Telling It As It Is

A Retrospective look at Easter

There are two ways to look at Easter …one from the Christian believers viewpoint and the second ….those who view it as a great chance to have 4 days off work. ( I do realise there are many that work some of Easter as well. Some people even extend the holiday to 5 days with the observance of Anniversary day on the Tuesday ).
From the Christian perspective there are two very distinct observances …Good Friday that recognises the brutal death Jesus endured on the cross at Calvary, for the sins of the world, and Sunday where he literally rose from the tomb to ascend to Heaven.
Obviously this is the very simplistic summary because your attention span and reading time restraints precludes me from going into greater detail.
The world and its insatiable thirst for more (which the Oxford dictionary defines as an appetite or desire that is impossible to satisfy) is squeezing the value and the meaning of Easter away more and more from the Christian values that was the basis of our countries up bringing.
Sure it could be argued that ” majority should rule” and the 10 per cent of Christian Believers should take a back seat , but then we seem to bend over backwards to let people into this country sans false religions and customs that are abhorrent to the majority of us.

But rather than dwell on the negative when we all should celebrate the positives….especially on Easter Sunday….let me tell you something that reminds you of a sacrifice far more important than the Easter Eggs, Hot Cross Buns and Alcohol that many will consume over this “holiday” observation.

John Griffin was a family man who was a railway controller in Southern USA.
His responsibility was for a drawbridge over the Mississippi River.
One day he took his young son to work with him.
After putting the massive drawbridge up, Griffin was eating lunch when suddenly he heard the whistle of the Memphis Express roaring towards the crossing.
Leaping from the observation deck , he ran to throw the control switch.
Glancing down his heart stopped!
His young son had fallen into the gears , trapping his leg in the cogs.
Desperately he tried to devise a rescue plan, but there was no time.
His son was down there but there were 400 passengers on the train!
Griffin knew what he had to do. Burying his face in his arm, he pushed the master switch just in time to lower the bridge as the train thundered past.
Then raising his head, he looked into the passing windows with tear filled eyes.
There were businessmen casually reading the newspaper, ladies sipping coffee, and children eating ice cream. Nobody even looked at the control house or glanced down at the great gearbox where the body of a crushed little boy lay.
In agony Griffin cried out ” I sacrificed my son for you people. Don’t you care? ”
But as the train rushed by, nobody heard the anguished father’s words.

There is a striking similarity to what God has been calling out to a fractured, dysfunctional world over the sacrifice of his son, that fewer and fewer in the affluent
Western world seem to be hearing.
Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal saviour is the best decision you will ever make.

Believe me!!

Lindsay Walker
Easter 2016.

Posted on April 1, 2016

Comment

Filtering what goes into the mind!!

For those of us who are a little older and hopefully with age comes wisdom, I find it increasingly challenging to keep up with what is happening Globally, Nationally and Locally.
The Internet has given us an amazing resource in telling us what is happening in the world, and I don’t know about you, but there seems to be more Webcam, CCV footage of things from meteors, people falling out of cars, crazy car chases and everything in between. My IPad seems to be a permanent fixture on my knee in the evening as I cast one eye on what I am watching (normally Prime TV) and the other on what is happening on Stuff News, BBC, CNN, ABC and the like.
And that is before Facebook, answering Emails and doing what most people do on a computer and that is ” communicate”.
Maybe it shows I hunger for information….am I too inquisitive? But surely wisdom comes from knowledge and being able to make the best choices in life from the best information available.
As I write this blog I am watching (with Dalaine) a documentary on Norway, and seeing many of the places we visited in Norway last year. Watching that program has given balance to what we saw and learned. It helps us get a better perspective, so if we are asked we can talk with some authority.
Being able to watch and read on developments in many of the 106 countries I have been privileged to visit allows me to keep in touch, particularly as we may use a small number of these countries on route to, hopefully, future visits to Uganda and Colombia where our international outreach has clearly been defined.
It is amazing even after twenty years in the tourism industry, the number of questions I get asked on ” travel” . It makes me think it is an industry one never retires from. It is certainly an industry one never tires of.
So how do we filter our minds? The Bible tells us to “renew our minds”. I often wonder whether that means we have to defrag what we have stored in our memory banks.
After all, the human brain is the greatest computer ever built …so maybe we have to change our memory patterns. Hitting the defrag button or the Control/ Alt / Delete buttons is a simple thing to do on a computer ….but the human brain, that contains our memory, is another matter altogether.

Renewing our mind means changing attitudes, changing mind sets, and in doing so remembering the important things and eliminating unimportant trivia.
I would love to hear from you on how you “filter your mind” .
It would help me to know whether I am on the right track and I am “normal”
Talk again soon

– Lindsay

Posted on March 7, 2016

Comment

Adjusting To Normality

As promised, hopelessly overdue, is the promised blog giving you the loyal reader some thoughts, reflections and where to from here.
Many people use the words “awesome, life changing, never to be forgotten experiences and other superlatives, to describe something amazing …. I guess we are no different.
Two years in the planning , incredibly complex and at times complicated, this 180 day adventure covered four continents, 28 countries , close to 100 different beds, 28 flights, 21 trains, ferries, taxis, private cars, rental cars … It was an incredible experience, certainly not for the faint hearted .
We were certainly blessed in a number of ways. This time there were no scary stories to bring back…no robberies, no taxi car chases ….we had no accidents, no illnesses, no loss or damage to luggage (other than having to replace both suitcases) .
We were blessed with the friends we met and how they loved and looked after us.
It was amazing to see how God weaved an intricate web around putting people and circumstances with impeccable timing, that was not of our making.
Inevitably many people have asked what were the highlights and the best place you visited. As a generalisation, meeting and being reacquainted with people … Would be number one … Marius and Sacha in Norway, Susan and Emma, Weidy and Luca all in the USA, Joy and Miguel ( and having the honour of giving Joy away and being the Marriage Celebrant at their wedding in Florida ), husband and wife Realtors ….Terry and Bob from Panama, Luis and Clamira and family in Bogota Colombia and of course the reunions with our sponsor children in Colombia and Brazil, and in my case meeting for the first time Harriet in Uganda and Daniel in Rwanda.
I am at a loss for words to try and describe how incredible these experiences were, how accepting the children, families, project and church personal were towards (me) and (us) There was unbridled excitement on meeting and certainly tears of sadness when it came to say farewell.
We had an amazing time with Laura and her fantastic family in Chigoroda, a very different time with Sara in Barranquilla, sadly missed Luisa in Bogota , but had a wonderful time of speaking into Yasmims life in Olinda Brazil.
And for a life changing experience with Harriet and her family and the love of the Kakuuto Community Church and especially Pastor Kindu (Stephen ).
And I will never forget the reaction of Daniel and the impeccable timing of my vista and the fact it took him 18 hours to come and see me for 4 hours from his remote village , before returning the way he came. To witness a young man who had beaten the odds at having zero opportunity in his life when I started sponsoring him 17 years ago..to where he is today…at Kilgali National University starting a business management and accounting degree!
In a nutshell we loved every minute of our time away. There were pressures…especially racing for trains in Europe, hard beds in budget accommodation, noisy and jammed air condition units.
Several things I was very proud of, obviously that all my travel arrangements were spot on, and that I drove in three countries, Greece, Italy and almost the entire East Coast of the United States of America, without incident or accident.
It has been incredibly hard to ” readjust ” and reacclimatise back in our home town of New Zealand. Complicating matters was the need to completely modernise our smaller home, which had no carpet, poor heating, no internet or phone, lots of dirt, dust and paint fumes. Having to put all our furniture outside under cover and eat meals ” on our knees” was really (laughing) like what we had encountered in a number of countries we had just travelled through. But the biggest shock was readjusting weather wise from very hot ( often with very high humidity ) to temperatures that are certainly a little tepid. Both but particularly Dalaine has found the pollen levels the cause of severe bouts of hay fever , something that has affected many people in NZ particularly in the very changeable spring weather.
So where to from here…..?
We will continue to support the 7 children we have a very strong attachment to throughout the third world, through Compassion International ( TEAR Fund NZ ). But it was very apparent that the greatest purpose and the greatest benefit we could be to the greatest number of people in one of the most impoverished areas of the world would be to devote my time and all my efforts in raising money from private individuals, starting with moving Harriet and her family off the flood plain where conditions are extreme and life threatening . House Build (USD 6500) .
# For the community we want to complete the Bakehouse project (less than $10,000) .
# The Coffee Roaster Project that will impact for the good several thousand coffee growers , pickers and packers . (USD 30,000 ) .
# The rebuilding of the Kakuuto Community Church. The present building is ancient, dangerous and dilapidated . It is bursting at the seams…more people outside than in….
The community will greatly benefit from a bigger newer building (USD 103,000).
All these projects are ” bricks and mortar projects ” every dollar raised goes in its ENTIRETY to making these projects a reality. No middle men, no administrators , no charges Every dollar however small is very welcome.
We would love you make a donation … A small sacrifice of $15 will buy bricks for Harriet’s house. That maybe the sacrifice of three coffees. We are currently just under 50 % of the funds required, but we are running out of time ….the wet season which will flood Harriet’s home starts in March…..
Not only would we appreciate joining in your support of Harriet, but please Share and encourage all your Facebook followers, members of your family, work mates, church, sports and recreational friends .
There are two very easy ways…..
PayPal . Simply go into the makemynamecount icon to the left of the home page and hit the PayPal option. $15 will be credited to the special fund, remember to include your name and it will be gratefully acknowledged. Shortly we will be updating with all people who have given to Harriet’s home, and once building commences there will be photos and video clips of progress, and I can assure you, you will feel so proud to be a part of this life changing project. No one deserves to live in these conditions.
You can also make a variable amount to the specially designated charitable account with Kiwi Bank Oamaru Branch New Zealand …….. makemynamecount 38-9006-0298793-01
So I hope to hear from you soon.
If you want to contact Dalaine or myself please email us on liffie@ihug.co.nz
Or phone 0274370994 or call by at 22 Wye Street (Cnr Wye and Rother Street Oamaru).
And last of all keep watching …there is a lot more to tell!
That’s why the website is called tellingitasitis!!
Thanks for reading

– Lindsay

The present flood prone mud hut….10 minutes of rain….imagine 2 months of rain!!

Harriet and her mom…her dad died of drinking bovine TB contaminated water 2 years ago.

The site of the proposed relocation nearer the road, no flooding, and clean bore water.

A tin roof that doesn’t leak, real bricks not mud ….a door and two windows …The best $6000 spend imaginable !!!

Posted on January 10, 2016

Comment

Homeward Bound

I am aware there has been a sizeable gap between this and the last post, due mainly to non stop action from the time we left Santiago in Chile, to the 4 nights in Sydney, then on to Auckland NZ , and the 3,500 km drive from Auckland to Oamaru.
Despite the in convince of having to fly into Sydney rather than Auckland , it did give us time to reacclimatise to western culture and enjoy a city that neither of us had visited in over 25 years. We stayed in Kings Cross and were immediately surprised at how this once infamous suburb had cleaned its act up. One of the ” perks” of being a little older than most was to use a pass that allowed us to access buses, trains, ferries , and trams anywhere in Sydney for an incredible $2.50 a day! This would have to be the best value for money of anything we had purchased anywhere in our Global experience over the last 6 months.
Our return to New Zealand brought us back to reality as to what a magnificent country we have been blessed to live in. The contrast to the often squalor , deprivation and hardship of people in Africa, and South America in particular was as stark and profound as the difference between night and day. There was peacefulness, order and above all clean streets , pristine countryside, and magnificent views of mountains rivers and lakes. Unless you have seen both sides you can never appreciate the contrast. Believe me it is immense.
The 12 days of travelling throughout New Zealand ….from the Bay of Islands in the North, right down to Oamaru our home town in the Deep South , staying with lifelong friends of Dalaine on the way ,has been the sort of tonic one needs after our incredible marathon.
Without double checking the exact numbers , during our exactly 6 months away we have stayed in 100 different beds ( which means we have stayed in 100 different places)
Travelled on 28 different flights, in some 29 countries on 4 continents, from the Arctic Circle to the bottom of South America … been on 26 different trains, 6 boats and ferries, driven in 4 different countries on both sides of the road over 7,000kms.
Talked to an amazing number of people , eaten an amazing array of food been cared for and looked after on route by amazing friends who have and always will hold a special place in our hearts.
We have also been protected by an awesome Lord and Saviour (Jesus) .
We had no illnesses, no injuries, no lost or damaged luggage ( apart from replacing both suitcases) no missed or late flights…and on the most amazing of itineraries (13 A4 pages in length) not one error, mistake or glitch.
For all these things we are enormously grateful.
In less than 8 hours we will be home. It is going to be strange …very very strange. It will be a hard re transformation.
But in my next blog I want to continue to share the next stage of where to from here, and talk about what the trip has shown us and the mission we are being called to immerse ourselves in. I promise you it will be exciting and inspirational….I hope you will continue to watch …..
Keep posted

– Lindsay…

Some of the more Unusual sights of Sydney…

Love this photo…..

Brave bird on a major busy street in Kings Cross

Amazed at seeing no rubbish on beaches…….at Russell Bay Of Islands

A 150 year old Fig tree.

A great little train ride KeriKeri….only 6 passengers but great fun

Dalaine entrusted with a special duty …the go go girl!!!

Unusual things along the way…..

New Zealand’s two oldest buildings …house and stone Store

New Zealand’s largest tree Tane Mahutu …a magnificent Kauri.

Despite the rain it was a Memorial Day ….

Never let it be said that Cows don’t dress up to go to town.

Fantastic day in the Bay of Plenty….Dalaines sharp eyes witnessed a major eruption several minutes late….NZ most active volcano …on White Island ….earthquakes followed …

Just beautiful ….travelling on deserted roads

Just beautiful….looking at clean clear rivers

Just beautiful….looking at magnificent pristine beaches.

A quaint little church on route to Gisborne via the East Coast

Where my father went to school Te Araroa … Only this magnificent tree remains

Tologa Bay just magnificent

The Main Street with a favourite means of local transport

Endless paddocks of grape vines

And brilliant scenes of clean Green New Zealand!!

Young Children on a confidence course some 40 feet above the ground…..brave

Not the ideal pedicure but great fun with fearless ducks

Dalaine trying the same trick with black swans …they took the bread out of her hand!!

Amazing scenes from the Te Papa National Museum of New Zealand ….life like models

And amazing paintings…..

A collection of photos showing the futility and senselessness of war…..

More from Te Papa …..you could spend days at this place ….a must see in Wellington…

Posted on November 5, 2015

Comment

Final Stop South America ……Santiago Chile….

We knew our incredible time away from home was drawing to a close when we started our long trip south from Recife (Brazil)….almost the entire length of South America ….to Santiago the capital of Chile.
It was going to be a long day…and a pretty hard one….saying goodbye to our dear friend Ana ….and filling in some 16 hours before flying out at midnight from Recife towards São Paulo arriving there at the bewitching time of 0345am.
What makes it harder in an airport that basically has small hard upright seats is trying to relax, stretch out ( impossible) and try to get some shut eye …even more impossible.
Our second TAM flight took off on time at 0745am and apart from a totally obnoxious woman passenger in the seat in front who made my life hell (separate story) we arrived in Santiago on time at 1145am.
Apart from a completely different culture and different looking people ….clothes etc…the biggest change was the temperature…….from the balmy and very pleasant 28 degrees in Recife …to a darn wintery feeling of cool to cold 10 degrees….even dropping to 4 degrees at night.
After collecting our baggage it was time to arrange transport into town….and for the first time in over 86 cities and 27 counties we were conned ….possibly through tiredness ….but we paid way too much for the 26 km ride into town. Whilst it did peeve us at the time we did make up by saving on meals by eating incredibly cheaply ….although Chile has a very strong economy and would be the dearest of the countries we had visited in our travels through South America.
This was to be a 4 night “layover” while we waited for our flight to Australia ….some 14 hours and 6 minutes in duration.
We wanted to ease back and relax, reacclimatise, and contemplate life ask in New Zealand in three weeks time without planes, trains, rental cars, ferries, boats, airports, strange beds stranger food and languages we didn’t understand !!! Santiago a city of some 10 million with an additional 7 million on the outskirts would certainly provide that opportunity…..here are some photos taken …. Enjoy !!!

– Lindsay