A Trip to the Moon (aka Auckland)

So we're going to New Zealand next Monday. Nothing like a six thousand mile trip to shake up the well worn sense of security that hinges on your mundane routine.

Dwayne and I have been planning a trip to NZ for a while, except I thought we were going in June. On Monday Dwayne bopped into the study and said, "I think we need to go to NZ this month." I start teaching again on Jan 30th. We did the math and that meant that we needed to leave this Monday the 15th!

Sounds crazy, yes? Well it felt crazy! Luckily, Annie wasn't busy, so she could keep us. Also, we were able to find reasonably priced tix at a local travel agent. So far so good, but the plans kinked when we couldn't get a hold of a pastor in Wellington who's been talking to Dwayne and I.

We called him, e-mailed him, skyped him, but best we could tell he was on vacation and totally unreachable. We weren't sure, but we thought he'd be back in town by the time we left for New Zealand. The uncertainty was killing us! What if we bought the plane tix only to find out that he was out of town? Or what if he said, "Sorry, I've planned a conference this week/ a national festival this week/ a trip to the moon this week"?

The suspense was killing us. We didn't know whether or not to get the tix.

Yesterday, I was grumbling over the fact that we hadn't planned this trip far enough in advance, when, like a tap on the shoulder, this thought occured to me. "Can't plan everything, Christin. In fact, you're not supposed to. Sometimes, you just gotta be flexible and go with it."

And so, after a chat with my friend Gia, a chat with my mom, and a chat with my dad, I told Dwayne we should by the tix anyway. To my amazement, not two hours after purchasing the tix, I was able to get said pastor's cell phone number from his daughter-in-law (this is also a bit of a story, but let's just say my stint as a journalist taught me persistence), who said he was out camping.

By five o'clock Dwayne and I were able to talk to him and everything fell neatly into place.

So, we'll be in NZ from the 15th to the 27th. I promise - I'll tell you all about it.