Well, I hope the title of this says it all… where to begin?
This last month has been nothing short of Amazing, it really has. New Zealand is a land of vibrancy, tremendous beauty, friendly people, gorgeous children, and amazing history. We absolutely loved everything about it! Needless to say, going to church one last time, packing up our things one last time, and seeing the friends we made- one last time, was hard. Turns out leaving was harder than we thought. Let’s just put it this way, if it wasn’t SO far from the USA and SO expensive to travel to and from the USA, we’d move!
At the end of they day, we said our goodbyes and decided to get excited about Australia. New Zealand had other plans for us. On one of our last days off, we were going to go to THOP (Tauranga House Of Prayer). We felt like it would be nice to go one last time to participate and see people one more time. Well I woke early that morning feeling like my bladder was going to explode. I got up as quick as I could, went to the bathroom and that feeling was still there. I thought that was weird, but I figured if I just went to sleep then all would be fine. So, I did. Woke up again a couple hours later and immediately the pain continued, but now it felt more like a cramp. I took a shower and began to get ready to go but then the pain got worse. Girls on various teams were telling me it could be a urinary tract infection. I’ve never had one, but I though they must be right. So, I decided to ride out the pain. Until I was doubled over in the hall way and my leader (Krissy), along with Scott, decided we should go to the hospital. Krissy made some calls and got me a ride fast.
I went down to the hospital and got worse and worse. The pain was unbearable! I was shaking, crying, and I couldn’t talk. All I could think about was the possibility of passing out as I looked at Scott’s worried face. Finally, after giving me a few pain medicines they put me on morphine… ahhh what a relief! I got some tests done and x-rays and then finally the results: kidney stones. The doctor said I’d have a few more days of pain until I pass the stone, but that all would be well sooner or later. Boooo. So, a few hours later Scott went and picked up my prescription and we headed home. That night my team prayed over me… they prayed hard and with intent. They asked God to crush the stone, to heal me, to make the pain go away inexplicably. Then they thanked God for healing me and we all headed off to bed.
The next day we got ready to head off to the airport to catch our flight to Brisbane, Australia. Everything was going to just fine… we got to the airport, set our bags down, walked around and then a squad-mate asks me to show her my passport (thanks Charlotte!). I go to show her and it’s gone! I don’t know how or where it could have come out. I was sure I’d left it in my tent all month. Nevertheless we unpacked our bags at the airport, we took everything out. We even took out our tent, opened it, and looked through it. Still, nothing. I was SO mad at myself. All I could say was, “this is the story of my life!”
We talked to customs to try to get on the flight: FAIL. We talked to Menzies (the group in charge of security for Pacific Blue- the company we were flying with) to see if they could make an exception: FAIL. We did everything we could to leave with our team and still nothing worked out. We had to be picked up and stay behind. This sucked so bad! But whatever, we left and had plans to go to the US Embassy the next morning. We stayed at the YWAM base with a team from the other squad and hoped for better luck the next day. We woke up at 6:30 to the sound of stomping and yelling (there was a conference going on and this was apparently one of the dances that would be performed later that day) not cool. So we finally get ready and go to the heart of Auckland to find this place. We were lost for awhile: FAIL, and when we got there they had a sign that said they were CLOSED for the day for training: FAIL- again! We had to try again the next day.
We went down the next day and were ready to be done with all the craziness. We finally got up there, explained ourselves, and we were told that first we needed to go to the police station to report the passport missing so they could cancel it, then we could continue. Ahhhh! Ok, so we left, went to the police station and filled that out, and came back. We paid for the emergency passport and were told to wait- they would call my name. So we waited and waited and waited, and finally I went up there and asked how much longer it would be and if they needed my paperwork?? The lady giggled and said, “ohh, I thought you had already turned that in, sorry. I’ll need that and then we’ll call you up.” REALLY?!?! I mean come on!! So fine, we sit and wait again. A few moments later we get called up there, I get sworn in, and then I’m told I’ll need to contact the US Embassy while in Australia to order a permanent passport. Finally, we headed back excited to be done with all this mess.
When we got back we checked our emails, and were about to skype our parents when Scott gets a message from one of our squad mates in Tauranga saying, “We found your passport! The guy that took Denise to the airport found it in his car! Yay! We’ll give that to you tomorrow at the airport!” REALLY?!?!?! Wow… we couldn’t catch a break! I guess it’s better that he had it than the other possibilities, but c’mon! So Scott was really upset with himself, realizing he had been the one that left it behind somehow amidst the commotion. He felt bad because he had been really upset with me for not being more careful… and ultimately, he was mostly upset for not having more faith in me when I told him there was no way I could have lost it, I hadn’t taken it out at all. I felt bad for him. I just loved him… afterall, there was nothing to be done, it was an honest mistake- plus, he’s hard enough on himself.
So the next day, after 2 hours of sleep, as we were packing and getting ready to fly with the other team we are told that I have to purchase a new visa because the other one is null and void: FAIL! This means spending more money and not to mention feeling like such a loser… how much more can I take? We get to the airport and we go up to get our tickets and Scott’s visa isn’t working… what?! So after 2 hours of waiting, a million calls, and tons of frustration, they tell us we just need to purchase another visa: FAIL. REALLY?!?! Wow. By this point I’m pretty much speechless. I was honestly starting to worry about our flight. With this kind of luck, our plane might just go down!
Finally, we got that taken care of, and our flight was delayed: FAIL. HAHAHAHA! Oh my goodness.. . Now I realized this was just a big set up for me to write this blog! Just for you! So as you sit and read this in frustration with whatever has gone wrong in your day, week, month, life, I could make you feel better. So you’re welcome. Would I do this again? Was it worth it? NO. NO. NO. Maybe. Please pray for us! We fly again today…
