Bollywood Bling!!!

Oh bollywood….I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with Bollywood. I know that before I came to New Zealand I had never seen a Bollywood film, however, since being here I have been exposed to this whole new world. Bollywood is crazy and outrageous. It is the Indian version of Hollywood, and just as big. The movies star casts that have numbers in the thousands, and are famous for their outlandish dance scenes and songs. The singing and dancing is distinct and you would certainly know when you were watching a Bollywood movie. They are hard to miss. Now, normally this isn’t something that would be normal on DTS. Our intention isn’t to get people excited about a new genre of movies. But…our fearless leader and captain Jeremy is borderline obsessed with Bollywood. He loves it, every bit of it. The dancing, the singing…he just cant get enough (that and techno music, but that’s a whole other story!) So in honor of the Captains return from his honeymoon, we as staff decided a Bollywood night was in order. And the Captain could not have agreed more! So we began to make the plans, a flyer to post all over the ship, plans for food, drinks, music, decorations, but most importantly…costumes. We made several trips to second hand stores to gather all of the necessary items. Bangles in all colors, crazy pants, and wraps, skirts, shirts, makeup, jewelry….it was all coming together quite nicely. Patty and Lauren and I spent hours sitting on the aft deck on Friday afternoon cutting up fruit for fruit kebabs, and making sure we had all the ingredients for fruit smoothies, while Dahvede and Hayley decorated the lounge for the party. We called it Bollywood Bling, and it looked the prom night with all the girls crowded around the mirror trying to perfect their hair and makeup to achieve the authentic Indian glamour. The night flew by as we laughed our faces off watching the Captain of our ship dance for hours, completely engrossed in the gloriousness of Bollywood Bling. We had drinks, cake and fruit galore and tons of pictures to document this party…with all the stress, sometimes you just need to have a party, and party we did!

DTS Staff...lovely aren't we?

A Weekend Away

Last Wednesday was a crazy day. It was the last minute scramble to get everything on board before the ship set sail. We were running errands, hitting up the grocery store, the op shop, blockbuster, and making sure all of the necessary goods were on board before the anchor was lifted. At around six o’clock on Wednesday night we threw off the lines and made way to Great Barrier Island. The sail was rough, but that didn’t stop our students from watching movies, and playing games well into the night. At about 9 the next morning we anchored in the bay outside of Orama Christian Camp on the island.
The next few days were filled with scary transport rides on our inflatable boat into the island. (we have to anchor several hundred yards offshore because the bay is so shallow!) We spent our mornings practicing our dramas for outreach and making new drama props to use in the islands. Our afternoons were free, allowing us to enjoy the amazingly beautiful camp that has been set up on the island. There are tons of hiking trails that take you all over the mostly self-contained island. Even though the water was rough the whole weekend it didn’t stop us from having a great time! We even had a big party on the ship…more on that later!

Me and Lauren and Patty waiting for a ride back to the ship!

On Sunday we packed up, and set sail at about 5 in the morning. After a stormy weekend, the sun broke through and the sail was one of the smoothest I have ever experienced. The ship was rocking less on the sail than it was at anchor! We were able to sit out on the bow as we made our way back down the coast to Tauranga. The sail was about 13 hours and the weather was beautiful the whole time. The sun was shining and the dolphins were jumping at the bow. It was breathtaking. It was a wonderful time for the students, staff and crew to rest and get ready for the next two months of outreach!

This is not the greatest picture of the camp, but you can see that it is right on the shore, and it is a beautiful, serene place! As you can see in the top right, our ship was pretty far from shore! The small dot in the middle of the picture is the inflatable Zodiac that took us back and forth!

Three weeks and counting

Ok... so its a little less than three weeks, but in approximately that amount of time we are going to be headed out for Samoa. The last few weeks have been insanely busy with fundraising and getting logistical details worked out, or at least attempting to. We are working hard on raising the extra funds needed for our teammates to go to the Solomon Islands. Because we are going to Samoa and the flights are less expensive we didn't have to raise extra funds, however, each of the students who are going to the Solomons have to raise $1000. So as a group we are needing to raise about $13,600. So far, we have about $6000.
We do car washes every weekend, sausage sizzles, bake sales, and various other fundraisers, but money is hard to come by. We are trusting God big time on this one!
Our other struggle right now is getting good contacts in the islands. Normally by this time we have a very good idea of what we are going to be doing, but the islands function on their own time schedule. We are working hard on finding places to stay and ministries to be involved with, but haven't had the greatest luck. I know it will all come together, probably at the very last minute! They work better when you just show up on the island ready to go...so that's what we plan to do! (As long as we know for sure that we have a place to stay!!!)
But that's just how we do things around here....it gives a whole new meaning to "Have faith!"

It's just like riding a bike....riiiiiight!

So we all know the phrase: "It's just like riding a bike!" We all know what it means when someone says that. It will come back to you, even if you haven't done it in ages.
Whoever said it....was wrong.
(Disclaimer: I cant remember a time in the last ten years, AT LEAST, that I was on a bicycle.)
I have been wanting a bike for awhile now. I'm not sure why. I don't particularly like riding bikes, and I certainly don't like"working out," but it seems as if many of my friends lately have been picking up and dusting off the old bikes to give the wheels a spin. So I thought I would participate.
After weeks of searching I found a bike to ride here in New Zealand, and launched off today, helmet and all. Those of you who know me well know that I hate all things that have to go on my head. Hats, helmets, everything.
I was quite ambitious. Believing truly that it would all come back...and its a bike...how hard can it be! ha
It did come back, after a few close calls with the pavement, trees, the ocean...
I just thought you might find it humorous, or perhaps even inspiring. Maybe you will get our your old bike and give it a try. Even though its a bit harder when you aren't 8 years old, it is still fun, and a great way to enjoy being outside.
I am not defeated. Tomorrow is a new day! I will get back on the bike and I will enjoy it...although I am not sure my legs....or tailbone (who knew!?) would agree!

Wash a Car, Save a Child!

My dear friend Patty has been volunteering with Marine Reach for 11 years, and this December she is leaving to be trained to work with Children at Risk. Over the last year, she has developed a passion to help rescue children who have been, or are at risked to be trafficked into the commercial sex trade. During our outreach to Thailand and Cambodia we were able to see the conditions that these girls, as young as 4 and 5 years old, are subjected to.
While in Cambodia we teamed with The Somaly Mam foundation. Somaly is a woman from Cambodia, formerly a victim of sexual abuse herself, who has dedicated her life to rescuing girls from brothels in the heart of Cambodia. This coming spring, Patty and our friend Hope are returning to Cambodia to do a bicycle tour to help raise money for the Somaly Mam Foundation. They are going to cycle 500 kilometers in 7 days all they way from Northern Cambodia to the coast. They have to raise $12,000 to be able to go. (All donations go directly to the Somaly Mam foundation!)
Because I have been to Cambodia, and met Somaly, I am also passionate about this issue and excited to be able to partner with Patty to raise money for these children. This last Saturday we decided to help support her in a practical way and have a car wash to raise money! We set up in a parking lot, and washed lots of cars! We also had a sausage sizzle for people who were hungry while we were washing! I spent the whole morning perfecting the art of the New Zealand Sausage Sizzle, while the students and Patty washed away!
We were able to raise almost $500 that morning! It was a great success, and lots of fun!
If you are interested in learning more about what Hope and Patty are doing in Cambodia, and after that when they move to Africa visit their blog at: th2africa.blogspot.com or for more information about the Somaly Mam foundation: www.somaly.org

Grilling sausages all day!!

Patty and Me!!!

My best friend here, Lauren!

Oh Happy Day!!!

My birthday was September 11th. It was my 21st birthday, and I was hoping that people wouldn't make it a huge deal. I'm not a big fan of big birthday celebrations in my honor. So I made sure to get up early in case there were any big suprises, I wanted to be prepared!


When I woke up, there was a note on my door from one of my small group girls. She had prepared a scavenger hunt for me and the first clue was on my door. Because I was up early, the ship was quiet, and I found my second and third clue quickly despite the fact that the notes were in broken english. (She is from Switzerland!)

Me and Caroline

Everyone started to wake up and my clues were hidden all over the ship. One was taped on a the higest point of the bow of the ship. I had to climb to find that one! And several of my clues were hidden with other students, I had to do nice things for them in order to get my next clue. This little adventure went on throughout the day, finally ending in my room which was full of all my favorite New Zealand candy. It was hidden EVERYWHERE and I am still working on finding it all. Every now and again I find some chocolate hidden in a t-shirt, or a stuck in between my curtains or up in the life jackets. It has been the gift that keeps on giving!


The director of the school took me out to lunch, and my good friend Patty took me out to coffee later in the day. I was really enjoying that my birthday had been lowkey! After Patty and I finished coffee she told me she had to pop into a restaurant to talk to one of her friends, (this isnt an unusual thing for her to do!) And when we went in, my three small group girls were in there waiting! We had a great small group dinner, plus Patty! And headed back to the ship. I must admit, I was glad my birthday had not been super celebrated and embarassing! When we walked on the ship it was so quiet, and because it was small group night, when everyone leaves the ship, I wasn't suprised. I had just mentioned how nice the quiet was when we walked into the dining hall and I was attacked with birthday balloons, streamers, party poppers, and a tray with cookies and candles!


So much for a quiet birthday....

I must say, I was truly suprised. And my best friend here, Lauren had worked hard to keep it that way! She had all my favorties. Favorite ice cream, favorite dessert, favorite movie. She did a great job! And the next day, her and I took all the leftovers, and the movie, and a laptop, and drove to the beach to enjoy a nice quiet birthday party!

All in all, I felt very loved, very celebrated, and very thankful that I have an amazing group of people here to hang out with me! I got lots of great presents, and even had my dear friend Josie from Ruel Foundation here to hang out with me! It was a fantastic 21st!

The dining hall during my party!

A very busy week with an even bigger announcement!

Ok, I must get better at this blogging thing. Its been too long since I updated you all on our crazy DTS life.
This week was week 5 of Lecture Phase, and we watched a video series on relationships by Dean Sherman. This would be the third time I have watched them, (11 hours!) and I must say that I learn something new every time I see them. It seems like three times would be a lot, but he is quite funny so that makes it ok.
The students were getting increasingly curious about outreach this week...they love to harass the staff about it, even when they know that we cant tell them anything. So on Wednesday we announced to them that there would be two teams. But instead of telling them where each team would be going and letting them choose, we gave them two random words and asked them to pray about which team they would be on. The words represented the two teams, but they didn't actually mean anything. The students had 2 days to pray about it, and on Friday morning they had to give us their choice. We then separated the votes and announced the teams. There are 15 students, and it ended up being 10 on one team, and 5 on another.
The team with 10 will be led by Lauren and Dahvede, and they will go to the Solomon Islands! And the team with 5 will be led by myself and Hayley, and we are going to Samoa!!!
We are so so excited about how it worked out, the teams are perfect! We will be in the islands for 4 weeks, before returning to New Zealand for a publicity tour of the South Island.
I was always sad when I thought about the possibility of leaving New Zealand without seeing the South Island, but now I am sooo excited because not only do I get to go, but we get to drive all the way from the tip of the North Island to the farthest point of the South Island and see many towns on the way, including Wellington and Christchurch!
The people in the deep South are some of the biggest supporters of Marine Reach, and many people don't know, but there is a ministry of Marine Reach called Farm Link there, that supports the ship ministry by raising cows and sheep and selling them for us! We are going to get to speak at tons of churches along the way, and be able to serve the people in the South who support us in a very practical way. We may even get to help out in some of the rearing and farming in the Southland. It is an awesome opportunity to see all of what Marine Reach does, and also to raise new support and awareness for the ministry and DTS.
We are excited to be able to share what we did in the islands with the people who supported us along the way!
That's all for now, but I will post more information as soon as we have the details finalized!!

Pictures of Our Home

The Stern
Four girls live in this room!! (this room is far to messy to pass room inspection!!!)
The entrance to the second deck of the ship
An outside view, gives a good perspective of how big the ship is.

When the Ship Comes In

This post officially comes to you from the Pacific Link! We are back on board our "home" for the next 8 weeks, and couldn't be more excited.
The ship sailed out of Auckland on Friday night with all of our students on board, and arrived safely in Tauranga after a 16 hour sail. The weather was great for them and the students were so excited to finally be on board! We were greeted at Salisbury wharf in Tauranga with a traditional Maori greeting and had about an hour ceremony for the ships crew to be able to share stories about the five month outreach to Fiji and Samoa. It was so exciting to see all of our crew friends again and hear thier awesome stories!
Today the directors of the ship, Mike and Jeannie Mears, are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, so we are all going to the party tonight where they will renew their vows and have a big celebration. They have been directing all of the ships activities and outreaches for the last 5 months so they are excited to have their family here to help them celebrate their return and anniversary. It has been a crazy busy weekend.
This coming week will be our first week of lectures on the ship. We are starting week 5 of lectures already! Its crazy, only 7 weeks of lecture after this and then we will be off on outreach. Keep praying for us as we work on outreach locations!

Seasons

Today I was thinking about the last year of my life. It has been 13 months since I first came to New Zealand, and although I have been home, it still feels like ages ago that I was living in Colorado. It is crazy how much things can change in a year, my sister has graduated from university, married and moved. That alone is a lot of change for one year! But she isnt the only one who has been busy, many of my family members have moved, some have had children...it seems like there is always something to celebrate. Sometimes it is hard to be so far removed from it all. But then I remember that this is just another season of life. An amazing friend of mine and I always joke that we live our life to a soundtrack. There seems to be a new mix of music to fit every transition in our lives. I have decided that life is better lived with a soundtrack, even if the transitions are a little rough, the music is just as beautiful in the next season as it was in the last. This is what has been on my mind lately, its a good reminder...

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build up,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace."

Find whatever season you are in in life, and embrace it, learn from it, get everything you can out of it, because seasons change quickly and often without notice.

Oh Community Living...

I love living in community. There are so many wonderful things about it! You always have a friend nearby, you always have big meals with lots of fun and good conversations, and you always have someone to talk to while showering! haha Its great.

The downside to community living: when someone gets sick.

When someone gets sick- we ALL get sick.

When I say all, I mean most. I am usually the lucky one. And I have a fabulous mom who taught me the secret of echinacea. This time, I wasnt so lucky. It always happens: Week three of DTS, everyone flys into New Zealand from the Northern Hemisphere, and they are shocked by how cold it is....and then everyone gets a cold. And I got it bad this time! I am completely voiceless, despite much echinacea, vitamin C, and tea. Luckily, I generally only suffer for 24 hrs! I am on the mend. Better luck next time around!!!!

On a more exciting note- one of the girls in my small group decided to get baptized today! It was a wonderful moment, all of us on the beach (dont let the pictures fool you, it was FREEZING!!!) with Caroline in a friends wetsuit, and our speaker for the week Femi. We only had to wade out about 8 feet from the beach to find a place deep enough to give her the plunge!

We had a blast, and I couldnt be more excited for her!

A new way to keep in touch...

Hello everyone! After much debate, I have decided to start a blog to help keep people updated on what we are up down here in New Zealand! Hopefully it will keep you more informed than my 'not often enough' newsletters and emails do....and I will be able to include the fun day to day things that never make it into my emails.
We are getting ready to start Week 3 of this DTS. Can you believe it!? Time goes so fast. The students are finally starting to loosen up and be themselves. (its always a bit awkward the first couple of weeks) Its still freezing cold here in Auckland. I could see my breath this morning in the dining room during breakfast. NOT my favorite! The ship will be back here in Auckland in 12 days! (hopefully!!) They still need about 35,000 dollars to fuel up in Fiji before they can sail back. With the price of fuel going up so fast they have struggled to find a place where they can fuel up affordably.
Other than that, not much new news! I will try to keep this blog updated with pictures and stories. I hope you all are doing well. I would love to hear from everyone so when you get a chance, send some email my way.
Much love,
Em