10th Week In New Zealand

Yesterday I ended my 10th week here in New Zealand. It will be my last full week here at the Marine Reach Base. This coming Friday, myself as well as many of my fellow DTS students will move to the M/V Pacific Hope (the Ship) for our last week of lectures. Once that week ends, we will officially be in the Outreach Phase... So Excited!

This past Thursday, my "Spec Ops" team, along with other student voulenteers, went to the Ship to do some painting. This was my second time painting on the Ship... I have a renewed dislike of marine grade paint. Though we got got a lot done, there will probably be some "touch-up" work for us once we get on board and certainly by the time we set sail to Auckland on the 16th of April.

The highlight of my week was a Team Trip to the Redwoods - Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotarua, New Zealand. Such a beautiful place, it reminds me a lot of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, with the addition of palm trees. We hiked about 13km in total, as we made our way up & down, and in & out of the forest reserve. We had so much fun, we make a great team!

After our hike, we headed back to the Tauranga area for dinner. We got some takeout in then walked to Mt. Maunganui beach to eat and watch the waves.

After this week, I just have to say that I have a new love for the beauty of this country and the God that made it all. So eager for what lays ahead!

Third Week In NZ: School and Fun

This past week has been really busy. However, it has been fun nonetheless.

The main DTS lectures this week covered "Hearing God's Voice." In the weekly Medical/Compassion Stream lectures, we covered vitals. I learned how to take blood pressure as well as calculate breathing and heart rates.

This past Wednesday the school scheduled a bug man to come and treat the place as normal bi-annual protocol. This meant that the main "Center" had to be clear of people for at least 4 hours.

So, in making sure that everyone was taken care of, we were given the afternoon away from base at Mt. Maunganui, just north of the city of Taurunga. At first a group of us hiked up to the summit of the mountain and had lunch, which we had pre-packed at breakfast. The views are amazing!

After lunch, we spent time down at the beach, though I soon left to trakdown a good fruit smoothie to reward my hiking efforts. Eventually I did take a quick dip in the ocean. There is a lot of seaweed there but, that is only part of the fun.

Mt. Maunganui is certainly a must see should you ever visit the area. Even if you, like me, are not into hiking and climbing, a once in a lifetime visit to the summit is totally worth the effort!