It started with a dream. It was a short dream of me walking onto the farm unexpected. Excitement abound, Nikki gave me the biggest hug and the nicest smile, and she was the happiest to see me. Then it was back to reality. I woke up crying; crying because I hadn't been back in so long to see my "Kiwi family." Upon waking up, I sat in a silent trance of nearly an hour, and I suddenly felt this inner voice telling me to go back to New Zealand. Not just "go back there" but an emphatic saying like "get your ass back to NZ, something extraordinary is going to happen." It all seemed surreal, and I was sensing something really profound was going to happen at the farm in Whitianga either in late January or sometime in February. Later that day I glanced at plane tickets on Orbitz, Kayak, Skyscanner, and the Air New Zealand website. The day after, this vision got even deeper: telling me that I absolutely have to be NZ in the middle of February. No matter how high the price of the plane ticket, I had to be there. Later that day I was picking up that on 16 February, some really extraordinary event was going to happen. It could be something related to Fearless Journey, or possibly finding my soulmate. I also felt it could be an event that doesn't actually affect or benefit me, yet I had to be there to witness it. The message was clear, I had to be back in NZ on 16 February. Never in my life did I have a vision this deep; I was sensing that I had to stop in Rarotonga along the way (not mandatory, but important) and go visit members of the family in Oregon (again not mandatory, but important). I felt the inner voice telling me I set to receive something important to the event; either something materialistic or perhaps a piece of advice useful for this event. In the following days, the vision got deeper, as far as being told who must be at the farm when this event occurs. Kali, Carey, Colin, and myself absolutely must be there, and very important that Keryn, Elly, and Joshua are there. The vision would only get deeper: the daily values in Paradise Landing must be recited on each 16th leading up to the event, and again on 11 February (five days beforehand) by the entire family at sundown Whitianga time. On December 16th, sundown was at 8:23 PM. There are other members of the family in Australia, Bethell's Beach, Ngatimoti, Queenstown, Leithfield Beach, and Oregon. Wherever I was at, I had to be reciting the values at that time; e.g. if I were in LA I had to recite them three hours after the sunset on the previous day. These had to be done for this extraordinary event to take place, and absolutely nothing could be said on Facebook or anywhere else online that I was going to NZ. Days after this vision, I had my plane ticket in hand to NZ with a stopover of a few days in Rarotonga on the way. Added was the excitment of having been to four Pacific island countries (Fiji, Tonga, Niue, and the Cook Islands) when most people are lucky if they ever get to two! The day of getting my ticket I was chatting up this really gorgeous blonde Aussie/Kiwi named Bailey. She has the most stunning body and is a total knockout. She messaged me and said "want me to pick you up at the airport?" I knew I couldn't resist the offer, and she even offered to drive me to Whitianga that evening. Bailey and I met at Starbucks a few weeks before the dream, and I was sitting at a table and she came and just sat with me. To most Americans that would seem odd but I loved it. We started chatting about whatever and then we became friends on Facebook.
In the end I ended up reaching both Oregon and Rarotonga. In Oregon I dealt with cold, drank excellent wine and coffee, soaked up the hippie culture, and met Nathan. In Rarotonga I did the cross-island walk and went diving for the first time whilst getting chewed up by mozzies. My flight into Auckland got in very late and Bailey, the lady who offered to pick me up and drop me in Whitianga, completely flaked on me, blocked me on Facebook, and left me stranded at the airport. At the airport I was at 9:30 PM with no way to Steve and Kali's other than to hitchhike. Whilst I thought getting from the airport would be the hard part, I was picked up almost straight away by a Tongan pastor. At the motorway these two teenagers picked me up and dropped me south of Manakau and gave me a Steinlager. Three more lifts and a couple hours later I was at the roundabout with turnoffs to Thames and Whitianga. From there it was biting cold and I had no jacket. Greatness has treated me well on all my journeys so I told myself to smile and that a lift would come, with greatness looking after me again. It was cold and I was shivering with no jacket, but I had my sleeping bag. It was now past 3 AM and I could cover myself with my sleeping bag and uncover myself when a vehicle was coming. A couple of truckies passed me up but at nearly 4 in the morning, a New World truckie named Gabriel stopped and picked me up! He's Iraqi-born and has lived in NZ most of his life. He said he had to stop and do a couple of runs but I said "take your time, I need some sleep." By then I was really exhausted after waiting for more than three hours (the longest I've ever waited for a lift in NZ. When I awoke we had stopped at the Tairua Bakery. In Gabriel's words "they make the best pies around." I got a lamb and mint pie before we continued our journey north. With a wee bit of sleep under my belt, Gabriel dropped me at Mill Creek Rd. Since it's a truck he couldn't drive me the 3.5 km down the road and drop me at the gate. The moon had set and the sky started to light as I lugged my 30 kg of gear. Halfway up the road, a teenager named Jesse picked me up. Sore back and all I was a tough walk up the hill. I put my gear away and crashed out on the couch in the lounge. After sleeping only a few hours I made some tea and stumbled down the hill where I encountered Steve, Keryn, and Maria! With hugs I was greeted. None of them were expecting me! It was Saturday: time for some Banana Boat action! The Scenic Ride that goes toward Cook's Beach immediately brought back memories. Steve pointed out Shakespeare's Cliff to three Maori boys I enjoyed the ride with. I'm back in New Zealand, what a beauty. There's no way I'm leaving anytime soon!
Breakfast of oats and golden queen peaches this morning were filling but now I must tell you the results of my vision...
Today seemed like an ordinary day yet in reality, it was an extraordinary day! Kenny is a family friend whom the family has been taking care of. He's about 70 or so and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago. He needs round-the-clock care and yesterday it appeared he was in very rough shape. It was a most relaxed day: I stayed at the farm and didn't go into town. Scottie and I made a small fire and made flatbread topped with fresh tomato and basil. It was warm and windy. From then on, this ordinary day became an extraordinary day. Kenny showed vast improvement. He responded to communication, showed interest in my photos from Rarotonga, and seemed much more alert than yesterday. It's amazing that the extraordinary event was meant for someone else, and it's just as amazing that I'm here to witness the start of Kenny's journey. Kenny used to play the piano. Someday, he'll play it again! He's still a long way off from being his normal self, but it's the start of his extraordinary journey. He's taken the first small step; soon it shall turn into a giant leap (like Neil Armstrong). Greatness shall treat Kenny well.
