We flew out of Palmy Sunday evening after a busy morning of leading church and children's messages. The flight to Auckland was beautiful - here is a shot from the plane. 
Once in Auckland we had a three hour lay-over before the next plane took us to LAX. Isn't it annoying that when we flew out of Auckland with no customs stuff to do, we had a forever long layover, but flying into Auckland with lots of customs stuff to do, we had a 1.5 hour layover (barely enough time to make it to the flight)??!! Airports!
Anyhow, our flight to LAX was awesome - we had very spacious seats at the back of the plane so we could spread out and relax.
When we got back on land, it was wonderful to spend a few days with Ken's parents in Simi Valley. Our first meal: In N' Out (also our last meal leaving the states back in July...). Monday we ran errands (Ken got some new running shoes to help his marathon training!) and just had family time. Late that night we were able to meet up with my friend Whitney in Santa Monica for drinks and to catch up. Tuesday was filled with time spent in Santa Barbara - we went to the mission and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the pier.
Wednesday afternoon we left for Irvine for the DCE conference after grabbing coffee with Aaron Mutal and lunch with Ken's family. Before the conference, I had a meeting with Christ College to discuss placement after NZ...I'm not sure where the Lord is calling us next, so it was an ambiguous meeting. But I did learn that I need to take one more class before I can be "called" - so guess what I'm doing online this summer??!
The DCE conference began that night with a kick-off dinner at the Ross's which was really fun! It was encouraging to see everyone again and to hear that they too have their ups and downs in ministry. That night we went out for drinks with some other friends (Ben Meraz, Tony-D, Jenny Bilsten) to the Yardhouse (it was glorious to see things open until midnight!! We'd gotten quite used to things shutting down by 8pm...) Thursday Ken was in conference meetings all day discussing internship, going through some training, and speaking to DCE students. I bounced around campus hanging out with friends, giving a presentation in a music class about the Lutheran church in NZ, attending women's ensemble again, and being an alumni djimbay player for SHOUT that night (wow, it was wonderful to play with such musically talented people...) Something I realized going back to school was how much of a bubble it really was - never in a normal small church will I find the musical talent that is at a school where it's all young, ambitious kids playing for grades. It was awesome to be a part of that, but it also made it very hard to go into the "real world" church - such an abrubt change. Ken also had his call meeting on Thursday and decided to defer his call. He isn't sure where God wants him next, but he knows he's done with youth ministry after this, and thinks he's done with traditional DCE ministry too. It's exciting times for us right now as we enjoy what we're doing currently, but have no idea where we'll be next year! Friday was the last day of the conference and that night we asked anyone interested to meet us at the Karl Strauss brew pub to hang out - 16 friends came! I almost cried, I was so happy to see such support and love from everyone back home! Saturday Ken's folks came down to the Irvine area and we went to Mission San Juan Capistrano...beautiful!
Then we got on the plane for Arizona. Our time in Apache Junction was a blitz: Super Bowl Sunday we spent with all my family. The game was suspenseful, the food was yummy, and being with everyone really made me appreciate how awesome my family is!
Monday it snowed on top of the Superstitions!! That was awesome:
We also spent the day inside (since it was so wet and cold) at the Heard Museum
Tuesday we ran a lot of errands...after we met new people when Ken locked us out of our car on accident at the voting polls! Yes, Mom and I hitchhiked it home not once, but TWICE because on the first time Mom grabbed the wrong set of keys!! haha...
Wednesday we went horseback riding and for Ken, it was his first! He had a really slow calm horse and unfortunately Dad's horse was behind him and liked to bite...you can see where this is going (Dad ended up getting kicked by Ken's horse!)
A gorgeous sunset...
And Thursday we left for CA again!!! Back in Simi we hung out with Ken's family for the day and then left Friday to go back home to Palmy. Wow...like I said, a blitz!
The plane ride home wasn't as comfortable as the one back to the States, but it was very exciting! We brought our year-anniversary cake topper back with us to eat when we crossed the international date line (to celebrate our 8 month instead). So when we crossed the line and it was officially Feb 9 (you see we flew out on the 8th and would arrive on the 10th, so we effectively missed the 9th) the pilot announced it was our anniversary, everyone clapped, and the attendant brought our cake out with champagne! It was very special!
Getting back to Palmy in time for church, we met the interim pastor (who is an older man, but very wise with great sermons!) and caught up with friends from the church. We found out that the matriarch of the church, Auntie Joy, is very ill with cancer and is expected to live only a few months...please keep her and the Satherley family in your prayers during this hard time. We also found out that a young couple had a baby - a healthy baby boy 8.5lbs! What a blessing!
So now the business of holidays and traveling should be at an end. We look forward to settling down this week, getting back into our routine and doing ministry again in the Manawatu. It was very rejuvinating to go back to the States - we feel pumped and ready to rock out this next year in New Zealand. I think we really understand 1 Thessalonians 5:11 when it says, "Encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" because that is exactly what our time with our family and friends in Christ did for us back in the States. Amen! 
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