I love to worship! I love the rhythm of the music, the words of the songs and the time just praising God. It's fabulous. To date I have really struggled in the NZ church. I cry every time we start to sing because we are singing in English and not in my heart language of Spanish. Spanish has so much more depth to the meanings of the words and I find it a much easier and meaningful way to worship.

This past Sunday we went to the Latin American church "Cristo Viene" which is here in Auckland. It was like coming home! Nige was hassling me that I would cry but I didn't. I had a big smile on my face as we sang. I loved the kisses of welcome, the chats, the rhythm of the music and especially the words of the song. It was just wonderful.

We talked about it afterwards and realised that we both felt the same. It would be such an easy church to slip into and feel at home in. We could attend a small group meeting weekly and the kids would do fun things in the children's programme (this week they performed a drama). But we also realised that we can't do that. We really need to assimilate back into NZ life and be a part of a NZ church. We need to be kiwis and not the latinos we think we are :-) I think we will try and make the effort to visit this church regularly though.

Some of you have asked about our house. Well, let me tell you that it has 3 bedrooms, an open plan kitchen and dining area and separate lounge, inside laundry (most are in the garage now), separate bathroom and toilet, a garage and a small section with not much on it. That's great as we've never been big gardeners but it gives us a chance to plant what we want....Lavender and lilies for Richelle and native trees for Nige. The three schools that the boys will need in the next 5 years (primary, intermediate and high school) are all within a 10 minute walk of the house and the SIM office is a 10 minute drive so it's just perfect. We are in the process of getting all the paperwork finalised by Friday when the sale will become unconditional. It's all very exciting!!!