MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
It's Christmas Eve here today!! We went to a great Christmas Service/play at church and then we made Cheese Fondue, (Apples, Grapes, Bread, and Broccoli) and then an Oil Fondue for meat and Potato's and boy was it delicious!!
We had planned a Chocolate fondue for dessert with (Pineapples, Peaches, Strawberries, Bananas) but we were just too stuffed to make dessert - can you believe that?? No worries though, we have postponed it for Christmas Day when we are enjoying our own little Ham, with Corn on the cob, and Mac & Cheese!!
It's our first Christmas together, and without family... so we're keeping some of our family traditions alive, and the McBrayer Christmas Eve Fondue tradition was one of them - Even though we are far from home, we can still experience much of our Holiday happenings! But a new Christmas Day event will take place tomorrow - we're going to open gifts in the morning and spend the day relaxing at the beach in the Hot Sunshine!!! Then the next day (after Christmas) we are off to Camp...
We will be out of town pretty much from when it's Christmas day for you - our Dec. 26th until Jan 31st. When it's Christmas day for you we will be off running our Summer Harvest Camp, and will still be at camp through the New Year - so if you don't hear from us, that's where we will be New Years Eve. Then After we get back from camp we are going on Holiday for 25 days to the South Island. So we will be back at the end of January. But we will have some internet connection through out our South Island trek, and some after camp... so we will periodically try and blog and let you know what's happening! However, if we don't catch up with you before then - MERRY CHRISTMAS, and Have a Very Safe and Happy New Year!!!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Grocery Store Warning - Dec. 22nd
Grocery Shopping the day before Christmas Eve:
The basic definition for the grocery store on the week of Christmas is – Mad House. When looking in the dictionary for the meaning of getting a few groceries a few days for Christmas it should say “Don’t Go!!”
We could not believe the lines and amount of people making a quick trip for a few items so stressful. Preston mentioned several times “lets just go” unfortunately, we had to trudge through because all the grocery stores would be that way – worse then Disney land!
FYI – Avoid the stores right before Christmas if at all possible. Chances are what you are going to the store to get will be gone any way!! Lucky for us we get to experience is a day before you – so consider this your holiday warning ☺ BE BRAVE!!!!
The basic definition for the grocery store on the week of Christmas is – Mad House. When looking in the dictionary for the meaning of getting a few groceries a few days for Christmas it should say “Don’t Go!!”
We could not believe the lines and amount of people making a quick trip for a few items so stressful. Preston mentioned several times “lets just go” unfortunately, we had to trudge through because all the grocery stores would be that way – worse then Disney land!
FYI – Avoid the stores right before Christmas if at all possible. Chances are what you are going to the store to get will be gone any way!! Lucky for us we get to experience is a day before you – so consider this your holiday warning ☺ BE BRAVE!!!!
Monday, December 22, 2008
The New Zealand Christmas Tree
The Pohutukawa (Pa-hoot-a-ka-wa)The Mainland pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) displays spectacular red flowers from the end of November through January. That is why it is nicknamed 'The New Zealand Christmas Tree.' It is one of the enduring symbols not only of New Zealand but also of Kiwi midsummer Christmas vacations and the beauty of N.Z.'s North Island. Pohutukawa, or 'splashed by the sea,' is sacred to native Maoris who believe that the pohutukawa which sits on the very tip of Cape Reinga is the last stepping-off place of spirits from this world.
Small Group Beach Day
This past Friday we took 20 rowdy teenagers from our Rock Solid Club small groups to Ocean Beach for a day of Sun & Surf. We had a great time paling around and soaking up the sunshine. The guys enjoyed digging holes in the sand, making drip castles, and more importantly “sand bombs” which they repeatedly threw at the girls. Other fun came from jumping down hills of sand, and rolling down sand dunes until one was a sandy mess! It was sure a fun time had by all.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Beach with Students Today!
Well it is Friday and after a long week of gearing up for Summer Harvest camp, making tons of phone calls, and working the Bebo system we are spending some quality time with our small groups. We will be spending 6 hours with 13 precious teenagers at Oceans Beach to hang out, lay in the sunshine, and have "girl chats" Today will be a great time for us to talk with kids about their holidays and share the wonderful story about the real meaning of Christmas. I am so excited!! Pray for our time with the youth at the beach, and for everyone's safety in the water!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Our Fiji Adventures & Youth Safari Camp
A few things to know about Fiji:
1. It’s extremely Hot – They have summer year round
2. They have their own time (Fiji Time)
3. If something starts at 1pm = that means it could start at Noon, or at 3pm
4. 12 things can get planned, and only 3 are actually gotten to.
5. The people here are so laid back6. Everyone just seems so happy. Fijians are always smiling.7. Students are very appreciative. Just by taking their picture, they will replay with a “thank you”
8. Did I mention it’s extremely hot here?
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Fiji Safari Camp
The past few weeks, we have been in Fiji helping to run a safari camp. Now when we say safari camp; we don’t mean a camp in the jungle amongst heaps of “zoo” animals. As in a safari – you are on a quest to find something; to hunt something down - the safari camp is simply a quest for youth to find out who Christ is.The camp was full of 118 (14-21 year old) Indian and Fijian students from Nadi, Ba, and Suva. We spent the week ‘on the road’ moving the camp from place to place while leading a different theme for camp each day. The camp started out in a city/town called Ba. In Ba we stayed at the Ba YFC office and a Methodist School and led a program about serving others. The following day we split up all 118 students into the city of Ba to clean up! We participated in a “clean up Ba campaign” where we took potato sacs and filled them up with rubbish continually for 3 hours. The city provided dump trunks.JPG)
for the students, so when the bags were full of trash they would find a truck driving around to dump their bag in so they had an empty bag again! It was so great to see students participate in helping to clean up their city. We talked to the students about their country – how it’s God’s land instilled to them to take care of. Some towns people were very humbled by the students actions in picking up trash. (the grounds were literally black and covered in trash). One elderly lady on the street donated a whole bag of bananas that she was selling as a “blessing” to the studentscleaning up the Ba town. We had other students at the Ba hospital cleaning up the rubbish on the grounds there, and another group atthe “Heart of Ba.”.JPG)
On Wednesday we moved the camp from Ba to Latouka where we stayed at a salvation army building and talked about team building – and reaching for a goal/prize. We had students competing in
several games and team building exercises throughout the day; and ended our day in an evening of worship & scripture. In their evening service, we challenged the students to reach for the goal of Christ; as he is the prize to Eternal Life. We had student testimonies about Christ's faithfulness in their lives, a Biblical message, and a drama about Christ's crucifixion. At the end of this service, there was an altar call for anyone who wanted to give their life to Christ; and through our amazement - 45 students went to the altar to pray at the foot of the cross. What a BLESSING!!! Thursday we loaded up on the buses and moved from 
Latouka to Nadi town and settled in at another Salvation army building. This was a day of picnicking and swimming at the local beach. It was a great time of fellowship, beach volleyball, and playing rugby in the ocean. The water at the Nadi beach was incredibly warm. It was simply bath water, and a joy to swim in! This was a great ending to the camp after many late night programs, interviews, testimonies, worship songs, and bus traveling. After Camp our New Zealand YFC team went about 3 hours to the east coast of Fiji to the capital city; Suva. In Suva we hung out with our host Sereki (Zur-ee-key) and his family. We had a great few days exploring the town, markets, and beaches on the East side. Saturday, we were invited to attend a Fijian wedding. From one of the camp leaders – his brother was getting married. The Fijian wedding was so great to experience. It was outside and was to start at 11am. The heat was strong as we sat there for the service to begin. 45 minutes after the wedding was to start; we were informed that it would be a little longer because the bridal party was not there yet. 30 minutes after that, we were told to fan our neighbors with the programs and that “the bride should be here within 20 minutes.” At 12:30pm, the wedding finally began. 
Much to my surprise, the service was very much the same as ours. It has the same typical layout and service order. There were a few things that were culturally different in the service, such as some people’s dress, and how part of the service was signing the marriage license, how the pastor stood away from the bride & groom behind a pulpit, and how people would randomly walk to the front, or behind the pastor in the middle of the ceremony to get good photos of the Bride & Groom. Overall, it was such a unique experience and we are so blessed to have been invited and a part of the festivities.
Before camp began:Upon our arrival in Fiji and leading a camp, we flew in 3 days before the start of camp to get use to the Fiji heat, learn about the Fijian culture, and do a little touring by visiting an island. Everyone says that you can’t come to Fiji and not stay on an island, so that we did. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at a place called “Bounty Island.” We took a 30 minute speed boat ride out to an island in the middle of the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. The water was crystal clear and you could see 20 feet straight down. Our team had their own Bula hut on the island which was very nice - the best part was that it was air conditioned!! We had our own private front area with a hammock in the tree and pretty much our own beach front & lawn chairs. So we began our Fiji stay living in paradise, which was nice since we knew the following week we would be with 100 other people on a gym floor.
Our stay at bounty island included all of our cooked meals, and unlimited use of kayaks, snorkeling gear, and some island entertainment. We could walk around the entire island in about 40 minutes so it wasn’t too huge; but it was a big island. It was such a blessing to lay out on the sand, spend hours baking in hot sunshine, and snorkeling to see all the beautiful fish and water creations God has blessed us with. Preston enjoyed feeding the fish watermelon – however when he did that, LeeAnn would swim away as the fish were getting “took close.” Our last evening on the island, we were sitting outside having dinner and watching the sunset, when all of a sudden LeeAnn spotted this white thing moving around near shore. We got up with heaps of other people eating dinner to see that it was a young shark, about 3 feet long. We all tried to take pictures of it, but it got scared and swam off. After that, LeeAnn didn’t want to go snorkeling as she was afraid the big fish would bring on the sharks.
1. It’s extremely Hot – They have summer year round
2. They have their own time (Fiji Time)
3. If something starts at 1pm = that means it could start at Noon, or at 3pm
4. 12 things can get planned, and only 3 are actually gotten to.
5. The people here are so laid back6. Everyone just seems so happy. Fijians are always smiling.7. Students are very appreciative. Just by taking their picture, they will replay with a “thank you”
8. Did I mention it’s extremely hot here?
Fiji Safari CampThe past few weeks, we have been in Fiji helping to run a safari camp. Now when we say safari camp; we don’t mean a camp in the jungle amongst heaps of “zoo” animals. As in a safari – you are on a quest to find something; to hunt something down - the safari camp is simply a quest for youth to find out who Christ is.The camp was full of 118 (14-21 year old) Indian and Fijian students from Nadi, Ba, and Suva. We spent the week ‘on the road’ moving the camp from place to place while leading a different theme for camp each day. The camp started out in a city/town called Ba. In Ba we stayed at the Ba YFC office and a Methodist School and led a program about serving others. The following day we split up all 118 students into the city of Ba to clean up! We participated in a “clean up Ba campaign” where we took potato sacs and filled them up with rubbish continually for 3 hours. The city provided dump trunks
for the students, so when the bags were full of trash they would find a truck driving around to dump their bag in so they had an empty bag again! It was so great to see students participate in helping to clean up their city. We talked to the students about their country – how it’s God’s land instilled to them to take care of. Some towns people were very humbled by the students actions in picking up trash. (the grounds were literally black and covered in trash). One elderly lady on the street donated a whole bag of bananas that she was selling as a “blessing” to the studentscleaning up the Ba town. We had other students at the Ba hospital cleaning up the rubbish on the grounds there, and another group atthe “Heart of Ba.”On Wednesday we moved the camp from Ba to Latouka where we stayed at a salvation army building and talked about team building – and reaching for a goal/prize. We had students competing in several games and team building exercises throughout the day; and ended our day in an evening of worship & scripture. In their evening service, we challenged the students to reach for the goal of Christ; as he is the prize to Eternal Life. We had student testimonies about Christ's faithfulness in their lives, a Biblical message, and a drama about Christ's crucifixion. At the end of this service, there was an altar call for anyone who wanted to give their life to Christ; and through our amazement - 45 students went to the altar to pray at the foot of the cross. What a BLESSING!!! Thursday we loaded up on the buses and moved from Latouka to Nadi town and settled in at another Salvation army building. This was a day of picnicking and swimming at the local beach. It was a great time of fellowship, beach volleyball, and playing rugby in the ocean. The water at the Nadi beach was incredibly warm. It was simply bath water, and a joy to swim in! This was a great ending to the camp after many late night programs, interviews, testimonies, worship songs, and bus traveling. After Camp our New Zealand YFC team went about 3 hours to the east coast of Fiji to the capital city; Suva. In Suva we hung out with our host Sereki (Zur-ee-key) and his family. We had a great few days exploring the town, markets, and beaches on the East side. Saturday, we were invited to attend a Fijian wedding. From one of the camp leaders – his brother was getting married. The Fijian wedding was so great to experience. It was outside and was to start at 11am. The heat was strong as we sat there for the service to begin. 45 minutes after the wedding was to start; we were informed that it would be a little longer because the bridal party was not there yet. 30 minutes after that, we were told to fan our neighbors with the programs and that “the bride should be here within 20 minutes.” At 12:30pm, the wedding finally began. Much to my surprise, the service was very much the same as ours. It has the same typical layout and service order. There were a few things that were culturally different in the service, such as some people’s dress, and how part of the service was signing the marriage license, how the pastor stood away from the bride & groom behind a pulpit, and how people would randomly walk to the front, or behind the pastor in the middle of the ceremony to get good photos of the Bride & Groom. Overall, it was such a unique experience and we are so blessed to have been invited and a part of the festivities. Before camp began:Upon our arrival in Fiji and leading a camp, we flew in 3 days before the start of camp to get use to the Fiji heat, learn about the Fijian culture, and do a little touring by visiting an island. Everyone says that you can’t come to Fiji and not stay on an island, so that we did. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at a place called “Bounty Island.” We took a 30 minute speed boat ride out to an island in the middle of the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. The water was crystal clear and you could see 20 feet straight down. Our team had their own Bula hut on the island which was very nice - the best part was that it was air conditioned!! We had our own private front area with a hammock in the tree and pretty much our own beach front & lawn chairs. So we began our Fiji stay living in paradise, which was nice since we knew the following week we would be with 100 other people on a gym floor.
Our stay at bounty island included all of our cooked meals, and unlimited use of kayaks, snorkeling gear, and some island entertainment. We could walk around the entire island in about 40 minutes so it wasn’t too huge; but it was a big island. It was such a blessing to lay out on the sand, spend hours baking in hot sunshine, and snorkeling to see all the beautiful fish and water creations God has blessed us with. Preston enjoyed feeding the fish watermelon – however when he did that, LeeAnn would swim away as the fish were getting “took close.” Our last evening on the island, we were sitting outside having dinner and watching the sunset, when all of a sudden LeeAnn spotted this white thing moving around near shore. We got up with heaps of other people eating dinner to see that it was a young shark, about 3 feet long. We all tried to take pictures of it, but it got scared and swam off. After that, LeeAnn didn’t want to go snorkeling as she was afraid the big fish would bring on the sharks.
