Narnia. I was there.

This is great, David (Tirian) posted all of my pics that I took near Elephant Rocks. I'm suddenly famous! The page has been viewed 3,132 times as of now!

I'll be having a autograph session upon my return to New Zealand.
No photographs without permission, please.

Winter in Idaho

I just can't be bothered with blogging here at home. I only mean in my home, of course, which boasts a 31.2 Kbps dial-up connection to the internet. However, I was just offered a job working for a broadband provider in the area. If I accept the position, we will acquire a more pleasing method of access to the world wide web. It sounds nice. Real nice.

Anyway! What I've been meaning to mention is that Idaho (and other areas of the States) is experiencing the coldest winter in 5 years! Hooray for me! Not only is this my THIRD winter in a row, it's the coldest of them all...colder, even, than Dunedin. Protest if you must, but the wind chill on the 7th of December, at 8:44am MST was -30 C/-22 F. Now that's cold.
At 8:13am MST on the 8th of December, the standing-air temp "skyrocketed" to a chilly -14.8 C/5.4 F.
And tonight we went carolling. It wasn't bad, though, as we spent time inside buildings (we deliver fruit and biscuit plates to some of the elderly of our congregation) and raced between being indoors and the warm vehicles.

On a rather exciting note, I've begun meeting people, again, for the first time. By this I mean people that I casually knew, or attended the same congregation I do, but I was too comfortable in my control zone to get to know them.
Kristi is 25 and is passionate about the Word; preaching the Word, reading the Word, submitting to and relying on the Word. She's leading a women's Bible study and I'm enjoying it entirely. She's also wondrously friendly, outgoing and talented as a musician. We're currenly working on lyrics for a gorgeous piece of piano music she's written.
Adam and Heidi are newcomers to my congregation. They have one son, Nathan, who is 19 mos old. He's adorable and is fluent in baby sign language. [It's a great frustration and stress reliever for all involved as there is no longer much need for grunting and screaming.] Adam and Heidi were immensely friendly when we first met and I instantly became comfortable around them, cracking jokes and poking fun back and forth with them.

I was able to spend Thursday catching up with Heather, finishing off the day with herself and her hubby David over dinner. Of course I feigned Kiwi-ness and played the tourist, "What's good at this restaurant? I want something American." I find I'm terribly confident faking the accent as I'm pretty sure I'd be able to answer the questions I hope I'd attract. There were none that night, but I hope there will be some sooon.

Went and saw the new Narnia movie last night. Excellent film! I just about flew out of my seat when "Aslan's Camp" scene began. On my last day on the South Island, Jon (who was an extra in the movie), took Dom and I to where that scene had been shot. I took heaps of pictures and shared them with my friends David and MaryBeth at the after-movie-party. There was authentic Turkish Delight there AND trivia questions about the book/movie. Sounds hardout, ay?
Well, it should. Because David has designed the wildly successful "World's #1 Non-Official Website" for the film: NarniaWeb.com. Producers, actors and other highly-involved-and-special people have kept up with the information on the site, and many have been in contact with David. I recommend checking it out. It's neat. Support it if you get the chance - David's a Christian AND he was homeschooled. How much more dorkycool can you get?! ;o)

Cinderella

I'm over visiting a good friend in Nampa, Idaho. I've known Jenna and her husband for about 4 years now and have babysat their three children. Jenna's coaching Mum and I how to supplement the income as an Ebay seller of baby and maternity clothing.
It's been really fun getting back together with friends. Before I left Dunendin, my friend Helen (who'd moved from England to marry a Kiwi man) asked me what it was that I'd missed about Idaho during the last year.
"Relationships," said I, "Definitely the people."
She nodded and said, "I miss 'history.' I miss telling a friend something and knowing that she understands exactly where I come from when I say it."
Aislinn has said, "All of our conversations stem from the thousands of little talks we've had..."

But I've discovered a newfound joy in developing relationships. In my God lessons about time, I realised that I can't have the relationships I want in a short amount of time. You just can't rush the unfolding of a personality. People, as ogres, are like onions. Lots of layers.

Home is good. And I miss everyone in New Zealand.