Being Present.

I have arrived.

Whew.

I will admit that throughout the journey to New Zealand, I did not have the most positive of self-talk. My therapist would be horrified. Let's just say that the thirteen hour plane ride over (one of three flights within 24 hours) provided me with ample time to think over my decision to leave everything familiar behind. Every few hours, I would find myself having moments of panic. My breathing would quicken, my mind would begin to race, and I would doubt my decision to study abroad. Instead of being filled with excitement, I felt bogged down by concerns related to housing, banking, cell phones, customs, friendships, and independent travel. I missed my loved ones back home and was daunted by the knowledge that soon I would be out of easy contact.

When I consider the differences between in my thinking at the moment and that on the plane, I am struck by God's faithfulness. I heard at church a few days before leaving the States a question which has stuck with me. My pastor said, "Look back on your life and ask yourself: 'When has God not been faithful?'" As I look back even on the last four days, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for God's never-ending care.

The last four days have been wonderful, exhausting, stretching, and exhilarating. I have moved into an on-campus apartment, cooked my first meal on my own (scrambled eggs and barbecue sauce with a side of yogurt and muesli), and finally purchased a full-size towel. I have also met dozens of people from all over the world (including my flatmates from Australia and Germany), toured the lovely town of Christchurch, gone jet boating on a glacier-fed river, helped shear a sheep, climbed towering rocks at Castle Hill in gale-like winds, forded into a limestone cave at Cave Stream, visited the quaint town of Springfield, watched a sunset over the mountains, eaten too much, gazed on sites for scenes in Lord of the Rings and Narnia, learned how to use public transportation (thanks to my handy dandy bus card), and seen more sheep than I have in my entire life.

Through it all, I have never felt completely alone. God's presence is never far away in a land where mountains claw the sky and rivers rush with waters so blue you can scarcely believe they're real. While difficult times are certain to arrive at some point, I can only help but marvel at the vast scope of God's abilities. The same God who has always been faithful to guiding me created the wondrous country around me.

To Him be the glory.