A Glass Full of Water

Meanwhile, back in Africa… Our education/humanitarian aid group (RATA) had their first night staying in a backpackers hostel in the Cape Town suburb of Observatory (refer to September 6 and June 1 posts about our work in South Africa). It was a rowdy night outside with street people laughing, swearing, fighting and drinking. Inside, despite ear plugs, we all had very little sleep.  The next night our team leader Glenys was cooking a meal for everyone and I was her not so capable assistant. As the meal was being plated up she said to me, “The best of the meal is going to the street people.” Note: Not the leftovers.  Our paper plates were piled high with steaming hot food as we descended down the rickety staircase. Opening the door we were assailed by the sights, sounds and smells of a foreign city in a foreign land. We took a few steps on the footpath and were surrounded by hungry and desperate men and women. Silence as they began to eat.  A drunk man, staggering towards m...

My older sister shared the following story with me last week. Her son was going through a hard time and was sitting by himself in church. The pastor of the church was aware of his circumstances and as he walked past, he touched the young man on the shoulder and walked on. This millisecond touch meant so much to him. He needed someone to reassure him, to show some form of compassion and empathy. No words were needed. I also remember visiting the Sewa Ashram in Delhi, India where our daughter Ruth and her husband Jake had been working the previous year. I met the leader of the ashram at the front gates. I thanked Keshav for looking after them and he thanked me for ‘giving my daughter and son in law to them’ so that they could work with the ‘untouchables’ and help restore them to good health. We hugged each other and for the first time in my life I couldn’t let go and neither could he. We both started to cry. Tears rolled down our faces as our shared humanity was expressed.  At Te Uku...

In our increasingly marginalised society and communities that we live in, more people are struggling to buy the basics, keep themselves warm, pay their mortgage or rent and be connected with others. We are encouraged to save, but how can we if some of us haven’t even got enough money to meet our weekly living expenses? Every dollar counts but the challenge to be generous givers to others less fortunate than ourselves needs to be accepted and acted on.  Let’s look at a local example. We have a Community House in Raglan. Mike and his team do a superb job in helping people from all walks of life as they know what the needs of our community are. Recently, Val and I had two surplus bunk beds. My first thought was to sell them. My second, more reflective thought was to give them to this organisation and they in turn could give them away to a family that really needs them.  Val visited the Community House and asked if there was a family who needed beds. No surprise, a family did. Val...

Sometimes in life we need to yell at people… really loud, (I wrote a similar post about justifiable anger, It’s OK to be Angry, April 20 2023) when we see injustice in front of us.  One of our daughters was travelling home on a bus through the busy streets of Auckland. She noticed and was alarmed by a male passenger hassling a woman passenger. He was getting increasingly agitated and crude and the woman was getting increasingly frightened. Not one person moved to intervene in this situation. What to do? You gotta do something… Our daughter yelled at him to stop. He then turned his malice on her. Our normally quietly spoken daughter unleashed her inner lioness and yelled at him again to stop. Other passengers still did nothing. The man hissed at her saying he was going to follow her home... Despite being scared herself, she showed remarkable courage in challenging his behaviour once more. The man finally got off at the next bus stop. Sweet relief. A timely victory for the travelling...

A few days ago, Val and I revisited Napier. Driving through the Esk Valley we were reminded again of the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and marvelled at the work done to clear the munted landscape. But still lots of work to do. Last Saturday we decided to visit the Red Bridge Coffee Shop in the Tuki Tuki Valley. To get there we needed to drive through Clive, cross the Black Bridge and head south towards the Red Bridge.  A short drive later we arrived at this cool cafe where we enjoyed some delicious coffees and met the delightful owner/operator Mel. She was great company and invited us to a community and Hawke’s Bay rural coastline event, Fuel Your Stoke presented by MSFT productions. (Being held the next day at the cafe) This event and other similar events are designed to get people together to talk and to listen, especially since the cyclone.  We drove back to the cafe on the Sunday afternoon where we were greeted by a growing crowd and a range of volunteer org...

Val and I arrived tired and hungry in Napier after a long days travel on our road trip through the Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. Fortunately we managed to get the last available room at a motel in the seaside suburb of Ahuriri. After settling in, it was time to spoil ourselves at a local restaurant, The Thirsty Whale. We didn’t have a table booked and when we arrived the restaurant looked full. It was Saturday evening after all. The maître d’ was pleasant and helpful as she arranged for us to sit at a corner high table. We were very appreciative of anywhere to sit and eat. The young wait staff were under considerable pressure and we observed Sheree constantly reassuring and mentoring them (with a smile), all whilst being under extra pressure herself. As the evening went by, the staff made us and other patrons feel that little bit special. She and her team ensured we had a great restaurant experience.  Val’s turn to sort the bill out and while at the counter, she spoke with Sheree to pe...

My mum Mary was an amazing person. So was Peter my dad. Mum had the primary responsibility of caring for six children, so you can only imagine how busy mum was. Periodically our parents arranged for Karitane in-house Nurse care. I have fond memories of Margaret the nurse assigned to us.  Margaret had a knack for growling at us and giggling with us when we got up to mischief.  Sadly, Margaret died last week. She was 84. Speakers at her funeral all mentioned her devotion to children and her unrelenting love for families.  At other times, and remember this was the 1960’s, ‘mums to be’ would have free board and lodgings in our home in return for helping to look after us. Long after they had left our family, Mum would continue corresponding with them and inquire after their and their babies health and welfare.  I also remember mum sponsoring World Vision children around the world. She would show us the letters of thankfulness to her and her reply letters.  Mum was...