Fear

Traveling by myself has not only helped me meet a lot of interesting people but it has also given me a lot of time to think. I have been doing some really good thinking lately. Today I had a bit of a revelation for me about my fears in life. First of all, let me paint a little picture of the setting I was in while pondering fear...

So on this incredible hike to Kea Point in Mount Cook National Park, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains that surrounded me. I had an overwhelming sense of strength and courage that I have never felt before and can only come from God. It was the kind of strength that is not my own but the strength of God in me. Trying to figure out why God was giving me this feeling, I thought about all my fears in life.

I am actually a really big scardy cat a lot of the time. I fear most animals (particularly rodents). I fear what people think of me. I fear failure. I fear rejection. I fear lonliness. I fear getting hurt. I fear a lot of things. My fears shape my decisions and a lot of times hinder me. My fears come from a lack of trust in the God who created me, saved me and loves me. Sometimes in the face of fear, I have a hard time seeking the face of God.

These were the thoughts running through my head as I walked- interspersed with ooos and ahhhhs because of the beauty that surrounded me (literally every direction I looked). As I walked along the path, I could only see so far in front of me. I thought about what might be over that hill and around that bend. Another fear I have is what is next? Where should I go? What should I do? What if I chose the wrong thing?

After following this path for a little over an hour, I made it to Kea Point. I took in the beauty for several minutes then sat down on the bench with my bible and journal. The Lord pointed me to Joshua 1 where He is commanding Joshua to "Be strong and courageous." He repeats this phrase 3 times while preparing Joshua to take over Moses' position to lead the Isrealites to the promised land. Then God tells Joshua "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (verse 9) and I felt God speaking those words to me. For all the fears I have, I can give them all up to God who is in control of my life and is with me always. And that is where that feeling of strength, boldness and courage came from during my walk. In the midst of all my fears, God's strength overcame them all and it is an amazing feeling and truth I can rely on.

It was a great hike. Here are some more photos from the past couple of days from Stewart Island to Milford Sound to Mount Cook.

Sunset at Stewart Island

Ferry ticket to Ulva Island

Swing I swung on after bird watching on Ulva Island

Filling my water bottle with fresh mountain water. yum!

Tasman Glacier

Mitre Peak

PENGUINS!



Mirror Lake



ABCs of the south island: Adrenaline, Beauty, rugby world Cup

It has been a crazy fun adventure to backpack around the south island for a few weeks.  Adrenaline, yes. Beauty, everywhere I turn. Rugby World Cup, watching it most nights. Go all blacks! Currently im at a hostel and therefore have limited internet access but here are a couple highlights via pictures...

To kick off my trip, Mel, Amy, Shi ern, and I took a road trip to Tauranga for a night two days before I flew out of Auckland (North Island) to Christchurch (South Island)

There was a huge rainbow just after we finished our hike up Mt Mongonui and were wondering on the beach.

The Silver Fern-  an icon of new zealand. i found one on a hike on the boardwalk outside tauranga

In the antarctic center in Christchurch where I waited for the Kiwi Experience bus to pick me up.

first stop: Kaikoura. an amazing little town nestled between the Kaikoura mountain range and the pacific ocean. Oh and I love coffee so I took this picture to show 2 things i love: coffee and mountains :)

I went for a walk on the bech the next morning.

Found this bench on the same beach. Sat down with my bible, journl and coffee. had an amazing time with God.

On the bus again after Kaikoura, stopped for lunch at this river. Made a PB&J which everyone seems to think is a crazy idea for a sandwich here.

USA all the  way. found this knitted flag on a tree in Nelson (hosted the US for one of the world cup games)

This is a very common phrase here. it basically means "good" or "cool"

Just outside of Nelson, is the incredible Abel Tasman national park. I went for a 2 day trip (day one we kayaked, camped, day 2 we hiked out along the coast)

Do you see the seals??

Can you read it? some friends helped mel and I spell out UVA with our shadows! Go  Hoos!

Jumping into a freezing glacier lake!

View from my kayak on a mirror lake in franz josef (small town with BIG glaciers)

Enjoying the sunset after a tiring kayak ride.

my glacier guide axing away at ice to create steps for us to climb. Franz Josef glacier is a dangerous place without a guide. there were death warnings with newspaper clipping of people who had died before when we crossed the barrier to begin the full day hike.

I  climbed through lots of ice tunnels!

My crampons that I attached to my boots to help me not slip while I hiked on ice all day.

a view of the West Coast of NZ- a stop off during the bus drive down the coast from Westport to Lake Mahinapua.

another picturesque stop off along our bus trip. this was during the ride from franz josef to Wanaka.

I'll never forget Wanaka. Its the place I jumped out of that little orange plane in the background. this picture was taken after safely landing from a SKYDIVE over incredible snow covered mountains (see my facebook profile pic)

Another bus stop off at a waterfall between Wanaka and Queenstown

Oops this is out of order. this was in a cave during the hike in abel tasman national park.

a fern leaf statue in the park in Queenstown.

In that same park, i  played my first game of frisbee golf. Im quite terrible but its  fun way to spend a couple of hours on a nice day in Queenstown.

Do I need to explain why i love queenstown?

oh yea and i did my first bungy jump here. this was right after when they gave me a free shirt. that was a terrifying but awesome 47m jump 300m over Queenstown (proof to come later)

A view from the water tower in Invercargill- the south island's  southermost city.

the path i walked on today in stewart island (even further south... I am quite close to antarctica actually).

some sheep i ran into during my walk today.

a paua shell I found on the beach. I love this new zealand shell- its sooooo pretty!

oops out of order again. this is in Queenstown. sitting on the rocky beach of lake wakatipu

Went for a twilight kayak this evening. it was a beautiful sunset and I saw 2 cute little blue penguis swimming! i also heard them chirping to eachother! It was a beautiful end to an amazing day. Now its bed time!