Road Tripping!

After several days cleaning on the streets around Christchurch, I had to take a few days off to allow my hands to heal.  Although I felt guilty for taking this break while others still searched through rubble in hopes to find their loved ones, the blisters and splinters in my hands would not allow me to even wash my hair, let alone spend another day shoveling without gloves.

I am very grateful for my blisters though because they mean that I am still alive.  I was very blessed not to have been in Christchurch on the day of the earthquake.  One of my friends had asked me to accompany him into town to buy shoes, but since I was going shoeless for a week, I turned him down at the last moment to save my soles the pain of walking on hot blacktop all day.  Had I not, I would have been in the center of town when the earthquake hit, shaking the foundation of many of the historic buildings and toppling them to the ground.  God works in mysterious ways but I am very grateful for the way he protected me on February 22.

I am also very grateful for some things now that I took for granted before this experience.  Among this list are: running water, electricity, flushing toilets, basic food needs such as bread and eggs, petrol (gas), bus transportation, and family & friends.  All of these items are things that people in Christchurch are living without at the moment and may have to do without for several weeks or months, and yet, they still share everything they have with the volunteers as we help them clear their streets and yards.  Being here during this clean up stage has also made me very thankful for the gloves, wheelbarrows and covered handle tools that I know I would have back in the states.

Christchurch is still in shambles but the help continues to pour in.  As of today, Lincoln Uni is housing police officers and rescue workers from three different countries.  With all these additional people, the university had to find something to do with the students who arrived early for school.

And that’s why we’re going on a road trip.  As of this moment, the first day of school has been moved from February 28 to March 14^th.  In order to get the students off campus, Lincoln has asked the Kiwi students to go home if they can and organized a bus trip for the halls students around the south island.  This is an awesome opportunity for us because the uni is paying for the 2 buses and the transportation fees for the 100 students that signed up.  They have also purchased tents so we can camp in camp grounds/on the beach and arranged other accommodations at ridiculously low prices in backpackers/hostels.  Furthermore, we will have the opportunity to stay at the Otago Uni in Dunedin where their staff has arranged for a live band and large get together with their students which is sure to be a good time.

During this trip, we will go up to Kaikoura (B), Hammer Springs (C) and Nelson (D), Over to Hokitika (E), then down to Wanaka (F) and Queenstown (G) and then over to Dunedin (H)and back up to Lake Tekapo (I) before returning to Lincoln (J) on March 10^th. 

Please continue to pray for the people in Christchurch as they are still in desperate need of help. 

See ya again when I get home!


Cheers!