An Unexpected Extended Time in Kiwi-land!

Due to Covid-19 chaos around the world, our return home to Colombia has been delayed. Likely till early 2021. It took us some mental and emotional adjustments to having to stay put, but now we look back and see the blessing that it has been to have an extra long break with Angela's family here in New Zealand. Here are some pictures to summarize some of the things we've experienced over the past few months.

Experiencing Kiwi (the endearing term for a New Zealander) culture... picnic lunch after church at the beach:

Our alternative "Zoom" picture, Cedric's depiction of the Mount Bible Chapel's meeting during lockdown:

Over our many neighborhood walks over lockdown we got familiar with a pair of black swans who ended up having 3 cygnets, grateful for a nature walk nearby during our weeks of isolation:

 The first weekend outing after lockdown was lifted was to Angela's hometown of Gisborne to visit her aunt and uncle:

 

 

First stop on our trip to the South Island was the capital city of Wellington where Angela's nephew studies. This is on the steps of the parliament buildings just before our tour inside:

We drove right down to the bottom tip of the South Island. Visiting churches and friends along the way:

In Invercargill we met a number of Colombian immigrants, newly settled in that remote city. Bill has been able to have several Bible studies with them long distance over the months we've been here and it was great to be able to meet them in person and fellowship over God's word:

 

The South Island has spectacular scenery, my photography skills don't do it justice. From mountains to beaches to farmlands, it's all stunning. Here we are at the Moeraki Boulders:

And on the 3 hour ferry ride between the two islands - much of the ride is in the Marlborough Sounds:

On the west coast in the town of Greymouth, we went there on the TransAlpine train departing from the city of Christchurch:

Best friends since high school days... shivering on top of a Christchurch mountainside with Leasa (in July it's winter in the southern hemisphere):

August has included celebrating my dad's birthday with him:

Geocaching with my niece:

Visiting a church and making new friends in the city of Hastings:

Track meets and fun "mud" runs in the rain for Cedric:

And frequent, beautiful reminders of God's love and care:

Time Away With Family in New Zealand!

 Angela's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in January and we were so glad to share the special event with everyone!

 Our extended family: parents and Nesbitts live in New Zealand, Jr. Yarralls live in England and the Loudons in Colombia. So it's always quite an amazing gift when we can spend time all together.

Cedric has loved getting to know his cousins and grandparents better.

 This break away from Colombia has been long enough to enroll Cedric in Bethlehem College's primary school for a term of 10 weeks. Such an educational opportunity to see how school is done in another country and a bonus to be just a few classrooms away from his cousins who attend the same school.

21 years since we said "I do"!

Today is our 21st wedding anniversary!

To see how {gracefully} we've aged over the years, you can check out these three blogposts to see our annual picture!!

20th Anniversary and 17th Anniversary and 13th Anniversary

Fun with Friends in 2019

This year has sped by, feels like faster than ever! I haven't done a great job snapping pictures of all of our friends and activities, so this just represents the tip of the iceberg! We feel blessed to know and interact with all of these good friends here in Colombia. It is such a privilege to be a small part of God's working in this land.

 Cedric's adopted "grandma" - she's our old landlady and a great friend. She has a large organic garden in her back field, so here they are trying so sell produce on a Saturday morning.

Field trip with friends at a large nearby dairy factory.

Our good buddies spent a couple of days at our place and we enjoyed biking to the end of our road where there's a good view of the reservoir. 

Dogs count as friends!

Some new friends are being made at music and art classes in the pueblo.

Hanging out with friends at a wedding... 

...and fare-welling our friend moving to Canada

Bill enjoys hanging out with various friends  too... but far fewer photos of those encounters! Here he is (probably talking theology) with Julian!

North American Journeys

Just a few highlights... you're not all pictured, but you are all loved and missed!

  

Our favorite beach in California, worth visiting even in winter!

We caught up with uncles, aunts, Colombian friends and missionary co-workers in Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin:

Pittsburgh was our landing place for a thanksgiving rest with old friends from Biola and pre-Colombia teaching days!

Loudon family wedding - all of us together for the first time!

California included visits with special friends in the Bay Area and Orange County, including Ave 54 Bible Chapel and our home church in Westminster. A bonus was to visit the Zoo and Aquarium with dear friends!

Ended with some special days with Angela's sister and her family who were also visiting SoCal from their home in New Zealand!

20th Anniversary

Last month we celebrated 20 years of marriage! I remembered this blog post from three years ago with a picture from each year of us and thought I'd add an update! (Our new photographer: Cedric!)

2016

2017

2018