Santiago, Chile!

Mariella and I arrived safely to Chile. Just in time to celebrate our cousin Nena's 20th birthday. Muy bien!

Check out our final approach to Santiago as the sun was rising over the Andes Mountains. The highest peak in the range casted an amazing cone shaped shadow on the blanket of clouds. What a great way to be welcomed to Chile.

Last Flight Ending How We Started... With a Blessing

The most cost effective route to Chile from New Zealand was through Fiji and LAX. We had about eight hours in Fiji before arriving in California. We have less than twenty-four hours in California before making our way to South America to visit Mariella's family. We are muy excited.

Ten months ago our first flight out of the United States was over booked. Mariella and I volunteered to give up our seats. In return the airline gave us business class seats all the way to Ireland and $800 in flight vouchers. We used the vouchers to purchase one round-trip ticket to Santiago, Chile. Thank you Jesus for the good gift! This is another story of God's faithfulness on the journey. We are seized by the power of his great affection.

Adios New Zealand & Hola Chile

We leave New Zealand tomorrow. The natural beauty of New Zealand has left us in awe. It is a place we would love to visit again. We will say goodbye to our friends Lorena and Gaz. Our short stay with them was filled with good conversation and laughter. Thank you! The plan is to catch a ferry that leaves from the harbor down the road. The ferry will take us to a wharf located in Auckland. Then we will catch a bus to the airport. Our next destination is Santiago, Chile. Mariella and I are excited to visit with our Chilean family.

From New Zealand, Lorena and Gaz B

More Beautiful N.Z. Rainbows

We went on a nice walk yesterday past a newly developing area around a golf course. We thought of our friend Paul P. It would be fun seeing him play the course. Hole 17 had some amazing views. I was realy excited about seeing another rainbow.

Hanging out in Whangaparaoa

Mariella and I are spending a few days with our friends Lorena and Gaz. Lorena is a family friend of Mariella's. I also worked with Lorena at Commonwealth Elementary School in Fullerton. She married a good guy who is a Kiwi. They live in a beautiful area North of Auckland on Whangaparaoa Peninsula. This morning Mariella and I enjoyed a nice walk around the area. We spent a good amount of time soaking in the day from a cliff top bench dedicated to a praying man.

Bye Megan

Megan thank you for joining us for the past few weeks. We enjoyed a our final day together walking around the "city of sails", Auckland. We had lunch with our friend Wayne and his wife. Thanks guys for the tickets to the Skycity Tower. We enjoyed the views of the city from the top.

Back to Christchurch

Heading to Auckland to visit some friends. Final pics of the South Island of New Zealand. Mariella was hanging out with a hedgehog last night. Don't touch the animals Mariella!

Final Days in the Campervan

Lake Tekapo area. Sunrise!

Todays drive from Deer Flat to Queenstown

Around Milford Sound

We arrived in the Milford Sound area yesterday. There was a lot of clouds and rain which made it difficult to see the tops of the stunning mountains. Milford Sound is New Zealands Yosemite. The mountains are humbling. All the rain in the area created a spectacular seen of hundreds of waterfalls. Many of the scenes in Lord of the Rings were shot in New Zealand. We also saw the place where the battle scene in the Chronicles of Narnia movie. Beautiful stuff!