Cultural Cue #4 - The "OE"

The "OE" is something that many Kiwis between the ages of 17-30 do for at least a few months. An "OE" can be done alone, with friends, or in multiple places, but is almost always exciting. An "OE" is encouraged and even expected among many people ages 17-30. 

So what is an "OE"? 

An "OE" is an Overseas Experience. Most of our friends (in NZ) have had an OE for at least a year. This is a very different concept for us, being from a culture where you finish high school, go to college, get a job, without much of a break in between. There are people that have done their OE's as soon as they leave high school and others have waited until they got married. 

Recently a student from the youth group was asking my advice about what she should do with her life. She is in her last year of high school and was thinking about leaving early. (It is acceptable to leave high school after you turn 16 and receive your leavers certificate as a form of a diploma. In fact only about 25% of students complete every year of high school.) She wanted to leave early to go travel in Europe, maybe America, and then end back in London where she could work for a while. It was either this or finish school and go to university.

The first thought that popped into my head was "I think you should finish school, go to university, get your degree, and then travel." That idea and life schedule is very out of the norm for most teenagers and young adults in New Zealand- I was struck at that point with another way that the New Zealand and American cultures are different. 

Many of the students in the youth group are looking forward to leaving high school and traveling around the world. It's not that they don't want to go to university or get a job or settle someday, but they want to get other life experience through traveling. Many students will leave high school and work for one or two years and use that money to fund their OE.

Part of the idea of the OE might also be from living in such a small country. New Zealand, being roughly the same size and population of the state of Colorado, is located quite far from any major travel destinations. Kiwis are interested in seeing the rest of the world, but it often takes a couple days of travel to get anywhere other than Australia. Many Kiwis we know have only seen the part of the country that they live in as they use vacation time to explore the rest of the world. 

The people of New Zealand and very global people. We have learned so much about other cultures and countries since living here. We really enjoy how our minds have been opened to the world in such a unique way. 

He's Back...

Our fearless team leader is back! Hamish arrived home early Friday morning and we were able to catch up with him as a team on Saturday. It was great to debrief about his time in the States and to be back together as an entire team.

As you may remember, Hamish left for this fundraising trip with fourteen meetings. It was our goal and our prayer to get twenty meetings during his two weeks in the States. God is so faithful. As soon as Hamish was on his way, we began to hear back from more churches and before we knew it, his fourteen meetings had grown to twenty!

We saw God's hand all over this trip and it served as such a reminder to us of God's faithfulness. We prayed for twenty meetings and God provided. We prayed for gas prices to go down during Hamish's time of travel and they did. We prayed for safety and energy as Hamish was waking up as early as 3:30 in the morning to make it to meetings and traveling all over the mid-west for a couple of meetings a day.

Now, we are praying as these churches and mission commitees are deciding if a partnership with our new church is possible for them right now. We know that God will provide, even if it is different than we ever imagined. Will you join us in praying for the partnerships that will help our new church get started?

Cultural Cue # 3- Grab a Cuppa

Being a coffee drinker in New Zealand is not an option, there is coffee and tea everywhere! Wellington, the capital city, actually boasts of having the most coffee shops per capital of anywhere else in the world. If you are ever in need of a caffeine fix, you don't need to look far. 

As much as coffee is a part of the culture, I think that it goes deeper than just the drink. Kiwis are very relational and hold hospitality and community as high values. Often times, the act of 'grabbing a cuppa', or getting a coffee, is a way to catch up on life,  a way to meet with people, or a way to be hospitable.

 

We have noticed that turning someone down for a cup of coffee can come across as rude or even inconsiderate. Oftentimes when you stop by someone's house, they will ask you in for a cuppa. Not accepting that invite can convey to the would be host that the task you are doing is more important than your relationship with them. As American's we have said no to coffee invites in the past because we were on our way to an event, in the middle of running errands, or didn't want to be late.  We have now learned that the value of relationship is held much higher than the value of being on time or completing your errands, now we always accept the offer to sit down and 'have a cuppa.' The opposite holds true as well, if someone stops by your house, you should always be ready to offer them a hot drink and expect a visit for a while. 

Coffee is something that Kiwis love and it seems to be something that brings them together. Morning tea, coffee breaks, and coffee groups are all very important parts of life in New Zealand. At school, when the students have their morning tea, all of the teachers meet in the lounge for coffee to talk each morning. For new parents, there are different coffee groups that are created to help give you a support network. And even after we run with our running group, we have started drinking coffee- this one is still hard for me to get used to! 

The coffee craze seems like more than just a recent trend in New Zealand, but an important part of culture and life. 

Christchurch

Here are some pictures of Christchurch, the city that we are moving to to start the church. Enjoy looking through them, hopefully you will feel like you know Christchurch a bit better! Thank you Nate and Whitney for sharing your photos from your recent trip to Christchurch.