The moment I set foot in New Zealand, I began a mental list of everything I needed to learn before the team arrived. Driving on the wrong side of the road was top priority. Arranging meals was a close second.
"Oh, no one eats out in the South Island," one mother cheerfully informed us. "Restaurants are so expensive. There are some takeaways, but almost everyone cooks at home. If the place where you're staying has a kitchen, you can cook your meals!"
Cook? That wasn't part of my job description! I could count all the recipes I knew on one hand-- and still have fingers left! What in the world was I going to do?
I hoped she was wrong; and, thanks to the internet, I was able to arm my Clie with lists of all the affordable restaurants and takeaways I could find. I also stocked up on granola bars and Tim Tams (one of my favorite cookies), hoping they would tide us over when restaurants were scarce.
Sunday morning, as we met our travel-weary team at the Wellington airport, I suddenly realized that they might be hungry... and despite my preparations, I still had no idea what to do. "Stay cool," I told myself. While everyone unpacked (I was trying to buy time), I nonchalantly asked the hostel receptionist if there were any inexpensive places to eat. Half an hour later, we paraded through New World, a grocery chain across the street, with the sandwiches and takeaways we selected. Whew-- one meal down, twenty-two more to go.
Later that evening, I returned to New World to get fixings for lunch the next day. Someone had warned me that meat was rather pricey, so with the words "expensive" and "budget" in mind, I bought one slice of turkey and cheese per person. I got just enough bread and extra lettuce to make up the difference. Unfortunately, the lady who prepared my turkey couldn't count... so one girl got a BLT with only extra L.
With that reputation haunting me, I found myself going to three grocery stores one night just to find meat for lunch wraps the next day. No luck. Finally, we asked Subway if they might sell us their meat. Again, no luck-- however, they were open 24/7, so we could place an order and pick it up the next morning.
Mornings came awfully early in New Zealand. We headed into the still slumbering town of Queenstown at 5:30 the next morning. As promised, Subway was open and our order was almost ready.
I stifled a yawn as I waited. Never thought I'd be doing this in New Zealand. Suddenly, I remembered a verse that almost made me laugh aloud-- "She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household." Was the Lord giving me a taste of motherhood?!?
I went to New Zealand to help with a photography course. Instead, the Lord taught me to make grocery lists, brave the kitchen (with the help of my girls who already knew how to cook), run errands, balance the petty cash, and learn a little of the sacrifice my mother has made for me all these years. Through it all, the Lord taught me that there is more to life than my desk job and more to ministry than doing seminars. True servanthood is not determined by what I do, but how I do it and for Whom.______________________________
Soul Lemonade, No. 8
Taipei, Taiwan
