Yesterday, aboard the Aratere ferry from Picton to Wellington, NZ, I posted my 333rd Instagram post. It contains various images of my ferry crossing.

The journey brought back memories from 5 months ago, when I had just started My Adventure. At that time, I didn’t know what to expect out of my journey across New Zealand and Australia. I had only met a couple of people in Auckland, and I only had the barest of plans for how to spend my time. I had just completed an epic train ride across the north island. It was the tail end of winter, my shorts were buried at the bottom of my suitcase, and I was very glad I had brought multiple American Giant sweatshirts and Carhartt pants.

Over the course of 5 months, I’ve accomplished quite a bit. Here are most of the highlights (all of these can or will soon be found in the My Adventure section of my website):

  • Bunjy jumped off the Auckland Harbor Bridge
  • Learned to surf in Dunedin
  • Sky-dove in Wanaka
  • Dressed in Drag in Dunedin
  • Hiked to the top of Ben Lomond Peak in Queenstown
  • Scuba Dived in Milford Sound / Kaikoura / Dunedin
  • Visited a Christian community/cult in Gloriavale
  • Found a community in the Well church in Christchurch
  • Went to Noctural in Melbourne…gays raising hands for Jesus?!?
  • Visited a Buddhist monastery in Bendigo
  • Experienced Christmas and New Years in Sydney
  • Hiked the Blue Mountains outside Sydney twice
  • Took my Graduate Record Examination in Syndey (and did quite well I might add)
  • Applied to 4 graduate schools located in the Western US
  • Completed 25 dives in 7 days aboard the Spoilsport in the Great Barrier Reef!
  • Recorded and released My Story (my autobiography) as a 30-episode podcast – www.trinitydreamer.com/my-story
  • Published monthly and quarterly playlists on Spotify

And honestly, I thought this adventure would be lasting 9 months…giving birth to Derek 2.0 (Derek the divorcee, Derek the Christian gay man, Derek the TrinityDreamer). But, as I learned many times over in 2018, you can’t plan the future, and it’s best to keep tentative plans for your future. Because in less than 40 days, I’ll be back in the United States – older, more secure, and with a whole lot of new experiences in my past. I will hopefully have obtained several in-person interviews for grad school, and I will be deciding where to spend the next 2-3 years of my life

As I approach the anniversary of Miracle Sunday on February 4th, it’s great to reflect on where I’ve come from, and where I am going. If nothing else, I’ve learned to be present in the moment and to take nothing for granted. I seek out joy, peace, and love every day. And I’m so thankful for all that I have been given, enjoyed, and experienced in my life. To look back at my list of experiences over the past 5 months is astounding to me. To see where I’ve come from one year ago is even more astonishing. I truly am Derek 2.0, a new creation of the Holy Trinity who’s overcome heartbreak, disappointment, and pain and has a story of God’s faithfulness, patience, and love.

Here’s to 333 Instagram posts…a trinity of 3s. I don’t just dream about trinities, I experience them ALL THE TIME! But the best one is the Holy Trinity! The song below (#30 on my Dependence playlist for this month) speaks to this most impressive trinity.