Matamata Update

Well, we made it! After that long flight on January 29/30, we touched down in New Zealand (hello, instant time travel confusion from crossing the International Date Line), and officially kicked off this chapter we've been dreaming about. New Zealand is beautiful with green rolling hills everywhere, farms dotted with sheep and cows. It is super rural where we are. Matamata feels just as peaceful and countryside as we expected. Our base here is surrounded by so much green space. It's bustling but peaceful. There's a quick video with some clips of the base here if you want a peek.

The people are honestly awesome. We've got folks from Norway, USA, Finland, Switzerland, UK, Zambia, Canada, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Fiji, and probably a few I'm forgetting. It's a real mix, and the kids are soaking it all up. They are getting real exposure to other cultures every day. Prayers at mealtimes are often in different languages, which is pretty special to hear. The kids are making friends fast. They spend way less time glued to us than they did back in Canada, which is both a win and a little bittersweet. They're out running around, laughing with their new friends.

We've had some sickness make its way through the house. David was throwing up a couple nights ago, but he's on the mend now and bouncing back. YWAM is busier than we remembered. We must've blocked out just how full-on it gets (Honolulu 2005 was a while ago). The base is pretty remote, so opportunities to reach out into the community aren't as frequent as we hoped. We've popped into Matamata town a few times. Yesterday we grabbed classic fish and chips. We do have an outreach location in mind, but we'll share more details on that later when things are firmed up.

On the practical side, January threw us two big emergencies from back home. One of those emergencies has basically resolve and the other has created some complicated logistical stuff and has other emotional contours I won't get into. Please pray for provision and peace.

All that said, we're here. We're together. The kids are thriving in ways we hoped for, the base is alive with purpose, and every day feels like another step into what God's got for us. Grateful doesn't even cover it.

More soon—thanks for walking this with us.

Dawson (for the Seven Wanderers)