"A Taste of Heaven"

Photo Credit: Colin Veerman

10 students, joined by Brian (Sustainable Food Coordinator) and Daniel (Property Manager) climbed Mt. Fyffe this weekend. Here's what Rachel (Bethel) had to say about the experience:

"This past weekend part of the CCSP clan climbed up to the top of Mt. Fyffe. Only three hours and 5400 feet later up the mountain we reached our hut! Our view was clouded over and we could't see much when we arrived. Luckily though, just as the sun was setting the cloud passed over and we were able to see everything around us. What we saw was absolutely incredible. We stood above the clouds, surrounded by mountains, and in fields of golden grasses.  Standing on top of the mountain we were once again reminded of the beauty of God's creation and truly how great and glorious our God is.  

Rachel (Bethel) enjoying the beautiful sunset up on Mt. Fyffe.
Photo Credit: Colin Veerman

That night we slept outside under the infinite number of stars and spent the night counting the ones shooting across the sky. Guided only by our headlamps, the following morning we woke up really early to finish the hike up to the peak for the sunrise. When we reached the top we were blessed with an incredible sunrise over the ocean that was totally worth the steep climb. The whole peninsula was below us and we were surrounded by the rest of the Kaikoura mountain range. I can't imagine a better way to start my day than a chilly morning eating oatmeal on top of the mountain while watching the sunrise over the ocean. This weekend was so much fun and definitely one that will be well remembered by everyone!"

Summit handstands, anyone? Left to Right: Daniel (Staff), Brian (Staff),
Ruthie (Westmont), and Briana (Westmont). Photo Credit: Joy Hartman.

The whole group at the summit!
Photo Credit: Colin Veerman

Now we're off to Wellington as part of the Sustainable Community Development course. We'll be back from the North Island next Sunday!

Reading Week

Group shot during the peninsula walk.
Photo Credit: Emma Vautour

When I think of the peninsula walk, two things come to mind: great views and plenty of NZ fur seals. This time, we had the pleasure of seeing two penguins along the way! One was a juvenile crested penguin, and the other a little blue penguin. It was a beautiful day and a great walk.

Top Left: Hannah (Messiah), Richelle (Messiah), and Joy (Hope) hiking along. Top Right: A NZ fur seal. Center Right: Megan (Gordon) asks our tour guide Brett about the marine life. Bottom Left: The juvenile crested penguin was a very exciting sighting! Bottom Right: Seeing a little blue penguin was another highlight of our walk. 

For this week's homemaking session, Daniel showed everyone maintenance and repair skills for their bikes. Since the bikes are our preferred method of transportation, it's important that everyone knows how to keep them in top condition! In groups, the students learned to patch a hole in the inner tube of the tire. Hopefully they'll know just what to do in case they experience a flat tire this semester!

Our second homemaking of the year featured the important skill of patching a hole in a bike tire.

And say hello to one of our dear, prickly friends, the hedgehog! Megan (Gordon) found this little guy out in the backyard. Although it's an introduced species, they're still exciting to find! If you're out stargazing around here and keep your ears alert, you'll have a good chance of hearing one rustling around in the brush.

Megan holds a hedgehog she found in the backyard.
Photo Credit: Joy Hartman

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

On February 14th, we celebrated Valentine's Day, remembering what a blessing it is to have love in all of our lives. Our party was a Valentine's Day themed coffee house. After some amazing desserts made by Emma, Megan (Gordon) recounted this history of the holiday. We had musical performances, a children's book and poetry read to us, and more.

The Valentine's Day coffe house was full of excellent, creative performances!

Janine (Messiah), Kaelyn (Bethel), Ruthie (Westmont), Katie (Dordt), Joy (Hope), and Briana (Westmont) formed a band they named "Brian's Valentines". They put on an outstanding performance of "Anyone Else But You" by The Moly Peaches, complete with harmonies and a special verse for Sustainable Food Coordinator Brian.

Top to Bottom Row, Left to Right: Brian's Valentines, Janine (Messiah), Kaelyn (Bethel),
Ruthie (Westmont), Katie (Dordt), Joy (Hope), and Briana (Westmont), sang in perfect harmony.
Photo Credit: Joy Hartman

And what's a band without band photos? 

Brian's Valentines during their band photo shoot before their spectacular performance.
Photo Credit: Joy Hartman

Hopefully we'll be hearing more from Brian's Valentines in the future!

Homestay Weekend

18 students, 11 homestay families, 1 great weekend!

All of the students were matched up with a kiwi family to spend the weekend with. They all got to experience firsthand what it's like to live in New Zealand and get more connected with our community. Joy (Hope) and Kelsey (Messiah) spent their weekend with our friends Willie and Inga. Here's Joy's account of her experience:

"Willie and Inga were a blessing to share a home with for the weekend. They gave us a tour of their fruit orchard, allowed us to stay in their small green caravan, taught us how to play a game called Rummikub, and shared excellent stories of their Dutch and now, Kiwi history. On Saturday, we embarked on an unexpected journey, a mountain safari, through the Kaikoura mountains and on Sunday Willie taught us how to shoot pistols at the local range.

From board games to mountain safaris, Joy (Hope) and Kelsey (Messiah) had a great weekend with
their kiwi homestay family. Photo Credit: Joy Hartman

Willie left us with stones that he cut himself, to make into a necklace, some pistol shooting skills, and a kiss on the cheek. Inga left us with many words of wisdom and genuine love for the many people in God’s garden."

First Day of School!

Want to hear how the first week of classes went, straight from the horse's mouth? Here is what Kaelyn Lecander (Bethel University) had to say about Sustainable Community Development:

"So, our first week of class is complete. We learned all about Sustainable Community Development from a local Kiwi professor, Mick Duncan. He will come back later on in the semester for a second week of lecturing. He and his wife had lived in Manilla in the Philippines for about 10 years in a squatter community. He shared his stories of trial and mistakes he made while trying to develop his community. We learned about the intricate webs of culture, evil, and disadvantage and how each much be considered careful before jumping into attempts for sustainable community development. It was really awesome to hear first hand stories about the trials and triumphs of community development. Storytelling is a great teaching tool. Mick was full of wisdom and I'm sure that all the students felt privileged to have him as our professor for a week. The last lecture we were taught Mick's Mental Map...a layout to follow for making tough decisions. Not only is this a great and necessary tool for sustainable community development, but useful for us in our everyday choices too. Intro. to Sustainable Community Development was full of practical wisdom, moving firsthand accounts, and deep issues for us to think on as the rest of the semester continues."

Mick Duncan's Sustainable Community Development lecture on Thursday night was opened up to the community to come and listen. It was nice to share the learning experience with our friends.

Wednesday was Waitangi Day, a public holiday celebrating the signing of New Zealand's founding document the Treaty of Waitangi. After class, a number of students volunteered to help with the celebration down by South Bay. The event was also a celebration of the upcoming Children's Day on March 3rd. There were lots of fun activities for children to take part in like face painting, a slip and slide, three legged race, tug of war, and more. The students were a big help and made a lot of little children very happy!

Left: Colin (Bethel) mans the slip and slide. Right: Rose Ellen (Westmont) and Janine (Messiah) did an excellent job painting whiskers, superhero masks, and flowers on the children's faces.

What else have we been up to? For our first homemaking session, Courtnay taught some of the girls how to crochet. Lisa and Rachel collected some bull kelp, and made kelp shoes like the Maori used to. Just don't leave them out in the sun too long, or they'll shrivel up!

Rachel (Bethel) and Lisa fashioned a lovely pair of shoes out of kelp.

As part of living in community with each other, we all have weekly chores to complete. That doesn't mean you can't have fun taking care of the chickens or washing the cars, though!

Kelsey (Messiah) and Kaelyn (Bethel) show us how fun chores are!

Ra Whanau Ki A Koe

Ra whanau ki a koe, happy birthday, to Kate, Brian, Katie, and Lisa!

Left to Right: Kate (Messiah), Katie (Dordt), and Brian (SFC) 

First up was Kate's birthday (Messiah), after only having been here 2 days! We played some classic birthday party games, personalized to the birthday girl. Limbo and musical chairs were both played to the Beatles, and instead of a donkey, we pinned the tail on a zebra. To wrap it all up, Caleb taught everyone how to "dougie", as promised.

Top Left: Caleb (SLC) teaches everyone how to "dougie". Middle Left: Childhood memories abounded as we played musical chairs. Bottom Left: Musical chairs became a heated battle between staff members Emma (KM) and Brian (SFC). Top Right: Caleb (SLC) displays our lovely zebra donning a party hat for "pin the tail". Bottom Right: Colin (Bethel), Courtnay (Program Director), and birthday girl Kate (Messiah) all trying to pin the tail on the zebra at once.

NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo!

For Katie (Dordt) and Lisa's birthday, we had a Nacho Libre party. It's one of Lisa's favorite movies and Katie proved to have a fierce competitive spirit during musical chairs, so it seemed fitting enough! Attire? Luchador costumes, of course! Events? First off, Lisa and Katie raced each other to pop all of the balloons in a dummy using their best wrestling moves. Katie was victorious! Next was Arm Wrestle Mania! The men and women faced each other in separate brackets where Lisa and Brian were the winners. Brian was the overall champ. Last, everyone was split into teams to play "steal the bacon". For dinner, we had taco salad, grilled corn, and of course "the Lord's chips".

Top Left: Everyone lined up in their luchador costumed ready to play "steal the bacon". Bottom Left: Birthday girl Katie (Dordt) prepares to pop all of the balloons in her dummy. Center Top: Roommates Colin (Bethel) and Regan (Dordt) face off in our arm wrestling competition. Center Bottom: Bracket champs Brian (SFC) and Lisa verse each other for the overall Arm Wrestle Mania champion title. Top Right: The birthday girls! Katie (Dordt) & Lisa. Bottom Right: Daniel (Property Manager) posing with our fantastic fiesta feast.

Everyone had great costumes, complete with the essential part of any luchador outfit: stretchy pants.
What a good-looking bunch!

A sunny day was just what we needed for Brian's birthday (Sustainable Food Coordinator) celebration! We kicked off the party with a video reminiscent of the Star Wars introduction. The cautionary message: Prepare to get wet! We all headed outside to play human Space Invaders. Brian stood up on the balcony and everyone else lined up and did their best to impersonate the classic video game aliens while throwing water balloons at each other. It was a fun way to cool off in the afternoon! Next was a Star Wars themed scavenger hunt, complete with freeing Han Solo, frozen inside a block of ice. At the end, we all enjoyed cookies and ice cream. Yum!

Top Left: With water balloons in hand, Brian (SFC) defends the Old Convent from Space Invaders! Bottom Left: Look at all those aliens! Top Right: Cookies and ice cream for dessert: two of Brian's favorites! Bottom Center: Caleb (SLC) experiences a direct hit! Bottom Right: Brian displays his Star Wars birthday cookies.

Happy birthday everyone!

Student Trip Weekend

Photo Credit: Colin Veerman

Everyone had a great time on their weekend trips! Some journeyed to the realm of Rohan, others to Nelson Lakes National Park, and a few others went tramping in Abel Tasman National Park.

Here's what the "Clam Jam Tim Tam Slammers" (Colin Veerman (Bethel), Kaelyn Lecander (Bethel), Emma Vautour (Messiah), Regan Lundberg (Dordt), & Kelsey Cooper (Messiah)) had to say about their trip:

“In total we hiked somewhere between 25-30 miles. Started at Marahau, tramped to Torrent Bay, continued to Bark Bay then turned back and tramped to Anchorage, then tramped back to the car park.

Top Right (From Left to Right): The "Clam Jam Tim Tam Slammers" (Kaelyn Lecander (Bethel), Emma Vautour (Messiah), Colin Veerman (Bethel), Regan Lundberg (Dordt), & Kelsey Cooper (Messiah)) had a great time in Abel Tasman National Park. Photo Credit: Colin Veerman

Activities:

-Swimming! (ocean)

-Snorkeling (we saw stingrays!)

-Beach bumming (ooo la la)

-Tramping (jungle style)

-Camping (the cicadas will sing you to sleep)

-Eating…on the GOLDEN SAND BEACHES!

-More swimming (Mountain stream “pools”)

-Star gazing (shooting stars GALOOORE)

-Duck catching…yes, it actually happened.

BEST. WEEKEND. EVER.”

From Winter to Summer

     After varying amounts of time flying over the USA, 12 hours across the Pacific, 13 hours in Sydney, a skip and a hop over the Tasman Sea to Christchurch, and a 2 1/2 hour drive in the middle of the night through Canterbury, our students have arrived in Kaikoura!

       We kicked off the semester with a delicious brunch and a liturgy service dedicating the semester to Christ, after sleeping in, of course. The students were able to get better acquainted with the Old Convent through a campus tour, and with each other during our classic "get to know you" activity "Big Red Chair". For the first dinner of the semester we headed to South Bay for fish and chips on the beach, a kiwi favorite. 

From day one, everyone has been getting along well! Massage train, anyone?

     Over the weekend, the students got to have a look around town with a photo scavenger hunt. On Sunday evening, we hosted a BBQ and invited friends from the community to come and meet everyone. We topped off the night with our first birthday celebration of the semester. Happy birthday Kate (Messiah)!

     Orientation week was filled with activities and briefings to familiarize our new students with their 3 1/2 month home and officially welcome them to Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand. One of the highlights of the week was a visit to the local marae. Our friend Brett, a Maori man who is very involved at the marae, and Darran came the night before along with instruments and artifacts to introduce the students to the culture and go over the protocol for a powhiri, the formal ceremony for welcoming visitors.  At the marae, we were welcomed with biscuits and tea, then entered the wharenui where Brett told us all sorts of stories illustrated by the artwork on the walls and ceiling inside. We headed outside to have some fun learning to use taihas. Brett had everyone practice different drills and skills with one another that got their hearts pumping.

Everyone had a chance to practice using a taiaha during our visit to the marae.

     A few of the girls were excited to help Lisa Bond, our resident kiwi, make pavlova. It's always a favorite part of our Iconic Kiwi Tea, and pretty easy to make! Recipes vary, but all you need are egg whites, sugar, vinegar, cream of tartar, vanilla, whipped cream, and your favorite fruit. Try it!

Ruthie (Westmont), Kate (Messiah), Richelle (Messiah), Brianna (Westmont, not pictured), and Katie (Dordt, not pictured) all helped Lisa make pavlova, a classic kiwi "pudding".

     Kaikoura has a wonderful Resource Recovery Center, what we fondly call "the dump", with a diversion rate of around 70%. It's just one of the reasons Kaikoura was the first sustainable community in the world to receive gold certification by EarthCheck. We got a tour of exactly where our recyclables and rubbish go, and stopped at the second hand shop for some new used threads.

Heaps of rubbish, millions of bottles, and blocks of aluminum cans gave us an eye-opening look at what our waste looks like during our trip to Innovative Waste Kaikoura. 

     After our trip to the Resource Recovery Center, we split up into our small groups for the first time for lunch. They are just one way that we hope to grow closer to one another this semester. The students had a brief introduction to New Zealand wildlife on the Palmer Fyffe walk with Barry Dunnett of Forest and Bird, and then prepared for our Iconic Kiwi Tea. Hosted by our two favorite kiwis Emma (Kitchen Manager) and Lisa, we enjoyed lollies, L & P, mince meat pies, roast lamb with mint sauce, and other favorites while we watched the All Blacks do the haka and Lisa quizzed us on some kiwi slang, like "sqiuz" and "crook". And we couldn't forget to sing Happy Birthday to Brian (Sustainable Food Coordinator)!

Our Iconic Kiwi Tea was a great way for students to learn more about local favorites and "kiwiisms". Everyone was encouraged to try tomato sauce, slightly different than ketchup. We were also taught the "proper" way to pile food onto your fork.

     You can't have a real taste of Kaikoura without dipping into the salty water. Before leaving for Student Trip Weekend, Katie (Dordt), Megan (Gordon), Joy (Hope), Richelle (Messiah), and Rachel (Bethel) joined Emma (KM), Brian (SFC), Caleb and myself (Kristen, Student Life Coordinators) on a dive. The spear fishing wasn't too good, but Caleb came home with six crayfish. There were plenty of paua and even an octopus too!

Some students joined staff on a diving trip up the coast. Pictured Left: Brian (SFC) prepares to go spear fishing. Pictured in Center: Kate (Dordt), Richelle (Messiah), and Joy (Hope) enjoyed their time snorkeling. Pictured on Bottom: Caleb (SLC) had a great time diving for crayfish.

Now they're off on their weekend trips as we await the arrival of our final addition, Hannah (Messiah). With Sustainable Community Development and more birthdays around the corner, we have a great week ahead of us!