Bake sale

My church's youths are going to Fiji, they have bake sales to raise funds.

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides)

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, or tamed in pots , At Winter garden in the Auckland Domain.

Sisters and Serenity

I was at the entrance of my supermarket with two little sisters of the poor. Sis Alba and sis Collett. I was gossiping with them about the TV show which I like to watch "Call the mid wife." I gossiped about my cousin , Sister Judith who had been a sister all her life.

All of a sudden, I heard a loud thud. A man was lying, sprawled on the road. I dashed to help him, a youngish man had already tried to prod him up. I helped him with his arms. The wife was with a walker and the daughter tried to help.

I wanted to put my finger to a woman who drove up and shouting "you are on the road." I replied there has been an accident.

After the commotion, I walked into the supermarket, came out and said I wanted to take their photo but they said we don't take photos, so I just took their table. I told them one of my books was Cry The Oppressed Women and Sis Collett asked where I got the idea from.

I wanted to take their photo but they said we don't take photos, so I just took their table.

Sister Collett had been in Hongkong for ten years. I told sister Alber, that she was beautiful like the white alba magnolia.

After a quick shop, I sneak them something sweet and naughty. Learning from Call the midwife, Nuns don't have sinful stuff.

Peggy Square Blanket

A missionary couple  suddenly lost their six years old daughter while on an overseas assignment. Friends decided to give them a Peggy Square knitted blanket as they come back to a cold New Zealand from a summery country.

Here, I did my squares.

Ronald McDonald House Charities

I have not written about my late baby Andrew for a while. In 1989, my baby was born with a terminal prognosis. There was no Ronald McDonald house then. The hospital gave me a room at the nurses home. It wasn't ideal as I had other children then. Still it was better than nothing. Beggars couldn't be choosers.  I stay there for 55 days until he died.

I know first hand how it is like to be away from your sick child.



It's the RMHC New Zealand Family Appeal this week. Help kids like Kate stay together with their family while they receive treatment. Text TOGETHER to 4483 to donate $3 or look out for our collectors on the street around NZ this Friday #togethermatters

Interserve

At Mt Albert Baptist Church we had visitors from Interserve today. We had international Guest Speaker Andy Hoard sharing ‘A Godspace Story’. What makes Andy interesting is that he has a wealth of experience in Islamic contexts. He is passionate about outworking faith in the workplace and has experience in business and marketplace transformation, mentoring, teaching, discipleship and counselling.Along with his wife, Kate were the NZ National leader Johannes Balzer who had been in China for many years, and our own church member Andrew Mulcahy who is the operations manager.

www.interserve.org.nz

Quini or kwaini fruit

There is a tropical fruit which looks like mango and tree looks the same. The quini is more pungent than the mango.

When you grow something, you are optimistic, and hope the plant will be productive. Grandpa had a mango tree that grew pretty tall and lush. It should be having fruits, but grandpa waited in vain. He didn’t get a single fruit. A friend suggested he went and collect some fire ants. Knowing a little bit of science, I told Grandpa that the ants will pollinate the flowers.
But grandpa said, he would rather have no mangoes than have ants biting us. He cautioned the ants would crawl to his other fruit trees. He didn't have the heart to chop it down.
Many decades later, Henry’s neighbour brought some mangos. I told her about Grandpa’s red ant story. She laughed, she said she slashes the tree. Friends on Facebook say someone hammers nails into the lower trunk.
  M friend Hee Heng's tree.
From Growing up in Borneo