Wanaka!

 Our New Home in Wanaka!

A week ago we arrived in our new home, Wanaka! Wanaka is a beautiful town nestled among the pristine alpine mountains within the Mt Aspiring National Park. It is a destination for many tourists – the beautiful Lake Wanaka, tramping/outdoor activities, and wineries attract many in the summer season, and the nearby alpine ski resorts attract the snow enthusiasts in the winter. Jacob and I were drawn to the beautiful, peaceful location, the access to multiple outdoor activities including tramping, the small town feeling, and of course the remarkable mountains! (we always seem to find ourselves near the mountains)

We cannot describe how happy and excited we are to settle down and be apart of a community. It has been a joy traveling and tramping, but after so many on the go meals and living out of our backpacks, we are ready to actually have a place to call home, a kitchen to cook in, and beds to sleep in. We are thankful for the past season and are looking forward to this upcoming season in life together. We have so much to be thankful for and truly feel blessed! We are living in a beautiful home, with a fabulous garden full of vegetables and herbs, that we love cooking with! We are living with a kind woman who has welcomed us and really helped us get connected with the community. We live in a great location, near numerous walking trails, which we have enjoyed exploring a bit, and some lead right into town. We have met lots of kind people in Wanaka who we hope to further our friendship with. Jacob has already gotten connected with the Wanaka Gun Club, where he has met a few guys to share his bow shooting and hunting hobby with. I have gotten connected with the local volunteer center, and hope to soon be involved with a youth club and older residential community. The Lord has provided us with relationships, friendships, opportunities, a home, food, good health, and so much more!

As many joys and praises we have from the past week, it hasn’t gone without it’s challenges. It has been a long week of job-searching and we are both very eager to find work and get into a more regular schedule. It is a slow time here in Wanaka between summer and winter season, therefore, there are not many job opportunities. However, we continue to be persistent and refuse to be discouraged, as we know the Lord provides and His plan is greater than ours. We are praying for opportunity and that He will guide us where we need to be, and we will respond with open and willing hearts. We appreciate all your support and continue to ask for prayers of guidance for our place here in Wanaka.

Love you all!

PS Our new address is:

23 Farrant Drive

Wanaka 9305

New Zealand

Feel free to write, we always enjoy a letter from friends and family!