1st God Incidence -
I was originally planning to spend that 10 days in Tasmania (another state in Australia), but couldn't find anyone to go with me and all the tours there are pretty crap. I finally found someone, but it was a guy who I didn't know from the facebook au pair site. I was seriously considering going with him, to the point of planning and making budgets together, because I was just that desperate to go. We both tried finding other people to join us, but nobody was able to go at the time we would need to go. My host parents, my friends here, my parents back home, everyone was saying not to go with this guy. I know it wouldn't have been the smartest or safest idea, but again, I was just that desperate to go because I didn't want to waste the 10 days off. I had decided that if more people didn't join I would probably cancel on the guy. I figured if I was supposed to go God would make a way and maybe this was His way of saying, "Don't go". I was teetering between going and not going when I mentioned to Georgina one Sunday what was going on and she mentioned me holding off on Tasmania and going with her later in the year (she's from Tassie). That sounded way more appealing than going with a random guy and with everyone's "seriously don't do this" input, I decided to take her up on it, cancel with the guy, and started back at square 1 for this 10 day holiday. While I was in a time crunch for last minute planning, budgeting, and booking which meant lots of late nights and long days it all came together so smoothly because from the beginning God had already planned for me to go to New Zealand and boy am I glad I have Him as my travel agent, because it turned out to be the holiday of a lifetime!! =D And now I have plans to see Tasmania with a beautiful friend rather than some random, strange guy!! ;)
2nd God Incidence -
When I arrived at the airport in New Zealand I was standing at a bus stop that I had a feeling was the wrong one but had no way of knowing and my phone wasn't working to call anyone to find out. I decided to walk back into the airport and ask to use a phone there and on my way I saw the correct bus stop with my shuttle waiting for me.
3rd God Incidence -
I was sitting at another bus stop in Christchurch in 6C/42F weather and I was so thankful that at the last minute I decided I should probably pack a thicker, warmer jacket. I don't know what I would have done without it for an hour and a half in that cold.
4th God Incidence -
The Lucky 13!! My amazing, wonderful, loving, hilarious, fun, forever friends I made on my bus almost instantly. I was so busy praying about safety and weather for my trip that I completely forgot to pray about making friends, not feeling lonely, and having someone to experience this adventure with. However, God being the best travel agent there is out there already had it all arranged and ready for me. I don't know of any other travel agents in the world that can organize a trip for you where you will be guaranteed to make life long friends who you will share these amazing memories with. ;)
5th God Incidence -
Another awesome thing about traveling with God is that He has power over the weather. My first few days there were cloudy and a bit drizzly, but not enough to ruin our activities (except for the reflection of the mountain in Lake Matheson, but I got to see the Mirror Lakes later on, which was just as amazing, so we'll call that God Incidence #5.5). My 4 days in Queenstown where all the activities are outside and require brilliant weather, I had just that - blue skies, little to no wind, warm, and sunshine. I got to do every activity planned and experience it to its greatest potential. The staff at the bungy jumping, sky diving, and Milford Sound all commented on how the weather could not be more perfect for the activity. The weather turned a bit again at Mt. Cook, but again didn't ruin the activity. And went perfect again for Rangitata so I could go horse riding. Now, God could have made all the days have blue skies, sun, no rain, etc etc, but that may have seemed a bit suspicious, plus without the clouds we would have sweated to puddles on the glacier (we were sweating even with the cloud cover) and without the rain we wouldn't have had waterfalls to enjoy or running streams for the horses to walk through. It all has its place and purpose. =]
Oh! And God Incidence #5.75 - All of the glacier hikes after mine was over were cancelled for the rest of the day due to forecasted rain.
6th God Incidence -
I had planned to skydive while in Franz Josef, but decided to do the glacier hike instead. Had I chosen to skydive there I would have missed out on skydiving because they canceled them for the day due to weather and I would have missed out on the glacier hike because they were all full and/or canceled also due to weather. Then I planned to SkyDive in Wanaka, but decided to go with my friends to Puzzle World instead. Had I chosen to skydive there I would have missed out on skydiving because it was canceled due to rain and I would have missed out on Puzzle World with my friends as well. Then I planned to skydive in Queenstown and well... you know how perfect that ended up being!!! =D
7th God Incidence -
I bought a cheap, fleece, zip up, light teal and gray sweatshirt from a store on the way to Milford Sound that said something New Zealand related in the top left corner. On the way to Milford Sound I found a hole in it and initially I was upset but then just decided I'd have someone sew it up for me. After the cruise, back on the bus, the driver said we'd be going back to that same store. I took the jacket in for an exchange, but they didn't have another one in that size, so I just asked for a refund. I wasn't upset, because I figured another opportunity to buy something like this will surely pop up. On my last day, at the airport, I went into a store that caught my eye because they sold nice looking New Zealand clothing (not the cheap, touristy stuff). In the back right corner I found, you better believe it, a bright teal and gray hoodie that had New Zealand stuff in the middle and in the inside of the hood. Now, this sweatshirt was by no means cheap like the other one - it cost 4 times as much, but, there was no hole in it, the material was thick and much higher quality, and was way cuter. Also, rather than just having the brand name and the word New Zealand in the upper right hand corner, the graphic on this sweatshirt incorporates words and pictures that point to icons of New Zealand and New Zealands culture. It says Aotearoa, which is the Maori (New Zealand natives) name for New Zealand. It also says New Zealand at the bottom. It has a picture of Mt. Cook/Aoraki which is New Zealand's highest mountain and I walked a valley at the base of it. There is a picture of the Southern Cross which is a constellation that can be seen easily from the southern hemisphere and is on New Zealand's and Australia's flags. And of course they incorporated the silver fern, which is endemic to New Zealand and probably one of the most well known icons.
You're probably thinking, "Really? It's just a sweatshirt..." The thing is though, God cares about anything and everything that matters to us, even the small stuff, like hoodies. =] He knows how careful I am with my money, how much thought goes into every purchase I make, and how often I cheat myself out of nice things because I'm afraid I won't be able to afford it later should some crazy bill come in or something like that (hence why I originally purchased the cheap, crap jacket to start with). He also knows how much I LOVE a good sweatshirt and how the entire time I was on my trip I was constantly looking for something that reminded me of New Zealand but didn't shove it in your face in a flashy touristy way. Clearly He knew something better was waiting for me at the end of my trip and I wasn't meant to purchase the other one, so He made sure I could return it, because had I not been able to return it, I never would have bought the nicer one. Call it what you want, but I call it a God Incidence!!! <3
There was another God Incidence that I unfortunately can't write about because it would spoil something for someone later on down the road, but let's just say it took some effort on my part, but couldn't have been possible without Him. And there was one other God Incidence that took place the morning right before I went skydiving, but I also can't write about just because it is a tad bit more personal and might be a bit TMI for public knowledge. ;) If you are super curious and really really want to know either of these two, just message or text me and I'll gladly share with you (As long as you aren't the person mentioned in the first unmentioned one ;)!!!
Anyways, I've said all this to say that from the time I was 10 years old and possibly before that God was already putting my Australia plans to work. Who knows when He began these New Zealand plans, but I am so glad He did! He has been with me in Australia and He certainly came along for the trip to New Zealand as well. I love knowing that He has all my days, my entire future, in His hands. He is an amazing travel agent and a fabulous travel buddy. And as I've said before, I wouldn't want to be on this journey with anyone other than Him!!! <3
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