Is That a Kingdom-Building Shirt? I Don't Think So (Week Nine)

This week was a lot more low key. But every bit as mind-boggling (check that – I just used mind-boggling in a sentence. I haven’t decided if that’s super-cool or super-sad. Ten points for me either way) as the previous one. Our topic was the Kingdom of God. Something I always assumed was pretty simple - read the parables, see what Jesus said and then put it all together) but apparently not. I don’t know why I thought it would be simple, you would have thought that I would have learnt by now, but apparently not. I can now add this to my list of topics for which I have many questions and no answers. Yet. I believe they will come eventually.

However knowing that there are a few different approaches to looking at this topic means that I can breathe easy that I don’t have the answers (so maybe I’ll take it off the list).

Our movie (I wanna say film but it seems too formal and English) last week was Hotel Rwanda. I’d previously avoided this movie as I’m a complete wimp and like to avoid things that are too real and sad. Hotel Rwanda is based on the true story of a hotel manager and his struggle to keep his family and other refugees safe during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. You should watch it. It wasn’t half as grim as I thought it would be.

On Saturday we went to Bethel Beach. Did not want to leave. The sand was so black it was purple; it glittered more than all the jewellery in Accesorize. I think I could live there for ever (sorry Mum). On Sunday I skipped church and went on a mini-road trip with a few others to Rotaroa. A city about two hours (or maybe a bit more – I’m no good at judging distances or timing) from Auckland. It’s become a well-known tourist spot due to the thermal activity in the area. Unfortunately it has the unfortunate (is it even legal to use unfortunate twice –make that three times- in the same sentence) effect of releasing lots of sulphur. So most of town pretty much smelt like someone had extremely bad flatulence.

While there we went to a natural hot spring. It was hot. And I mean haitch  to-the oh to-the tee.. We couldn’t stay in it for too long. Probs a good thing as I was convinced that some hippos were gonna roll up out of nowhere and sit on us or something. For real. It was like out of a horror film. We turned off the main road down a dirt track and then walked into the woods. Getting changed in the woods is an interesting situation. I had to pretend like it was normal and nothing like the beginning of a horror movie. As you’ve probably guessed I made it out alive, just minus my outer layer of skin which I think was probably burned off by the water. But yeah, I’m a survivor – take that evil ninja Hippos.