Pictures of the Destruction

This was the very first Church Alison and I visited. It obviously won't be usable anymore.

Cars were marked "CLEAR".

This is the cafe Alison and I would visit every Sunday. We would walk from here to go to Church.

The metal in the background is from the Twin Towers. This is the only place in the world that has remains of the Twin Towers. It is a memorial to firefighters.

A building to the left was completely destryed and taken down. I walked by here everyday to work when I lived in the flat.

A Different Sunday

Sunday 27 February 2011

We went to a different Salvation Army Church today. There were only about 10 people from the City Church. It was nice to see the ones who were there. We all sat together. We hugged and talked a bit. We sang songs and watched a very sobering clip. Everyone was struggling and it was a very emotional service. Near the end, we had a time of prayer. Then, we had an aftershock. I saw major fear in people. One lady gasped and was about to hold on to something when it calmed down. I felt so bad for her.

We ate lunch with a couple from Church. Afterwards, we were going to visit a few people, but traffic was so horrible, that we ended up giving up and going home.

Visiting and Stories

Saturday 26 February 2011

I don't remember if I mentioned this yet, but we have to brush our teeth with bottled water. The water is not safe to drink unless you boil it for at least 3 minutes. It isn't the easiest thing in the world, but I have done this last quake and while camping, so it isn't anything new to me. We headed out and went to visit people from our Church. We visited several people from Church, which was really nice.

We won't be able to go to our Church building for quite some time, so we have to meet elsewhere. We were not able to find a place to meet this Sunday. People will just go to the Church nearest their home. In knowing that, it was really good to see even a few people from our Church, as I won't get to see most of them tomorrow.

I talked to a couple people that I hadn't talked to before. They were nice visits. An older gentleman gave me a hug and kiss and said, "You are lovely!" He melted my heart. I was sad to leave.

We talked to a lady from Church who is a nurse. She actually teaches nurses, but after the quake, she was sent to the emergency room. She was telling us how horrible it was and even started crying. She is not used to that kind of work.

We heard that one of the guys from our Church organised doctors and other people to be sent into the city from the airport. He was really able to think quickly and get organised immediately.

Another guy from Church is in the search and rescue, and they are asking people to give detailed accounts of people who are missing including clothing, tattoos, anything to identify...bodies. People aren't coming out alive anymore. They are there to find anything that can show DNA of people. Bone...It is a horrible job that all of us are so grateful not to have. It's got to be traumatising work.

It was a good, but long day. I think we were all ready for some games, and sleep.

S.O.S.

Friday 25 February 2011

We were awoken by another aftershock. With all these aftershocks, who needs an alarm clock? Anne, Alister, and I left. Alison had a work meeting in the afternoon, so she left a while later. We went to a storage area where the S.O.S. (Street Outreach Service) van was. This van used to go out in the night on the particular streets prostitutes would hang out. People in the van would give tea or coffee to the prostitutes. It went out during the "most popular times" for these ladies so they can talk instead of...going out. It is a unique and good ministry.

Well, as the popular street for these activities is munted (a new word used for horribly affected places), the van is currently going out to serve rescue and other workers in the cordoned off areas. Alister asked if I would go, and I said yes, along with three other people from our Church. Anne and Alister where visiting other people.

It took a long time to get going as it was difficult to charge the van or figure out how to get water. We decided to go to another Salvation Army Church in another suburb to get supplies. So we headed off. There was a driver, navigator, and two servers. I was one of the servers along with another guy named Chris. It was funny, because neither one of us really drink coffee or tea. So the most inexperienced people were serving tea and coffee to these poor people. We never got any complaints...that I know of...

Anyway, we were stacking the van full of baking, spoons, and other things to hand out to people. The boxes were stacked up quite high. So when the van turned, went over a hole, swerved, or anything else, I would have to throw my body against some of these piles to prevent them from crashing on the floor. It was not an easy experienced (seeing as these roads are not in the best of shape), especially when the floor was covered with various items. At times, I would get my foot stuck under something and almost keel over. There was probably an easier way to pack things, but I didn't know exactly how to do that. It didn't help that cabinets and drawers were constantly opening and closing. All the cabinets are quite low, so I frequently crashed my head against them. It was an interesting experience, definitely.

In the first stop, we served a couple people. Chris and I kind of hunched over, as the seats were not set up yet. It was so uncomfortable serving these people while being hunched over, so we quickly figured out how to set up the chairs. We sat in the chairs for the rest of the time, but they rocked when the van moved, so it was a bit unnerving.

Since neither one of us felt comfortable putting the right amount of milk or sugar into people's drinks, we let the people do that themselves. It worked out fine at first. The window that opens and shuts is a little difficult to handle. You have to push really hard for it to open. To close it, you have to push against it so it will gently shut. If you don't push against it, it will slam hard. We learned this the hard way. As we were about to leave, we were fixing a coffee. After the person received the coffee, he shut the window. It would have been fine if the lidless sugar container was not on the edge of the window. The window hit the sugar which, in turn, sent the sugar flying across the counter. We had sugar all over the counter, 1/2 of the banana loaf, both of our pants, and the floor. We were a bit stunned and he said, "Well, we could have handled that better...." We cleaned up the counter, and he tried to put the sugar in the container. What he didn't count on was the banana loaf crumbs falling into the sugar. So then he started picking out the banana loaf chunks. It was decided later that the 1/2 that was sugarless would be the "diet" side.

We stopped at this one place and met a lady who was taking care of cats. People in this area were digging holes in their garden as they were not to use the toilets. The cat lady said she stopped eating a lot, because she hated using the garden. Another guy mentioned that he knew a guy who lost his wife and best mate from the earthquake. It was so hard hearing these stories from people. People are obviously really hurting, and are having a hard time managing it.

We saw a lot of destruction. Cars are buried under collapsed buildings. I saw the Cathedral with the top off. We went around Cathedral Square. The main streets are horrible. Cars were marked clear (I guess showing no one was in there). The place Alison and I went to last year for my birthday has collapsed. The cafe Alison and I went to every Sunday is a mess. These places I went by and to all the time...most of them are gone. It was quite disheartening, seeing the destruction in person. I saw a lot of things that most people haven't and probably won't get to see aside from the TV.

Alister and Anne picked me up and we then picked Alison up. As soon as she got in the car, we asked how it went. It was a meeting to see what was going to happen, as they are not able to go back to the building (at least yet) in the CBD.

"I think I am moving to Blenheim." She was really having a hard time keeping it together. They cannot work in the building in the CBD, so they are sending several people to Blenheim (4 hours North of Christchurch) to work at that branch. She heard she may have to be there for 3 weeks until they can get a building to operate out of. We were all quiet realising even more of the impact this quake has created, just in our little family circle.

We went to bed early and were just about to fall asleep when we had another decent sized aftershock, bringing us back to earth. What a crazy couple of days! What is next?

Preview to a Different Life

Wednesday 24 Feb. 2011


We headed out to the airport to drop Sarah off. Then we went to another Salvation Army Church. Anne and Alister had a meeting with other officers. So, Alison and I walked around the city to catch up on what has been happening. We were out for several hours, and we finally got a text saying to come back.

From there, we went home. It took a LONG time to get home. Traffic was absolutely horrible. Many roads were blocked, so it wasn't easy getting around. We were at a stand still. At on point, a guy got out of the car and took his dog out for a walk. There was no leash (lead) on the dog, so the dog just started running. He went across the road, so the people wen back in the car, went over the median and chased he dog who went in the bushes. After that, several cars went over the median to the other side of the road. Traffic was so bad, people were giving up. At the house, there were several big cracks. The cabinets shifted, the floor is uneven. No water, no power. It seems like we will be staying at Anne's sister's house for a while.

Anne and Alister's car are both under a parking structure, so they had no cars to drive. Sarah had a small car, so we were driving her car. It was a bit interesting driving her car when it is low to the ground, there are 4 of us in the car, and the roads are terrible.

We then went to a couple's home to have a Church staff meeting. Alison, I, and another girl not part of the staff swapped stories.

When we got to the house, I was able to take my very first shower since being back. It was quite nice, but it had to be quick. It was almost 11pm and Alison and I were ready to go to bed. We heard a knock on the door and Anne asked if we would be okay with going out again. Red Cliffs were being evacuated and were being sent to a welfare centre. 200 were expected. We were being summoned to the welfare centre to help serve food. We arrived and tidied up a bit. We waited and waited. We served one person while we waited. We were told the buses were arriving. Then...we were told 3 people were coming. We stayed a bit longer. The three people didn't want food, so we left around 1 am. It had been a very long day.

The Ultimate Deja Vu

From Last Post To Wednesday 23 Feb. 2011

It is sickening how much has happened since my last post. Well, I had a wonderful time being home as I have said in my last post. I tried hard to decide what I was going to do. Do I go back to Christchurch? Do I stay home?

I had a major conversation with my brother, who seemed to understand my feelings better than I did. As we drove around, he asked what I was planning on doing. I told him I didn't make any decision yet (a statement I repeated several times to family and friends). My heart was in Christchurch, but my logic was in California. What to do, what to do? Anyway, Kevin asked if I was leaning more towards going back than staying. This was the first time that I really admitted out loud that I was.

A few days later, I had a major conversation with my mom. I told her that I was really leaning toward going back. She was quiet for a while and asked about the earthquake we had in September. I told her that was part of the reason for me going back. Not that I would be much help, but I was able to participate in helping in small ways here and there. I talked on and on about the Church and how it was wonderful being involved (when I have been going to different churches trying to figure out where to go back at home). I loved the people. All of them are so special to me. During my conversation, I finally admitted that, although I am the logical person, my desire was too great to push down.

The next day, I applied for a visa. It took a little while to process. I had to go through an x-ray and a medical exam. Both were very frustrating, as neither of the places filled out the paperwork properly. I had to go back several times to tell them what they missed and what they messed up on. Even then, there were some things they refused to complete. I worried I wouldn't get the visa in time for my flight (I had to get a ticket to and from NZ in order to apply for the visa).

It all worked out well, and I got my visa late January. So, on the night of my flight (Monday, 21 Feb. 2011), I was with my Aunt, Uncle, and Mom playing games. Right as we were going to leave, we got a call. It was from Jim (a close friend) telling my mom that Christchurch had a big earthquake closer to the city and one person had died. He told her that I shouldn't go for at least a couple weeks. My mom hung up the phone and told me. I started feeling sick with worry. I knew Alison, Anne, Alister, and many people I knew worked in the CBD. There was no way to contact them.

My mom started moving as if to leave and asked, "So, what do you want to do?" I looked up at her guiltily realising the impact of my answer.

"I want to go back."

She smiled nervously and said, "I knew you were going to say that.

So we took off to the airport. The ride was very quiet. We ate in the airport, although I wasn't hungry whatsoever. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy flight, and I had no idea what I would come back to.

The pilot mentioned Christchurch quite a few times, but I had a noisy flight. I couldn't hear what he was saying.

As soon as I touched ground in Auckland, I went through immigration and security. As soon as I told immigration I was going to Christchurch, he raised his eyebrows and said, "You know they had an earthquake, right?" I said yes and asked if the airport was open. He said it was closed this morning, but he wasn't sure about now. I got my bags and went to airport information to ask them if the Christchurch airport was open. They had no idea, and couldn't contact the domestic airport for some reason. It was frustrating.

As soon as I was able to turn on my phone, I texted Alison to see if they were okay. She said, "Yes, but it's really bad." She had tried to call my US cell to tell me, but I was already gone.

I got a shuttle to go into Auckland city. I had to go to an orientation. The visa I got required me to attend a 3 hour orientation to tell me all about NZ. That was a joke. It was three hours of culture differences, phrases, how to set up a bank account and IRD #, and what places to visit. There was absolutely no reason for me to be there and the presenters would ask me questions of what I did. When they would mention Christchurch, they would say, "Well, you don't want to go there for several months..." "Oh, don't go to Christchurch yet..." I was the only idiot wanting to get into Christchurch. Everyone else was scared of it.

After the orientation, I tried to figure out if my flight into Christchurch was cancelled or delayed. I was able to get free Internet access. I found out my flight was on time, so I had several hours to search and walk until I could get to the airport. I saw then that the earthquake was a 6.3 with a depth of 5 km. 75 people had been killed and 300 people were missing. I saw a little bit of the destruction and felt sick again. I knew Anne, Alister, and Alison were alive, but there are so many people I care for that I knew nothing about. I called Mom to tell her what I knew and tell her I was fine and in Auckland.

I was on my way to the airport and received a call. Alison was trying to talk to me, but it was hard to hear her on the shuttle. She told me that Anne, Alister, and Lynly were at the Church when it happened and had a hard time breathing from all the dust. She said she had gotten a ride part way home, but there were so many holes and there was so much liquefaction and water that covered up the holes. Cars were falling in the holes and getting stuck. She had to walk in ankle deep water and Anne and Alister walked in knee deep water. Anne and Alister's cars were stuck in a car park and there was liquefaction running through the Church. The door wouldn't close. The house has lots of cracks. There is no electricity, water, or sewage.

I went to the airport and got through fine. The plane that arrived was from Christchurch to Auckland. I think I saw one of my former co-workers exit the plane. When I boarded, there was hardly anyone on it. It was a full flight, so obviously, people got too scared. It's understandable, I guess. When you don't have anyone to run to, there is no reason to go to go there when it is unstable and uncertain. I had a whole family I needed to see, so I needed to get there...tonight.

The flight attendants were very blase about the whole thing. They didn't even mention the quake. All the passengers were talking to each other. Strangers were asking each other if their family and friends were okay. It was a complete repeat of my Nelson trip. Everyone pulled together and comforted each other. Just like the Nelson trip, as we arrived, everyone craned their necks to look out the window. The silence was eerie and almost unbearable. The landing brought relief as well as weariness and uncertainty.

I got through customs quickly and rushed to the stairs. I saw Alison first and then Alister. I went as quickly as I could. Alison gave me a big hug. Then Alister gave me a big fatherly hug. Then, I met Sarah (another boarder). We got my luggage, and then I was sent to the bathroom to use it and wash my hands. This was the last time I was able to use the water.

Because we didn't have electricity, water, or sewage, we went to Anne's sister's house. She had all three, but water is very scarce. We are back to boiling water at least three minutes or drinking bottled water. Anne gave me a big smile and a big hug. Then I hugged her sister and husband and met another couple who are staying at the house. It is a big house and quite nice. Not a lot of damage happened.

Alison, Sarah, and I were all sharing a bed (2 twin beds pushed together). We had a couple aftershocks. Everyone was a bit jumpy. In brushing our teeth, we didn't use any water until the end. We had to use the bottled water to get the toothpaste out of our mouths. We had sanitiser, but none of us used the toilet that night.

We went to bed and talked for a while. Alison and I were really tired. Sarah said she was going home (she lives near Hamilton) tomorrow. So, she was a bit excited. Alison and I were dazing. We were all about to drift off when we had another good sized aftershock...proving that it isn't over yet.

Back Home

Present Day

I got home safely. My friend, Alicia, picked me up and we talked all the way home. It was so nice to catch up with her. It has been a long time. Then I talked a long time with my mom when I got home. The next day, we went to my Aunt's house. It was wonderful seeing them after such a long time. Christmas Day was fun. We opened a few presents, and then Kevin, Michelle, and Karsie came in. Of course Karsie would just wake up from a sleep and was crying when I tried to hold her. It didn't take her long to be okay with me, and I spent the next few days just catching up with people and playing with Karsie. She is so beautiful and so much fun to be with.
And thus ends my blog. I am not sure where I will go from here. I hope things will start happening soon so I can know, but I know I must be patient and trust in God. I seem to remember this happening before...Anyway, I don't know what more to write, and so...I will stop...

Picture Delay

We finally were able to have our family photo at Anne and Alister's Major Party. They were promoted from Captain to Major. Whoo hoo!

This was on the last Sunday. Alison and I had breakfast in our favourite cafe.

Receivers in the Northlands Mall.

Ron and Ruth were a couple we love! Ruth greeted us from our very first day in this Church.

The Christmas Parade in Christchurch.

Craft night with Anne. We were filling, counting, and wrapping gifts of lollies.

Mainly Music Sunday. This was a kids service. The Brass Band played, but a kid (the one in the red shirt) was conducting.

Coca Cola Christmas in the Park.

Making Pumpkin Pie. So Alister's face shows the NZ feeling of having pumpkin as a dessert. They find it appalling.

Our end result. It was okay, but it didn't look like normal pumpkin pie.

We made Anne and Alister try it. They were being cheeky in this photo, pretending it poisoned them. They ate it though.

Decorating.

Goodbye New Zealand

Okay, so it has been a long time since I have updated, but I don't know how much I am going to update anymore. I am home now (as of 23 December). So, now I will post from the last time I posted till the 23rd, but I will combine everything instead of doing day by day.

Work was getting harder and harder. The kids were getting really noisy and rowdy as it was getting to the end of the year. Most of the primary schools got out early, and I worked straight through the 23, so right before Christmas. I was desperately trying to get stuff taken care of for some of the kids (profile books), since I won't be there next year. We had a couple work meetings, that actually didn't apply to me, but I still went.

On the second to last day of work, there was a party for all the kids. Several kids were recognised since they won't be returning when the preschool opens. Then I was recognised. I received a gift from the staff, which was really special. On the last day, I got so many hugs from the kids. A mum told me that when her son woke up, he was sad and said that it was my last day. Kids are so stinkin cute! It was really hard saying goodbye to so many people.

My allergies were HORRIBLE! It would be bad for so many days, and then the rain would relieve it for a bit. Ah!

So, one of the issues I have not really discussed, but hinted to was the discussion I had with my boss a while back. So, (if you happen to remember) I mentioned in my blog that there were days I didn't want to talk about. So this is the reason: I wanted to come back to New Zealand to teach preschool. I decided to talk to my boss about staying an extra 6 months with them. She was really excited and was working on how to extend my visa. I won't go into detail about what happened, but basically (due to NZ laws), they are not allowed to hire me back, and they actually cannot get a visa for me. They were very willing, but the way the laws are, they would get in trouble. So then I was trying to figure out what to do. I started looking around at different preschools and applied to several. There were two that had me look at the preschool, but I didn't have an interview as they were not working on interviews at that time. Looking at the schools happened the very last week of being in NZ. In other words, I don't think my chances are very good at being hired, since I don't have a visa and I will be in the States when they are going to be doing the interviewing.

So then I had to make a decision. Should I stay in the States and look for a job like I originally planned, or should I apply for another visa and see if I could get work. I didn't end up making any decisions, but decided to wait it out until after the holidays to decide what to do.

As for Alison, she randomly got a good job offer and will be going home and returning to NZ in January. A guy from Church asked Anne if we would be interested in the job. I thought my job would work out at that time. Alison applied, got an interview, and received the job all in just over a week.

Another thing I want to talk about is Church. Things had been really crazy in these couple weeks. There were lots of different services and activities we were involved in. One thing we did was what they call 7-up. It is a Friday night program they do for kids. I guess we were more there for control and interaction. Alison and I participated in carolling. Some of the members of the band (about 4 or 5) would play in a mall and they needed "receivers" to collect money. I was a "receiver". We had a guy ask us if he could sing with us. He sounded good, but he was extremely LOUD! The songsters went to a retirement home to sing some songs. One of the biggest things I worked on was the Christmas Musical. It was so much fun! Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and everyone sounded great. We were all a little nervous when the practise was...less than wonderful.

Anyway, the hardest thing was leaving that Church. We had so many people go up to us. We received several cards and people came up to us to say how well we fit and have added to the Church. They were so supportive and so many people asked me questions about what was happening with me and telling me how much they hoped I would be able to come back. A couple people would say I should just come back in faith that I would get a job. Some people said confidently, "We WILL see you again." It was so difficult to say goodbye. I love them all and they have added so much joy to my life. It is hard to find that relationship with a Church...

Alison left a day before me. It was a quiet ride to the airport, and a quiet ride back. There were sighs from Anne saying we were missing a person after Alison left. The day before, we played games, ate our favourite meal Anne makes and one of our favourite desserts. There was lots of laughter. Chocolate was in the mix, and we even had a late night outing which involved looking at Christmas lights at registered homes.

On the day I left, it made me feel sick. I saw Anne's red eyes and Alister hugged me so tight. I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I sat for a long time and finally left. I went to Auckland first. I had less than 1 1/2 to get to the international airport in Auckland. There was a free shuttle, but it took 30 minutes (they claimed it would only take 10). I had to go through customs. It was frustrating to see a NZ girl go right through without any trouble. As soon as I got through customs, I ran through security. After security, I looked up what gate I was to go to. It said, Final Boarding Call. So I ran to the gate. I made it in time, but I was really nervous. Then I had an incredibly long flight home.

So ends my New Zealand journey of 2010. It has been rough, but it has been an incredible experience. I miss it already, and all the people I have come to know!