6 days!
Well a week from today I will begin my trip to New Zealand! I can not believe that I am finally going! Ever since hearing about the opportunity to study abroad my freshman year, I knew instantly that I wanted to go. So my advisor had it scheduled out for me to attend spring of 2022 and it was up to me to apply. But as we all experienced, covid closed the New Zealand borders till late 2022 so I did not attend that semester. In the winter of 2021, when I realized I would not be able to study abroad I was heart broken. I thought I’d missed my chance and was upset that my plans did not work out.
But God has never worked according to April’s wants and thank goodness for that. Going in the spring of 2022, in my mind, was the perfect time but my friends, professors, and family didn’t give up on the idea of going while I had. Also thank goodness for them and their persistence. At that time it very dramatically felt like my entire life was falling apart but of course it was not.
In summer of 2022, I finally got accepted to study abroad and could begin my work towards heading 19 hours way. It’s crazy to think that this plan has been processing for almost four years. I am very excited to go to New Zealand but also slightly terrified (not going to lie about that emotion). Mostly I am grateful that this opportunity is in front of me.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord”
This is just one of the many Bible verses and or readings that kept me trusting in God. Times like those in the winter of 2021, I thought I knew best. I questioned God at the closed door while I should have been praising him in the hallway. God has plans and desires for our lives that don’t match up to our human thoughts. We will never be as knowledgable or as smart as God and that is an amazing thing. We have a God that is so much more powerful than us but still cares for the smallest things He created. To me that’s a beautiful thing to have a God like this that directs my life.
One week before leaving, I have almost all things ready to go (you know besides packing little as possible for a foreign country). I have been doing all I can to get adequate rest, seeing everyone I can, and preparing spiritually. Thanks be to God for the chance to go across the globe to study his creation.
Thank you for following along in my journey :)
Ps- I fly out of the United States Tuesday night and arrive in New Zealand Thursday morning.. time change is weird let me tell you!
