about 10 project members made Care Bear shirts to wear. It was pretty bumpin' as, eh? Little known fact, Care Bears can bust a move. O, and one other sweet culture thing, they have like six meals a day here--breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper--so what more could you ask for; and, it is quite fitting for the home of Hobbits :P

Real quick, sorry this is so long, but a little about Wellington. We are currently bunked up in a hostel called Nomad's right in the heart of downtown Welly. It is very nice, and that is where I sit now using their internet. The city is expensive, but enjoyable, with coffee shops to your hearts content. I had a quiet time at Victoria St. Cafe today. The temperature is pretty cold, and a good amount of our project bought very expensive winter material today, but I have my trapper hat, so I am good to go :D We hit Victoria Uni's campus Monday, so we have the weekend to relax, as it is Friday here (18 hours ahead of central time, I think).

Peace out for now. Post a comment or email me what's going on (alex.etheridge@gmail.com), if you want.

-ae