MY CONCERT IN MIDDLE EARTH- A MUST READ!

After driving in the most surreal landscape of hills and gorgeous colors, it was an absolute wonder that hundreds of caves were just below us. we were on a fault line in NZ. julie and i decided early this am to not do the inner tubing down the freezing cold waters of the caves full of eels. i had second thoughts about that and so did she. we found out about a much more enjoyable way of seeing the caves by staying dry in a water raft and by walking through the caves. we went through two caves with a break for tea and bickeys in between. i learned that bickeys are cookies. the first cave was absolutely surreal- the GLOW WORM CAVE!

GLOW WORM CAVE- it was so amazing. we were walking around in what seemed like "perfectville" (aside from College Station, TX... WHOOP!) because it was truly like we were in hobbit land or something. you couldn't paint a more perfect place with the landscape and colors. all of the sudden you would see an entrance to a cave at the bottom of a hill and plants would be lining it or hanging down from the outside. in we went inside the cave! we got inside and got on a raft to take us down the underground river. once our eyes adjusted to the complete darkness, i looked up and was stunned at the sight of a vast galaxy! literally, i thought of how perfectly patterned the Lord is with everything. the middle earth looks like it was land with rivers in it and a sky with stars in it. the stars are the glow worms. hundreds are lined up and it looks like a galaxy. i tried to find the little dipper, but couldn't. :) julie and i were totally amazed that we saw glow worms in a cave in NZ. how cool was this?

we inched along the water in the raft just soaking it in. occassionally a cold drop of water would fall on us. because of all the rains, the waters have been flooding the caves, so we were lucky to see what we did today. the glow worms are fascinating. it is actually their waste product that produces a chemical reaction to make them glow. they either glow to attract mates or to signal hunger.

then we all left the cave for a break for tea. we went around our small group and everyone introduced themselves more. it was so picturesque sitting above the ground surrounded by these green hills and meadows.

THE SECOND CAVE- we walked in this cave and went through tiny channels and then the paths opened up into this huge vaulted room they called the "Cathedral." i thought to myself how amazing it would sound if a choir sang in there in the darkness with the acoustics. before i could finish my thought, the guide asked if anyone could sing or would sing a song because of the great acoustics. well, julie tapped me and decided to volunteer yours truly to sing a song solo in front of the entire group!!!!!! all i could think of quickly was a latin song i learned in high school back in the all region choir days. i had already been singing that to myself in the cave just thinking of how pretty it would sound. once i got past any embarrassment of the idea, i just went for it. you know, i'm in NZ, so why not sing in a cave for the whole group? right? so i just did it! it was pitch black and i start singing, "Cantate Dominum, Sing to the Lord." once i realized what i was singing, i was so excited that the words were giving praise to the Lord, considering what happened when we entered the cave. when we entered, our guide asked us all to bow our heads to pray for permission from the "gods or spirits" to enter the cave. maybe i was supposed to sing that song, so the Creator of the cave could be honored!

it was for sure an experience i will never forget. i had to blog about this one. it is not everyday that you go to caves in NZ and put on a concert!

we took a funny picture with a lady in the group who had a wedding ring. we posed as if it was the "ring" in Lord of the Rings. julie was embarrassed and said, "make it stop." oh, but she loved it, because she joined right in that picture for the pose! let's put it this way, our group knew who we were by the end of the day! :)

after caving, we hung out for a while in Waitomo, just a little village with only one or two stores. i just sat on a bench soaking in the sun staring off into the beautiful, surreal landscape. you couldn't help but praise God for what He has done. now i know why He said in Genesis after He made the world, "and it was good."