this was a great day...truly spectacular! it started out with some of us waking up at 5:30 in the morning to go and watch the sunrise over the distant mountains and the ocean. it was glorious! started out a bit on the chilly side and it was a little touch and go on if the clouds would cover up the sun, but it turned out to be amazing. afterwards, we went back to the hostile and moved out. the fam and i headed over to Waitangi to meet up with one of the sweetest women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Patricia is the author of one of the books that we had to read for our area study class and she just went more in depth with the beginnings of New Zealand. she is so smart and inspiring. this woman has traveled by herself all around the world and at 80 years old, is still a spit fire with a passion for the Lord. very cool lady.
after our meeting with 'ole Patty, we headed out to eat lunch and see Marsden's Cross. another hsitory check for you, Marsden was the first european missionary to come to New Zealand. so we went out and saw his tombstone. it was sweet as! we had to do a little bit of a hike to get out there and once we reached it, it was on the hillside by a beach so we got to see some historical importance and soak up the sun a bit. After spending some time there frolicking around, we headed back to Paihia to board our "cruise."
this isnt your typical cruise, the boat we were going to be on used to be a ferry to transport cars. it is now a double-deck sea worthy vessel with all the amenities needed to have a great and comfortable time. the crew consisted of 6 members who were lively and friendly. along with the pacrim team, there were a handful of other passengers from different places of the world. once we boarded on The Rock, the crew members introduced to us a name game unlike any other I have ever played. the put a plastic duck in the water and we got to shoot at it with paintballs. it is by far the funnest name game i have ever played in all my years of life. unfortunately, i did not hit it...sorry dad, put you to shame! but it was fun none the less. after we all had a go at shooting at the duck, we hung around the boat playing pool, talking to the crew or other passengers, or just relaxing. after we anchored, we were given the opportunity to fish off the back of the boat. although i hadnt fished since i was a kid at peterson pond, i had a great time! fishing is something i can see myself doing more often...i love how relaxing it is and how rewarding it can be after you get a catch. i ended up catching 3 fish so that was pretty cool too.
unfortunately, none of the fish that we had caught were big enough to keep and eat...but that didnt stop us from feasting on steak and potatoes! and now to the coolest part of the weekend and one of the most fascinating times in my entire life thus far. once the sun went completely down, we were split up into groups and taken out on the water in kayaks. holy smokes folks...it was incredible. once we were out on the water and away from the boat, you could look up into the sky and see thousands upon thousands of stars. since the moon wasnt out, all we could see were the stars. we saw the milky way and two other galaxies...we saw several constellations outside of america's sky...it really made you feel small. i would lay back in my kayak and just stare up at the sky in awe of it all. i would have loved to photograph it but it would be impossible to take a picture on the kayak. guys, i wish i could just describe it to you so you would understand how fricken beautiful it was! imagine the most beautiful thing you have ever seen, and multiply that by 100. maybe it will be close.
another sweet as thing as we were out on the water, is that we were in water with phosphorescent algae. now im sure you are asking yourself, what the heck is phosphorescent algae?? well folks is this super sweet stuff that stores up energy from the sun, and then as it gets disturbed at night, it begins to glow. as i was in my kayak, i would stroke the water with my hand and it was like something out of the movie avatar. the small patch of water i touched would glow bright green. its unreal, its ethereal, its God. all i could think of is how creative and amazing our God is. to make something like glowing algae...its incredible. the work of his hands is just breath taking, to him be all the glory!
after we made our way back to the boat, i forced myself to face one of my biggest fears head on: i jumped into the open water and swam around. i was terrified the entire time, not gonna lie. who knows what the heck is swimming right under me?? after splashing around and freaking out a little bit, i warmed up with a hot cup of tea and slept like a rock
