Life

Family Trip #03: Aviation Museum and Mackenzie Country

March 4, 2021 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Well, it’s been a busy few weeks! I’ve been away from home again, helping a family for the past month, so I haven’t had a lot of time (or brain space) to get a post out. But today I have a bit of extra time, since my work finished a couple of hours early.

I got up to the second day of our family trip last, so I thought I’d continue that today. Here’s day three.

Our second night out, we stayed with some of the friends I helped last year. While there earlier last year, I learned about the church a family member owned, but never got to see it. On our way to Ashburton the morning of our third day, Mom and I found it and stopped to have a look! It’s a lovely wee thing, always open to whoever wants to go in and pray or have a few quiet moments with the Lord.

The cactus outside was blooming (I guess you can tell how dry this climate is in the summer…!). So pretty!

While Mom and I went to a used bookstore (lots of fun), my brothers went to an aviation museum. They didn’t find the aviation museum quite as interesting as they had hoped, but they still enjoyed having a look at the 20+ planes there. This (second picture below) is one of the earliest planes to be flown in NZ, I believe.

Mom and I, meanwhile, found a stack of books to buy—whether we needed them or not! (Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the bookstore or our stack of books.) The museum was interesting, although I was thankful I didn’t have to be there the whole morning. There were some fascinating plane designs, as well as some older planes. When we finished looking around after lunch, we were all ready to get on the road again!

After the morning in Ashburton, we took off for the Mackenzie country! Such a difference from the coast; it’s a very dry part of the country. But what it might lack in green, it makes up for in majesty!

There are multiple canals in the area, but the parts that are undoubtedly my favorite are the lakes and mountains. The first lake you get to is Lake Tekapo, and it was a beautiful blue the day we went through. Every time we’ve gone past, we’ve tended to stop somewhere for pictures, and this time we got to see the new bridge and the old church. It was a beautiful day, although it was a bit cloudy!

I am so thankful for the two sisters the Lord has given me!

The younger ones loved exploring around the water.

I loved the lupins there!

My baby sister thought it was the perfect chance to do some rock throwing!

That night, we stayed with friends who own the hardware shop in Twizel, Jake’s Hardware. They’ve been good friends for years, and it was wonderful to get to catch up with them again!

Second Day of Our Family Trip

January 18, 2021 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

The second day of our trip dawned cold and clear, and by breakfast time, there was sunlight coming through the trees, so we soaked that up while we ate—a breakfast of fried eggs, bread and condiments, and granola (muesli) for those who wanted it.

We were on the road by 10:30 or so, and our first stop was Cave Stream. Dad and my oldest brother walked through there four years ago, but this time all the boys and my oldest sister wanted to make the trek, so they did that. While they were underground in the freezing, sometimes waist- or a bit higher water, Mom, my baby sister, and I walked the trail on top and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery!

I admit it. I took far too many pictures while we were driving. But I love mountains!

Looking up toward the Torlesse (?) Mountain range, down the Broken River valley.

It was such a gorgeous area!

My brothers at the cave opening, where Cave Stream runs out to join the Broken River.

Dad and my oldest sister also went through the cave.

The Broken River, downstream.

Cave opening where my brothers came out.

This is the kind of area I’d love to live in, except for the fact that it’s so remote!

Lunch break.

After lunch, we went to Castle Hill, where my brothers had fun climbing the gigantic rock outcrops. I carried my baby sister up there, hoping she’d fall asleep, but she ended up staying awake until we got back to the van.

Meanwhile, Mom and I got to do a little exploring in the area—that was beautiful! I love how rugged it is and seeing the mountains in the background.

My brothers were quite exhausted by the time they got back! They aren’t used to quite such strenuous work most of the time!

Switchbacks on Porter’s Pass.

Baby sister was tired!

That evening, we stayed the night with friends, ones I lived with for six weeks this past May/June. It was lovely to catch up with them again!

The next day, Mom and I went to a used book store, and my brothers went to an aviation museum. Post coming soonish, hopefully. 🙂

First Day of Our Family Trip

January 2, 2021 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

We’ve had a delightful family trip so far! We left fairly late Monday afternoon, and got up to Arthur’s Pass in time for a quick hour’s walk before we needed to set up for the night. I’ve been wanting to show the Devil’s Punchbowl Waterfall to the family for quite a while, so that’s what we did. I counted the steps on the way up—401 one way, not counting all the parts of the path that were not steps either up or down! Needless to say, we were all a bit puffed by the time we got to the top!

But the views…just gorgeous! This is from when we were heading out to the road to the pass.

Heading up the Arthur’s Pass Viaduct…a gorgeous, sunny day!

The Devil’s Punchbowl Waterfall:

After climbing up to the viewing platform, all of us children went on to the base of the falls.

Brothers in the rainbow. 🙂 Baby sister wasn’t very impressed, though, and wanted to go back to “Mum, Mum!”

My wonderful parents!

Baby sister had fun climbing down some of those 401 steps by herself!

View down the pass valley—this is the Bealey river.

Enjoying the sunshine and company at the end of the walk.

That evening, since it was cold out and the sandflies were attacking, we all gathered in the back of one of the vans on Dad and Mom’s bed and played a game of Ricochet Robots (a recommended game, by the way).

And thus was the end of our first day of traveling. The next were fairly eventful, as well—perhaps I can take time to get some more posts together about that!

Tuis! …and a Bellbird

January 1, 2021 // Esther Filbrun 2 Comments

Well, I’ve been writing a good many blog posts in my head, but haven’t managed to get any onto digital paper yet. Perhaps this one will make it there—we’ll see!

Life has been full. Full and wonderful.

My job working with a disabled girl finished at the beginning of November, and aside from a few trips, I’ve been home ever since. Three people in our family have had medical emergencies in that time, one requiring a three-night stay in the hospital (!), so my time home certainly hasn’t been dull! But there have been some beautiful moments, too.

And one I’d like to share with you today is…the tuis!

Two years ago, the New Zealand native flax bush just outside our dining room window bloomed. We had a profusion of birds come through that year to suck the nectar—tui, bellbird, wax eye, sparrow, starling, just to name a few. It lasted for about a month, and it was the most lovely experience to have the birds feeding within a few feet of where we stand at the windows!

A year ago, I was disappointed that the flax bushes didn’t bloom (still don’t know why; do they have a biannual schedule or something?).

But this year, they are blooming again! And for the most part, the tui have been harvesting them. We have seen the occasional starling, sparrow, or bellbird come through, but the tui have been far and away the most common. Sometimes, we’ll get up to three at once out there, but generally only one. If there are two fairly close together, one or both end up fluffing their feathers out and giving the other a good scolding, which in turn generally sends one or the other away in a hurry!

Notice the orange increasing on their heads as the season progressed? That’s when the flowers opened up more, and the pollen was released.

And then I was able to get a couple pictures of a bellbird!

Here’s a picture of two of them fighting about who gets to stay to eat (even their fighting language is musical, though).

It’s been a lovely experience the past month to get to watch these beautiful birds so close-up. This is one time I’m thankful we have great big bushes fairly close to the house!

Faithful in All Seasons

September 1, 2020 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

It was a warm, windy day here when I got back to North Canterbury on Sunday afternoon. Today, rain is coming through in gusts, with a definite chill in the air heralding a southerly wind pushing up from south of New Zealand. Some parts of the island have had snowfall, and though we aren’t supposed to get any due to our low altitude, you can definitely tell from the air that it’s somewhere around! I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when the clouds roll away and I can get a glimpse at the hills and mountains surrounding us—I expect they will be quite beautiful!

It’s amazing how life follows the same patterns weather does—sometimes, things are bleak and shot-through with sorrow, and other times, sunlight comes in on the gentle wings of a breeze, coaxing the daffodils and hyacinths into the full, rich blossom of springtime.

When I went home a week ago, the tree outside my bedroom was a mass of dark greeny-grey branches and twigs. Now, little clusters of light green have sprung from what looked lifeless, and the tree’s branches are suddenly a haze of growth and beauty.

These past weeks haven’t been easy, for a variety of reasons, but you know—the Lord is so faithful. Even when I feel like I’m distanced from Him, that I can’t get much out of His Word, He still reaches through and touches me.

I’ve been blessed to be part of a HelloMornings study group for the past two weeks, and one question about a week ago was, what songs do we cling to in hard times? I shared a couple from my “Valley of Hope” playlist—one compiled years ago—and was reminded of just how faithful the Lord has been over the years.

When we walked through losing my brother, He held us up.

When Mom miscarried little ones we were looking forward to meeting, He held our hands—and even provided a rainbow in the sky on our way into the hospital the last time!

When my youngest sister was born, our joy in His goodness overflowed.

When I struggled to give up my idea in preference for what He was asking from me, He gave me the grace to say “yes”.

When a hoped-for journey came to an abrupt end, He gave peace.

Whatever you’re facing, friend, I hope you will keep your hope and trust in the Lord today. No matter what your current weather season is, He will always bring life and hope again!

And, for your enjoyment and perhaps encouragement, here is my “Valley of Hope” playlist.

What songs touch you when you’re walking through hard things? Comment below; I’m always on the lookout for other encouraging ones!

Home Again—Temporarily!

July 8, 2020 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

I’ve often pondered what the word “home” means—because I’ve felt at home in many different places over the years!

Born and raised in Michigan, teenage years in New Zealand, longish trips back to the States, a trip to Tasmania, one to Hastings, another to a tiny out-of-the-way place in south Canterbury, weekends at Kaikoura for eight years….

Each time I look at pictures of those places, or go back to them, I feel a certain rest when I get there.

These are my mountains. This is my road. These are my people.

Some places have a stronger tug than others, of course. And yet, life continues moving—a steady thread pulling me forward, until I fear that if I take time to look back, I’ll miss out on the now.

A week and a half ago, I came home again, back to my family, back to the green pastures and quiet purplish mountains visible across the winding rivers. And while I know and feel that I’m at home, there’s a restlessness there, too. This transition between being with one family that has become “my” family, and my flesh-and-blood-family is hard sometimes.

Because I love them both.

And I’m thankful for this—this grief of what is now past, and this looking ahead to what will be. I don’t know what the next weeks will look like—while things like a permanent job are definitely up in the air, another opportunity has come up in its place.

God has a way of bringing unexpected, sometimes uncomfortable, things into our lives. Lord willing, I’ll be heading away again in about a week’s time to help another family with a daughter who has been unwell for many years. I’m expecting this to be stretching in ways I’ve never dealt with before, but I know I will also learn a lot, and find out again just how good the Lord is and how much we can rest in Him.

But for this week, I’m home. And whatever situation I end up in next, that will become “home” too, so I’m thankful.

God is good.