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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Yellow/Red What is a tent doing there?





Last Sunday, my pastor Jonathan Dove turned Scientist. My husband who is a university  lecturer likes Jonathan's sermon very much. You never know what he springs at you and captures your attention.

Today, he was talking about Geometry, about a square, a circle and a triangle and asked how we could assemble it. I discussed with the person next to me, and all I could think of was a 2 dimensional, square, circle and triangle. Out popped this red and yellow child's tent. My attention is grabbed.

The man in the photo is not Jonathan.
You can read about his last week's sermon.
http://ann-mythoughtsandphotos.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/catalytic-fuel.html

http://mondaymellowyellows.blogspot.com.au/

Yellow Easter Chicks



The Next Challenge: Easter





  
Stay mellow with yellow!

The Lord Has Risen--- He Has Indeed-

My girls Gabrielle aged 2 and Deborah, almost 5.

Today is Easter. My pastor Jonathan spoke on The Lord Has Risen and we responded--- He Has Indeed-
Towards the end of the service, he spoke of his little baby boy who died 7 years ago, and it seems he was talking for me. I often think of my late baby boy Andrew, who would be 23, but he is up in heaven.

It can't be a coincident that I posted the above two photos. I posted them in response to my Facebook friend, Veronica who posted a similar photo of her grand children. She asked me why there were so many rocking horses. This was my reply. A sub-conscious reply of sharing my Andrew.

Thank you Veronica and Jonathan.


  •  This photo was taken just after Andrew had died. I was so "MABOK" aka blur.  I couldn't remember if I took it or someone else could have taken for me.

    It could have been at a Plunket place, a mum and baby place. Because of my "situation" I often went there to rest while the nurses took care of the girls. 


    OR


     I always thought it was at the creche area of my church. A China girl who had come to be my nanny when I was going to have Andrew. Of course Andrew died and I didn't need her. She got married very quickly and always considered me as BIG sis. My Pastor's wife told me to go to the wedding for her,  since she had nobody. Surprisinly I had a great time during the wedding, There was a Samoan friend who had gone to Taiwan, so he strum his ukelele and sang and made us sing the popular Taiwanese song  Alisan's gu nian asses. For a couple of hours, I left my sadness and sang with them. My girls went to play at the creche,and someone could have snapped the photo.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Photohunt : Wind




http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/wind.html  The man says, No wind, No fun.

Chinese Historical Ventnor Trail: Remembering the dead that sank in ss Ventnor



Available in:

Wreck of ss Ventnor

In a hauntingly beautiful area in Northland comes a story of two cultures and a discovery that will close a chapter in history. Their story began in 1902 when a ship left Otago carrying the bones of around 500 Chinese gold miners. They were returning to their homeland, but tragically the ship sank just a day after leaving New Zealand. Woven through the sands of the remote Hokianga Coast, the secret was kept for more than a hundred years before it was finally uncovered.

photo of ssVentnor
My Aunty's niece is married to a many from China.His Great grand grand father came to Dunedin to work in the gold mines. He died together with lots of other Chinese man. The ship that were taking their bones back to China for burial sank. 


  The Chinese people were the only group of people to pay a poll tax to enter New Zealand. From 1881 until 1944, Chinese entering New Zealand were legally required to pay a tax - initially ten pounds but eventually rose to one hundred pounds.They were no allowed to bring their women. It was lifted in the 1930s when Japan invaded China  and repealed in 1944. The Chinese were also denied the right to naturalisation for more than 40 years.


 Helen Clark officially apologised to the Chinese People and China in 2002 .She allowed all the descendants of those men to come to  New Zealand. Accordingly, the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Deed Trust was finalised in 2004 which established a community trust and a government seeding grant of $5 million.

The role of the Trust is to fund projects which encourage understanding of the history of the Chinese in New Zealand and to promote public awareness of ethnic diversity. The trustees are all direct descendants of Poll Tax payers.    








SS Ventnor event
Celebrating Ching Ming 2013 with a memorial ceremony (bai jei for the Chinese, lost with the sinking of the SS Ventnor.
The trip will comprise of ceremonies and plaque unveilings at the three marae sites, and a passenger ferry ride (weather permitting) to the site of the SS Ventnor wreck (10 miles off shore) where descendants of the village ancestors might like to burn incense, and/or other appropriate gifts etc…
Kawarua April 4th
Mitimiti April 5th
Omapere April 6th        Hokianga Far North
Tell/send information to your family and relatives
Expressions of interest needed
Register now for more information, updates, Q&As Auckland
Nanu She Cheong
nanusc@orcon.net.nz
Wellington
Lynette Shum
lynetteshum@gmail.com
Electronic copy requests
Wong Liu Shueng
wongls@interculturalworks.co.nz                                  

SS Ventnor event Celebrating Ching Ming 2013 with a memorial ceremony (



Celebrating Ching Ming 2013 – Far North
Thursday April 4th, Friday 5th, Sat 6th, Sun return to Akld.
Chinese Historical Ventnor Trail
Unveiling of plaques, and blessing of Educational Boards.
Wednesday 3rd April – Everyone will need to be in Auckland.
Thursday 4th April
6.30am – 6.45am Bus to leave Auckland - Fare approx. $40.00 per day ($160) Payment extra
10.00am Arrive at Te Roroa Headquarters – (koha included in event fee) No cell-phone coverage
                      Unveiling of plaque and blessing of education board
11.00am      Lunch – (included in event fee)
12.00pm      Trip to Kawerua (coast where bones and coffins were washed up)
                      Once in a lifetime – need special permission to travel out to area.
1.00pm        Bi san/Bei Jey[1] ceremony – Chinese community and Iwi.
1.45pm        travel back to Te Roroa Headquarters
2.45pm        Planting of Kauri trees in the Te Roroa re-forestation project.
                      Payment extra  $170 per tree but enough people then reduced to $150
                      Trees will form the Ventnor Grove.
3.45pm        Travel to Tane Mahuta
4.15pm        Travel to Omapere
Self cater evening meal in motels.

Friday 5th April
9.00am         Leave Omapere for Ferry from Rawene to Kohikohu (bus and passenger fees included in event fee) car extra.
10.30am      Arrive at Mitimiti – No cell-phone coverage
                      Powhiri – visitors called onto the marae (koha included in event fee)
11.30am      Move up the hill for  unveiling of plaque
12.00pm      Cup of tea (cost included in event fee)
12.30pm      Bi San/Bei Jey ceremony – Chinese and Iwi
1.30pm        Picnic on the beach, no café available (costs included in event fee)
2.30pm        Possible travel to North Head (15 min travel along beach or a lovely walk along the beach)
4.30pm        Return to bus – Briefing for following day
6.00pm        Ferry – Kohukohu to Rawene (bus & passenger  fee included in event fee -  Cars extra
7.00pm        BBQ at Lighthouse Motel for Chinese community (costs included in event fee)

Saturday 6th April
6.45am         Once-in-lifetime specially commissioned Ferry to site of SS Ventnor.
                      Time to light joss sticks, say prayers and return to shore
 Payment $75 1-20 people, $60 1-40people. If there is demand, First sailing 6.00am, second sailing 8.00am  Bookings essential         
11.00am      Signal Station Road – Bi san – joss sticks only
12.00pm      Bi San/bei jey on the sanddunes then lunch/picnic in area.  Time permitting, Exploring the Hokianga – a series of small excursions around and about.  Exact detail (tbc)
3.30pm        Return to motel – dress up time
5.30pm        Entertainment – at Opononi Hall, a surprise to warm your heart (Extra, meal fee)

Sunday 7th April
8.30am         Leave Omapere
                      Kerikeri Markets, Makana Chocolates, Wunderhussen toilets at Kerikeri
12.00pm      Leave for Auckland –
                      Bookings for connecting flights MUST be after 6.00pm Sunday if travelling by  bus.



[1] Bi san is the Chinese ceremony for the Dead conducted at the cemetery.
Bei Jey is when it is in a general location.

http://chinesecommunity.org.nz/site/topics/show/59-wreck-of-ss-ventnor

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Thursday Challenge: Rich





"RICH" (Money, Gold, Wealth, Expensive Things, Fancy Things,...)
Next Week: SPRING (Mud, Puddles, Spring, Sun,...)
roseThursday Challenge is a place for photographic fun and learning. 


http://www.spunwithtears.com/thursday.html

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

ABC WEdnesday K for Kapa haka, Maori war dance.



It involves scary faces, lots of thigh-slapping and loud chanting.

But there is so much history behind the war dance.


Here's the words to the traditional haka performed by the mighty All Blacks.

Ringa pakia
(Slap the hands against the thighs)
Uma tiraha
(Puff out the chest)
Turi whatia
(Bend the knees)
Hope whai ake
(Let the hip follow)
Waewae takahia kia kino
(Stamp the feet as hard as you can)
Ka mate! Ka mate!
(It is death!, It is death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora!
(It is life!, It is life!)
Ka mate! Ka mate!
(It is death! It is death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora!
(It is life! It is life!)
Tenei Te Tangata Puhuru huru
(This is the hairy man)
Nana nei tiki mai
(Who fetched the sun)
Whakawhiti te ra
(And caused to shine again)
A upa ne ka up ane
(One upward step, another upward step)
Upane, Kaupane
(An upward step)
Whiti te ra
(The sun shines!)





http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz

My World: support for Samoa




Three young girls of Mt Albert Baptist Church, Ellyse, Zoe and Jess are going on their Youth Reachout trip to Samoa. 
They raising $7,200.00 between now and 24th of June by having cakes sales and sausage sizzles. They leave for 3 weeks on July 6th. A big part of this experience is about working to fund the trip themselves.

They will be part of a larger group of 30 students, who will be working in schools, churches, children's programmes and school camps sharing their Christian faith. This is a fantastic opportunity for the girls to develop lifelong skills.







Tuesday, March 26, 2013

ABC Letter L for Lei,




These are synthetic leis, not the frangipani ones you see wore by the Pacific Islanders.







http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sands Manukau wins a car.

To celebrate being the best-selling car company in New Zealand for the past 25 years, we’ve given 25 deserving Kiwi charities a brand new 2013 Corolla each, to use for three years. The people have spoken and the results are in. THANKS to everyone who voted. We’ll contact the winners on Monday 25 March.




Toyota New Zealand was founded in 1966, although way back then we were called Consolidated Motor Distributors Ltd (have a 



A huge THANK YOU to everyone who voted for Sands Manukau in the Toyota competition. They have been one of the lucky groups to win the use of a brand new car for 3 years! I know that Sarah, their coordinator will be so excited by this. Just remember, even though it is our Manukau group that have won this, it will do great things for Sands New Zealand as a whole - raising awareness all over New Zealand with the publicity that this will bring with it. As well as running her own local group, Sarah is the National Coordinator for Sands New Zealand, so she will be using this to promote Sands in any way she can! Congrats guys, well done!

ABOUT SANDS MANUKAU


Supporting parents and whanau following the death of their baby at any stage during pregnancy and up to 1 year following birth. Memory making items and hand/foot castings are given free to families as tangible memories. Ongoing support by phone, email, Face Book and one on one contact.


Sands Manukau


Red, Andy rides for cancer

IMAG0665.jpg


I am extremely proud of my nephew Andy. He has pledged to Ride and support this good cause. Riding 2 days , 200 kilometer is a mean task. I should say raising money is in the genes. When I was in Singapore, I raised funds for Kenya for 16 years, and I spearheaded raising funds to separate the Siamese twins in NTU.


Support My Ride to Conquer Cancer™
Please Support My Ride to Conquer Cancer. One in Two Men & Women are diagnosed with this horrible disease before the age of 85. I am hoping to make a difference to our community no matter how small.

The Sunsuper Ride to Conquer Cancer benefiting The Chris O'Brien Lifehouse at RPA, is a 200km cycling journey throughout New South Wales countryside.
This year, I am participating in The Sunsuper Ride to Conquer Cancer , a 2-day, October 12-13, 2013 that I am embarking on to fight cancer. It will be a challenge in a number of ways, but with my bike, my helmet, and your generosity, a real impact will be made! 
Cancer is something that has touched all of our lives in some measure. It's my goal to put a stop to that and The Ride is how I am doing my part. That's why I am so passionate about raising funds. Any donation that you can give is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Regards,

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Catalytic Fuel



The leader pastor of Mt Albert Baptist church Jonathan Dove turned Scientist today as he brought his Catalytic Fuel sermon. He was a very effective scientist as he made the elephant toothpaste. He needed that  bottle of yellow  detergent.

He certainly was very successful in making me sit up and want to duplicate it with my students. I just spent last week about volcanoes and earthquakes.



  
Stay mellow with yellow!

Friday, March 22, 2013

PhotoHunt ' FLOW '



This dam provides water to Auckland.


Water, the elders say,
is like blood in your vein,
abuse it with drug,
your water cannot be used.

Water, the elders say,
is the giver of life.
abuse it,
and you die.


The PhotoHunt word for the day is ' FLOW '

http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.co.nz

Weekend Reflection: Orange grove.


The reflections of the leaves makes it look like going to have your orange juice in an orange grove.

http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

ABC Wed Letter J for jeep




 My friend Jim has a box for us short people to jump into the jeep.

When ever I see a jeep, I take photos intending to go with this story of my sister Margaret. Each time I have taken them, I forget where I have saved them, When I want to post the  story, I can't find it.

My sister Margaret, (immediately younger than me by 2 and half years) was very very smart. When she was  about 4, she went to a Land Rover, and read "I and Rover." We laughed at her, instead of praising her, perhaps there were some sibling jealousy on my part. But Margaret has the last laugh. She was really very smart. She got a PhD from Lincoln University in New Zealand.




Margaret has been teaching at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak. On Sarawak Governor's birthday in 2010, on this occasion the Governor gave honours to prominent people in the society. Margaret was awarded with a Pingat Bintang Kenyalang, an officer of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak by the Governor of Sarawak for services to education and community development on the occasion of his Excellency’s birthday. 

Our parents have passed on, otherwise, I am sure they would be very proud of her. We siblings rejoice with her achievement.










http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz