Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn’t it? Turns out that uprooting your entire life and moving antipodally takes a lot of effort. Who knew? But it’s the end of Spring Break, so let me explain—no, it is too much. Let me sum up.

We’ve been in Auckland for (nearly) ten months! The kids are doing great. Thriving, really; they were already pretty academically-gifted kids, but the schools they’re in now have afforded them the ability to grow and flourish in ways we only hoped. Simon has at least three or four really good friends at Kindie that he can’t wait to see again; Theo has learned to read and now won’t stop reading everything he sees; Piper has earned at least two academic merit awards at school; and Calvin is blowing away all opponents at Chess Club and the EPro8 engineering challenge.

Natalie has been through a few rounds of clinicals, some group projects, and a surprise trip back to the US. David wrapped up a big project at work, has been keeping the family schedule (this is a big deal) and doing most of the grocery shopping. We hardly ever drive on the wrong side of the road anymore, or turn on the windshield wipers windscreen wipers when we mean to turn on the turn signals. We’ve also been taking as many opportunities as possible to get time out in nature, both with and without the kids; David likes walking Dingle Dell Reserve and running along the waterfront by Tāmaki Drive, while Natalie has drawn crowds as the “giant bubble lady.”

We’ve wandered Hobbiton, the Auckland Zoo, the Museum of Transport and Technology, the local aquarium, and the Pasifika Festival; climbed Rangitoto and Mount Ruapehu (Mount Doom); and we’ve traveled to Waitomo, Taupō, Rotorua, and Hamilton. We’ve marveled at the sunrises and sunsets, at the thick morning fog, at how bright the moon and stars are, and at how many rainbows there are (we’re pretty sure we’ve seen more rainbows in the last ten months alone than in our entire lives before this point); we’ve been through autumn, winter, and now spring (our first in eighteen months!); we’ve gone on bus rides, train rides, and ferry rides; we’ve gone sledding in July and swimming in a hot spring the next day; and we’ve all learned a little bit of Māori (lesson one: the name of the language is “Te Reo Māori.” If you just say “Māori,” you’re talking about the people).

And we found a church! After a somewhat-long search, just after Easter we settled into a sweet and friendly community called Ev Church. We’re starting to get plugged in and make friends. Nothing can replace Redeemer Indianapolis in our hearts, but we are well cared-for and grateful to the people we’re getting to know at Ev.

As I write this, on a sunny, breezy spring afternoon in October, the air blowing in the windows has regained that sweet and welcoming scent I noticed on the very first day we landed in Auckland. The sun seems to have changed over the past few weeks, from the gentle glow of the winter sun back to the scorching fireball we encountered when we arrived (it’s time to break out the hats and stock back up on sunscreen). Long White Clouds have returned to the skies over the land which took their name.

Each of these could (and may one day be) a post in its own right. It truly has been a whirlwind of an adventure, and we’re grateful to you for your prayers and well-wishes as we’ve taken this journey. Thank you. We love you.

(Side note: Our adventure photo album has been updated. Take a look!)