Sunday in Rotorua

Church/Lake Tapuou/Driving Adventures/Movie Night

       Sunday's are a great day, and usually they don't have very much to blog about, but you see, this Sunday was rather different. Actually, it was extremely different!  ha ha! We woke up semi early and went to church! Our church was at nine! I don't know if we always just self selected the nine o' clock church, but every church service we have been to over here has been at nine! Anyway, the church services was very nice. We went into sacrament, and we everybody comes up and asks us where we are from and who we are (sixteen white American girls looks a little bit crazy over here, and we are easily noticeable.) Anyway, Sacrament, Sunday school, and Relief Society were very good lessons, and we enjoyed going to church very much. Then after church we were all hungry and wanted to hurry out to the vans! We headed out to the vans! Now all sixteen of us were sitting in the vans, but then for some reason Jim and James were no where to be found! So we sat there and waited for about 15 minutes, then finally they came out! Don't worry...they had been sitting talking to each other ha ha! It's not like they couldn't have just gone home and talked, they wanted to talk there. So now we were set! We thought for sure we would be home in like 10 minutes tops! ha ha! 
      Well guess what, we were wrong! ha ha! Now to get this next story, you have to understand that the vans we are driving are ginormous! One van holds 13 people, and the other van holds 9 people! These things are massive! Then on top of them they have the little shell type looking things, so you can pretty much stand up in the vans! They are seriously huge! So we are in the parking lot of the church, and Jim gets in the van...and goes, "Hmm, what's going to be the best way out of this?" As we all looked out the back to start backing up, we notice a little small car parked directly behind us. We have about 3 metres to back out of the parking spot! So Jim starts backing up, and all of us in the van are freaking out! There is NO way we are going to make it out of this without hitting a car! So pretty soon, James comes from his van, and starts trying to guide us out of the parking spot! We were just like the missionaries who now have to have one person guiding them out of the parking space! So he's telling us to back up, and Jim is about two centimetres from the car on the right hand side! Yet James is still trying to get him to come back! So then a women comes running out from the chapel and is like, "You are so close to my car! Stop! You are so close!" So we stop! Then we pull forward, and we make about a twenty point backing up turn to get out of the slot! No worries we made it though! So now you've got to be thinking that this story is over, well it isn't! Haha! Now we were out of the parking spot, but we were facing the wrong direction! We figured we could just back up down the way we came in, then flip around down there. Well now that we had taken so long, we had a line of cars behind us! Not there is only about ten parking slots in front of us (all filled), and a small grass area! Yes, that is right now we have to go and try and turn around up in that area! So we pull forward, and climb up onto the grass and we are about ten centimetres away from the church building! I thought we were going to hit it! We sit and wait there for a minute hoping some of the people would come out and leave for home and move their cars. Well of course this didn't happen, so we started to try and back out. Now we are on the grass though, and super close to the church building. So we back out, but then we have a basketball hoop right behind us! Yes we are now trapped between the church building and the basketball hoop! It was so funny! By now, the entire chapel/ward is out watching us! No one has any idea how we are going to get out of the parking lot! Then the missionaries come out and try to start helping us back out, but there is no way we are getting out of there! Everyone was laughing so hard! No worries after about a 50 point turn here, we made it out! Now that we are going the right way, we made it out! It took us a solid 50 minutes to get out of the parking lot! It was so funny! We were so embarrassed, yet thought it was so hilarious too! We finally made it home, and went and got in our comfy clothes, then James wanted to take us on a drive to see Lake Tapou! 
      We went down, and we had about an hour to walk around the lake. It was really pretty! It is actually the the biggest lake in New Zealand! It was really neat to see. Then as we were walking around, there was a really fun park across the street, so Neeley, Rebecca and I decided to go check it out! I must say, New Zealand parks are the best! They have so many fun things! My new favorite thing is the round run around thing as I like to call it! It's just a piece of plastic that's about a 1 foot wide, and then it's on a slant. The object is to walk/run all the way around it and not fall off. The trick is, when you walk or run on it it turns in a circle! It was so much fun! I was bound to successfully make it around! So I tried several times, and I was struggling very much! Then this guy comes up and goes look it's easy, don't worry he ran around it about ten times and it didn't even phase him. So he's like the trick is, you have to go faster. So now I wanted to do it even more! So I took off running around it, made it around, tripped off the edge, fell into the middle then tripped over the circle thing and landed on my back! It was absolutely hilarious! Don't worry though, I successfully made it around! 
    After we played in the park, it was about time to go back to the vans, plus it had started pouring rain, so we rushed back to the vans and were waiting for everyone to get there, then Nicole and I noticed a McDonald's. Then we realized this McDonald's had a plane! We had to get a picture of it! We decided this was the plane we were traveling on to get back to the states! We knew we would be safe!

 

      Anyway, we all finally got back to the vans, and we took off. We started driving, and you see the roads were a little bit slick. This made it a little bit scary. But we were fine, it has rained before, so we keep going. The driving is going great then all of a sudden it isn't! (Now to get this story you have to understand there are next to no stop signs over here.) We are just driving along, and then out of no where a stop sign comes up! So James slams on his breaks, which means Jim (The van I was in) has to slam on his breaks. Now the roads are extremely wet, and we hit a puddle and start hydroplaning, and skidding out into the middle of the road! Then our van starts to tip! AGH! I saw my life flash before my eyes! I was so scared! No worries we were safe, but I must say this was one of the scariest things I have ever had happen! I thought I was going to die!

   Following our little skid attack, we keep on driving! We drive for about fifteen minutes and then we hear, "Thud, thud, thud!" Yup that's right our van of thirteen girls now has a flat tire! ha ha! So we hop out of the van and it's time to change the tire! It was quite the adventure! Who would have thought, near death experience, and a flat tire all in the same day! It was rather scary!

       We fixed the flat tire, and all was well! We were just praying we made it back home after that! We called ourselves the adventure van! But good news we did! We made it back just in time for a baked potato dinner, and then a nice movie night! We watched a Walk to Remember. It was such a good night! We were all just glad to be back home and safe, and no longer in the adventure van!