Well, I'm home...

We got home at 2 in the morning, the snow made the roads really treacherous. but we made it safe! PRAISE JESUS! i'm so glad to be home with my family, friends, and everyone. The trip home was probably the longest day of my life: i left for the Palmy airport at 8 in the morning on Friday the 18th, got to LA at 6:30 am on Friday the 18th (international dateline). and got home at 2 am Saturday the 19th. The trip was made easier by the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the movies and people on the flight over the ocean, and the Byerleys picking me up for a few hours in LA.

I got to see my Dog! and she was excited to see me! Ben Olson braved the foot of snow and made it all the way out here! still waiting to see my nephews and nieces.

I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO happy to be home. but it is still sad to leave all the friends i've made over the last few months. there are so many jokes no one else understands, so many memories no one else shares. it is only fitting to end this blog with a mewithoutYou anecdote:

Such distance from our friends
Like the scratch across a lens
Made everything look wrong
From anywhere we stood

And our paper blew away
Before we'd left the bay
So half blind we wrote these songs
On sheets of salty wood

I'm in Auckland

Well, i'm finally on my way home! I believe this is what they call "bittersweet".

I hope it won't be too hard readjusting to normal life. i think i'll be fine. but i will definitely feel the absence of all the people i've spent my life with these last 3 months. hopefully i will see many of them again someday.

can't wait to see you all when i get home.

cheers!

-Charlie

Work is Done

I have finished my work with Arahina Training Center. Now i have one more week before i go home, so i'll be able to stick with the Pratts, go to the beach, and maybe try to learn to surf! yay!

Its hard to say goodbye. everyone is leaving, and its hard to say goodbye.

-charlie

V for Awesome

Ben Vickery came back!!!!

I was afraid that the end of term was going to be very boring, but its turned out to be great. With Ben coming back, and Josh's sisters coming, and a whole bunch of parties, its been a blast. one more week of term, and then we finnish work at Arahina!

Ben Vickery gave me his old iPod, so that is sweet. he is pretty much the man. he has to leaqve on wednesday though. oh well, 2 more weeks before i get back home!

-Chahoocharlie

3 more weeks

it has been a good trip, i've grown, i've changed, i've made friends here, but i can't wait to get home and worship at my own church. work is going well, we are almost into end of term cleaning. fun fun. pray that i won't get nervous about flying home. i sometimes get worried about finding my gates and checking in, and getting lost. lol. i'm sure i'll be fine.

-chahoocharlie

Light-switch

There is really only one difference between New Zealand and america, by wich i mean, all the differences fall under this one. and that is: the lights turn on when the switch is down, and off when the switch is up.

New Zealand really is beautiful. i'd like to come back, but not to marton. And yes mom, i finally got my hair cut...

Sam fulfills her lifelong dream of lying on a hedge after we finished weeding.

Peter Elder roasting a marshmellow.

From left to right: Peter Alexander, Josh Bryan and Ben Pratt

Peter Atama

Time for a haircut.

friends come, friends go

so you spend a couple months with people, all day every day. work, play, vacation, worship, pray, everything is done together for months. and then people leave. and it feels like your guts got ripped out. people you've known for 2 weeks become deep friends because you work alongside them, pray for them, worship with them, se them grow and change, and then they have to leave.

i think i can finnally begin to understand what its like to live at a training center for 5 years, or how my mom feels when we have to give away the foster babies we care for. now its time to learn how to trust God with everything.

-The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

-Charlie