Our House & 'Hood

Knowing nothing about New Zealand, and making our decision to come here quickly, we looked over some surf beach, beach houses available on Airbnb and decided on this one. I'm so glad we did. This little town (a post for another day) and our beach are fantastic, and our house is perfectly comfortable.

Our top floor, main room has windows on all sides, flooding the space with light and cross breezes. Our windows are always open. We do all of our schooling here, although Geoff keeps trying to take Shakespeare discussions to the beach.

We have three rooms and two bathrooms and a small backyard. A cleaning lady comes once a week. It is a great set up for our month-long stay.

Adele took a photo tour of our neighborhood and walk to the beach with Tennie. I'll include it here.

Looking down our street towards town. (Cars park on the grass here.)

And the other way, towards the corner where you turn left to the beach.

Around the corner and straight to the sea. These pictures make it look farther than it is. It is a short block. On the right, next to the white building (beach bathrooms and lifeguard quarters) is a great little restaurant and ice cream window. Ceci wants to go every day.

We walk right onto the gorgeous sand. Beyond Adele, the beach curves right and keeps on going, maybe for a half mile.

Here is Adele around the corner.

And as I've mentioned, sunsets in our neighborhood are consistently amazing.

Home sweet home, for now!

Unplugging From the World - Part 2

There is a contrasting side to all of my desires to live a simple life, away from all worldly care, as well as my love of travel and seeing new places and cultures and all of the beauty God has created. One or the other of these two contrasting ideas has occupied a good deal of my thoughts over the past months.

First, having a life of little or no commitments is pretty dreamy, but for me and what I want my life to be about, there are too many needs around me, at home and abroad, to self-indulgently isolate myself and not concern myself with the suffering of others, or deficits in culture, society or governments. I may not singlehandedly solve family, community or world problems, but I can certainly share my unique gifts and my time to help somehow.

That leads me to my second conundrum, travel. I love to travel with my family. It is one of our favorite things to do together. It opens our eyes to how people and cultures and governments are different, and how we are all the same in our love of family, a desire for freedom and equality, and our need to survive. It is amazing to see God's endless creations, and how more and more we are not careful stewards over them and the resources they provide. And having meaningful experiences together as a family creates unity and love through shared memory.

At the same time, travel is expensive. Here we have several months of travel planned, and yet we see that the children at the orphanage that we grew to love in Cambodia are in need of basic rice. We see that trash is a serious problem along a beautiful, pure archipelago. Children don't go to school after primary school on the island because there isn't enough money to build another building. We meet a woman barely feeding her children because the monthly rent of a tuk tuk is so expensive, but buying her own for $9000 is out of the question. The cost of an international trip or two could have serious impact on any one of these few issues.

In reality, our time and our means are God's. I've been asking myself if I am taking this truth seriously enough. Am I using my time and means in a way that is pleasing to Him? Am I too concerned about my own needs and wants and comforts that I'm not considering how He could use me as an instrument to help, even in a small way?

I'm not believing that God expects us to run ourselves dry or give ourselves poor. I believe a prayerful and deliberate balance and moderation is the right answer. However, I am realizing that I must be careful to give more emphasis to the prayer part, as it would be easy and natural to tip the scale a little more to my own comforts and conveniences!

I am grateful for these thoughts and observations. If this is the gift of this time together away from home, I will not let it be forgotten.

Unplugging From the World - Part 1

Nine years ago, when we spent a year in Southern France, it was like we disappeared from the world. We didn't have phones, we didn't know anyone, the girls weren't in school, and we were an hour from the nearest ward and had no commitments to serve in the church or community. We didn't have any local friends (except the homeless guy at the market who spoke English and the Italian fruit vendors at the fresh marché) and no nearby family. It was just us.

Geoff was sick at the time, I had just started the homeschooling adventure, and there were plenty of other challenges related to living abroad, but we had no outside responsibilities or commitments determining the use of our time or energy. While still very busy and full, life remained uncomplicated.

I was surprised to see the difference an absence of outside demands made on my own wellbeing and the dynamic in our family. Not only with regards to time and simplicity, but cultural expectations that drive us to urgency. At that time, I wondered at primary school grade level expectations. If a child takes his/her time learning a skill, such as reading for example, the cultural message is to work harder with flashcards, maybe a tutor, and you better hurry or he/she will fall behind, instead of allowing the child's brain to develop naturally, and trusting that it will.

When we moved to Geoff's parent's home for three and a half years, we had a few more responsibilities and we had some friends, but we still lived in a marvelous little bubble of happiness and simplicity. Still no phones, Geoff wasn't working, yet, and we lived in the country.

In Salt Lake, now home, life eventually revved up to full speed. We got phones, the girls went into school, Geoff began working again, we had busy church responsibilities, we have neighbor, friend and family relationships and commitments, and we live with city traffic and bustle. Often at home I don't feel I can be my best self. I feel like I'm on a fast train and want to get off to catch my breath, but there are no stops. I struggle to simplify life, I'm not successfully on top of things and I feel tired a lot.

I've wondered if this is because of those five years of life that seemed to move at a slower pace (although busy). Maybe I have an unrealistic expectation of life. Or maybe I just glimpsed what life could be like.

We came to New Zealand to spend that uninterrupted time together. No sights to see while at this beach and no commitments. I must admit it feels heavenly! For the first time in months we are on a bit of a schedule with getting some schoolwork done; we eat three meals a day again; we open the garage and ride our bikes a block to the beach; we have time to read or play games; we sit around and talk about things; we all meditate together before going to bed. My internal knots of stress and urgency are beginning to unravel.

I would desire this time for every family I know. Go somewhere remote, even if it isn't super far away, just far enough away from people you know. Stay for at least a month, maybe three, if you can swing it. Take time off of work and find replacements for your responsibilities in church, school or the community so your phone is silent, your inbox empty and your thoughts free. Limit screen time for everyone. Take a suitcase of good books and games and art supplies. Explore the area. Find local markets and rent bikes or scooters for the whole stay. Make sure there is outside space for kids to be free and explore their new, unfamiliar surroundings. Learn something new together: history, marine biology, astronomy, cooking new foods, a sport or watercolor. Let yourself and your kids feel bored. Kids turn to each other and their imaginations after awhile, and creative play really takes flight. And breathe for a good long time.

I'm beginning to see some things more clearly. Stepping away from one's reality in a calm and open way gives perspective. I still don't know what I can cut out at home, but I am grateful to be off the train for awhile, and to see more meaning in some of the commitments and people in my life. 

Going to Church

The nearest Mormon churches were an hour away in two different directions. We picked one and gladly took the Sunday drive through amazingly green pastures, over hilly terrain, with cows and sheep grazing and green mountains standing guard. We passed through a few beach towns, catching glimpses of the glorious coast.

We arrived an hour early (Geoff only looked up the starting time of ONE of the church options, the other one!), so to pass the time we found a nearby walking path and walked along until we reached an estuary.

Adele videoing Ceci in front of a kiwi orchard.

It was a small branch of the church with a large percentage of Tongan immigrants. This little branch embraces the Tongan member's culture by singing some of their hymns in Tongan, and the priesthood holders passing the sacrament were in their traditional clothing.

I love visiting our church meetings around the world. The light and goodness is the same, the faithful disciples of Christ are choosing to worship together and do their part to build the Lord's kingdom all over the world and in different cultures. Adele noted that Sunday School is the same all over the world - dreadful! Even those observations are insightful! Our many observations lead us to a lot of interesting discussions about how things could be different, and our own opportunities to have positive influence.

It was a wonderful Sabbath. 

New Zealand!

After a long day of travel (Phuket to Bangkok to Auckland) we arrived in New Zealand. Since we didn't have a departing ticket it took us about three hours to get out of the airport, finally walking out with a 3-month temporary visa. We rented our little car and made the 2-hour drive through gorgeous countryside and curvy "mountain" roads until we arrived in Whangamata, a small beach town on the East coast, where we plan to set up camp for the next three weeks.

We arrived to rain and dark clouds, but when there was a break we headed to the beach.

And since then, we've been at the beach playing in the waves and exploring the small town.

And collecting sea treasures...

And loving the sunsets...

The pace is slow here, and we've been taking a few days to relax and let it sink in that we get to be here for awhile. So far this little corner of New Zealand seems like a mixture of Oregon Coast and Hawaii with a lot of Irish green thrown in!

We ventured out to the grocery store and it took us about two hours to really scan the place for foods we could eat. It is pricey here! We're keeping things pretty simple.

We thought these Easter Kiwi bird chocolates were fun!

When we decided to come to New Zealand, everyone said we wouldn't want to leave. They were right!

Thailand - Part 2

The other bucket list item was mine - the Phi Phi islands. I actually thought these islands were right off the coast until I got to Thailand! We scheduled a tour through the hotel and had another 4:30AM wakeup for a 5:20AM pickup, this time to avoid the crowds.

Let me pause here to say that every once in awhile we get a reminder that Geoff's health is getting better and better. The fact that he has woken up at 4:30AM two times in just over a week, without loads of anxiety and loss of sleep, is a miracle!

We got to the marina around sunrise.

We got on a boat with about 35 other people, nice and smashed in for the hour-long ride.

And it was a good thing, too, because the seas were rough and it was a bumpy trip! We tried to take a selfie...

It was like an amusement ride, though. We had some good laughs and thrills!

At last we approached the Phi Phi Islands.

First stop was Maya Bay, arguably one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

This place receives 20,000 visitors EACH DAY! It was plenty crowded 8:30 in the morning when we finally got there. We went on a short walk across the island to see the views. Beautiful walk and view!

We went back to the bay to make an attempt at absorbing the stunning beauty of the green and cliffs, the crystal clear, aqua water and the softest sand (coral) I've ever felt.

I could have gone home after this brief stop and been perfectly happy. THIS is what I wanted to see! But there was more. Next stop was a small bay where we stopped for a quick swim. The water is perfectly cool. No matter how long we were in we didn't feel cold.

We drove past Vikings Cove where fisherman used to find refuge in storms and locals would look for bird's nests to eat (?). It is now closed off, but inside it is a football field long!

We went to a small cove on another island to snorkel. I don't like to snorkel. I don't like salt water, I don't like the feeling of breathing out of my mouth, and I don't like seeing a bunch of fish poo in the water! But surrounded by so much beauty, I figured if there was ever a hope of me liking it, this would be it. The water is perfectly temperate and amazingly clear, and the variety of fish I could see from the boat encouraged me in.

I left my phone on the boat and snorkeled with just a mask. Oh man! I was hooked! I'm still probably a fair weather snorkeler, but it was incredible!

Next stop was Monkey Island, which is covered by monkeys, and also loads of people.

We stopped at an island to hike up to a lookout. It was quite a climb! But the views were magnificent! Down behind Geoff, this strip of land was hit hard by the Tsunami in 2004. Waves came from both sides, killing thousands, 60% of which were tourists.

We saw this large spider (the size of Geoff's hand) on the way down!

Last stop was Bamboo Island where we had a late lunch and played around in the waves until we made the trip back. We got home around 6:00. It was a long but incredible day. It all left us wishing we had more time in Thailand!

We packed up and left for New Zealand the next day. So long Asia!