Beautiful New Zealand

I'm just finishing up a wonderful two weeks in New Zealand.  First time to this beautiful country was 1984.  Some places just stay with you, if you know what I mean, and this is one of them.  We have deep relationships here that have been life-forming.  So every time we're invited back, we know it's another treasure in the making.  And it has been so again.  We had a very quick jaunt around the country - Tauranga, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.  

Here's a small collection of photos: the light over the water in Tauranga was mesmerizing, and I just couldn't edit those photos out any more than I did (you should see how many didn't make it into the blog!).  On my birthday in Auckland (blog post about that a couple posts ago), we took the ferry into the city and visited a wonderful photo exhibition.  Christchurch is a city of valiant people - the earthquakes there have not completely overwhelmed them even though so many lives were lost, many homes now destroyed or unlivable, and the beautiful city centre completed fenced off.  Yet they still believe in their future and have a firm hope in spite of the difficult circumstances.  The rainbow and warm sunshine with the dark skies beyond speak of the magnitude of what they've faced and what they'll come to find.  Such a blessing to be able to be a part of lifting up their heads.