5

Until I sold my unit at 3/763 Mt Albert Rd, Royal Oak I had boarders in my back bedroom. This was a real education for me and also a very satisfying way of helping people to gain confidence to go flatting and learn how to look after themselves. I guess that would make a tale or two, but for now that is all I will say. During this period I continued to travel. I had my friend Carol to house sit while I went to Canada with Mary and Brian Holden who were good friends of mine.

Toronto

We went to Toronto and visited my niece Megan and Alexa her daughter. Her husband Glen was at work. They live on the edge of Redwood Park, a large area of trees with several large villas in the park. Megan’s house is a wooden structure with a basement underground. She gave us a delicious lunch and drove us around the area pointing out the things of interest. In Toronto we went up the tower to get a bird’s-eye view of the city and saw the salmon swimming upstream behind glass. Niagara Falls was a must, so we went by launch with shower-proof ponchos and had a good view of them on a nice sunny day.

Quebec

Quebec is where we visited a small church which had jewellery on sale. It is quite ornate, but nothing appealed to me. As we came away I saw a guy playing his guitar and singing in French.

St. Lawrence River

We took a cruise on the St. Lawrence river where the Boldt Castle stood on one of the larger islands. It is one of many islands that make up the Thousand Islands area. The islands have private dwellings on them which are passed down from generation to generation. We enjoyed a fabulous cruise on one of the Gananoque lines. You had to be quick to get photos as the opportunities passed so quickly.

Ottawa

Our tour took us out to Ottawa, a pretty city with wide open spaces and unusual buildings. In the residential areas the houses are built very close together. The gardens had lots of annual plants as the snow would bury them in the winter so one would have to start again from scratch. When the snow comes they all work together to sweep the snow off the driveways and do the elderly neighbours’ drives too. We visited the Mounted Police and were shown where those jet black horses lived. The stables were clean and well kept. I had a photo taken with one of the police and we were able to take a photo of a policeman mounted on his horse.

Montreal

Montreal was where we picked up our second tour to do the Canadian Rockies by coach. We were taken up the mountain by a bus with metal-chained wheels like the ones used on tractors doing road works. I think they called them snow coaches. There were two others there at the same time. It was a clear sunny day but where we walked the snow was quite grubby with so many feet tramping over it. The snow was starting to increase as the weather was beginning to cool down after having had bushfires later than usual. Our next stop was Jasper where we stayed in cabins and had a home-made roast meal in a cosy dining room with an open log fire burning on the hearth. I took a photo of Brian at the main entrance. In the background you could see the golden leaves of the fall against the snow-clad mountains.

Whistler

Whistler is a popular sight-seeing place in the winter but the chairlifts were not operating at the time we were there. It is a very pretty spot with its quaint winding streets amongst the hotels and shops. It was 4.00 pm when we arrived there and there were five of us who wanted to row down the river on a canoe. The water was green and inky with the trees hanging well down to the water. None of us wanted to fall in the drink so we managed to keep our balance and return safely. From Whistler we made our way to the wharf where we took a ferry to Vancouver. The fog had set in, but we still sailed by instruments and sounding the horn. We went to Butchart Gardens on Vancouver island. We were still in the fog but as we got higher up we had a beautiful clear blue sky, almost as if we were on a different planet. The gardens were beautiful. If ever you go to Vancouver Island be sure to visit them. Back down to the hotel and back into pea soup!

We went back to Vancouver for one final night before boarding the plane for our return to New Zealand. I’m pleased that I had photos of my trip as it has helped me remember the places I have been. Mary and Brian said goodbye as the shuttle bus dropped me off at my drive and I started back at work a day or so later. Carol, my friend who had been house-sitting, stayed with me for a week or so until she found some more accommodation.

Move

After selling the unit at Mt Albert Rd, I bought unit 2/442 Onehunga Mall Rd. I belonged to Caryl’s ladies’ group who helped me move in, carrying the bits and pieces that couldn’t be brought by truck. How much I really appreciated their help. I have been living here for eleven years already.

Tasmania

Soon after I moved to Onehunga I went with fourteen others to Tasmania on a tour and made a good companion to travel with. It was as if God arranged it for me. We slept in separate rooms but Valery and I did most things together and we still keep in touch by phone and small outings here in Auckland and sometimes a game of Rummikub.

Australia

I was working at Catherine Lodge when a good friend of mine had to go to Australia for cancer treatment for six weeks. I offered to go with her for two weeks and she made arrangements for two others to go when I returned. Because the treatments were early in the mornings, we were able to travel by bus or train and walk the cycle tracks. One bright sunny morning we decided to go to Parramatta by launch. It was so relaxing, cruising and watching the scenery of the harbour go by. We reached the place where the launch stopped, and walked on an Aborigine track made of concrete and painted with Aboriginal designs. It was very colourful and quite interesting. We saw a brick building and discovered it was a small museum. We asked how far away the shops were and managed to get there just before they closed and buy some dresses for ten dollars. We came home by bus and found out the best way to get to Bondi Junction where there is quite a good shopping centre. So we went there just before I was due to come home. Although Angi (not her real name) wasn’t well I enjoyed being there for her.

Retirement

My Mother passed on in 2005. At the great age of 96 she was still active and aware of everyone until she had a stroke that took her just about 24 hours later. A few years later I wanted to retire as I turned 65 that year but my employer wanted me to train someone else to take on my position. When I had completed that I retired, knowing it was the end of that era as I was really tired.

 Fiji

My friend Andrea and I had been on the ministry team for Bruce Rae’s Breath of Life Ministry meetings. When the opportunity came to join a ministry trip to Fiji, Louise and I volunteered to go. We were hosted by an Indian AOG church just out from Nadi. We had a team and visited the families in their homes and went out into the small house groups to take meetings where we prayed for the sick and helped with the children’s work. Louise and I were billeted together and slept in a double bed with a board on a wire-wove base. Talk about bouncing! Whenever we moved in the bed we bounced like a jack-in-a-box. A woman wanted us to pray that she would have a baby. The following year I went back, and she had a bonny baby boy. I went a third time to see how much they had grown as a church and shared my testimony in the church as well as sharing with the ladies meeting. There were times you knew opposition, but the love that was there overtook it as we prayed.

In The Chair

I joined Probus, a group that Rotary set up for their women folk. It is a social group which meets monthly and has bus trips each month as well. Each member is asked to take part in the running of the club and be president for a year. When my turn came, the one who was in the position before me withdrew quite suddenly so I was president for 18 months. It was quite a challenge for me as I was doing short-term missions trips during this time. I only once had to ask the vice president to take a meeting as I was back in the country to do the rest.

Samoa Ministry

In 2010 a team of us went to Samoa with Brian France and Bill Subritzky for some evangelistic meetings in Apia in front of the government buildings. The meetings were held outside. The weather was about 30 degrees but there was no sign of rain. The meeting was at seven that evening with lots of praise and worship. Then Bill preached and we joined him as the prayer team praying for the sick. I had two Samoan women who kept me going with families to be prayed for. When the lights were turned off the women took me over to the far side of the field where there was a young boy about 11 years of age who looked like a rag doll. It was so sad to see him that way. I waited on the Holy Spirit to see what He would say, then I prayed. Nothing happened. Then I asked “Have you been in a fight?” Yes he had. I then asked if he thought he could forgive the classmate who had fought with him. He said he could. When that was done I prayed against shock and fear. He stood up straight and smiled with a bright twinkle in his eyes. I said “Look the world in the eye and be encouraged.” The change was immediate as he jumped for joy. There was another family whose children were not respecting their parents, so we got them to join hands with the parents and prayed with them. We prayed that they would try harder to love and obey their parents. I went back the next year with the team and the children’s grandmother told me the children were attending school more regularly and they were doing well. How lovely it was to get that kind of response. If I hadn’t gone for any other reason, that in itself would have been enough. It was the best.

PNG (Papua New Guinea)

It was 2011. I didn’t really want to go to PNG at all, but I did want to go to Sabah in Malaysia. I know that in order to get to where you would like to go, you sometimes have to go where it is going to be a challenge. So I went to PNG. Someone gave me a prophetic word saying that I would be separated from the group and that we would be on a paddock with lots of sawdust on it. Both of these statements came to pass. I arrived in PNG before the rest of the team because I flew with Qantas Airlines. At the time I booked my seat the Qantas tickets were cheaper than Virgin Blue, the airline the rest of the team had booked with. I believe the Lord really took care of me in that airport. At the counter they asked me to give a form to an American man. He had left it on the counter. He was tall and wearing a yellow shirt, so he was easy to find. I gave it to him and we sat and waited for the local plane to take us off to Mt Hagen. He helped me carry my hand luggage as there was quite a distance between the two planes. He was a doctor who had to give up his medical practice because of a hearing loss. We had an interesting conversation about cochlear implants. He was on his way to serve on a mission field out by the silver mines. When I got to Mt Hagen I was able to tell the pastors that the rest of the team was down in Port Moresby. Their flight had been delayed and they had missed the connecting flight. So the pastors were able to ring through and get a hotel for them there. I had a delicious chicken roast with the pastors and slept in a double bed all to myself. I was in a two-storied house in a compound all by myself. In the morning two of the ladies from the church came and had breakfast with me. We prayed for an hour then went down to the market. I saw how they display their vegetables for market. The stall-keepers were really quite friendly as they don’t have many tourists up there.

The rest of the team arrived at 3.30 pm after having had a good time sharing at the airport. We were happy to be together again and started the meeting that night with Bill Subritzky preaching. We found that the local people loved dancing and singing. At the end of the meeting we would pray for the sick and there were a number of healings from pain in their bodies. One was healed of an arm that had been affected by a stroke. Both the arm and leg were healed. As I prayed I stood there and watched as Jesus delivered a very tall man from demons. He gave a big smile of relief and we both thanked the Lord for what He had done. One morning we had some spare time. Margaret and I saw a group of women chatting together and decided to join them. We offered to pray for them as a group then had a great time of worship. We were shown around their gardens of which they are very proud. I have never seen so many amaryllis lilies growing in one garden. They were a beautiful deep crimson red. They grow most of their own veggies and they are very tasty so the soil must be quite rich. Each morning we would have devotions sharing a word from the Bible and praying. I found one of the pastors was somewhat uncertain about the healing ministry and mentioned it to my leader. He was able to take him alongside while he was ministering and show him how it is done. What a joy to see someone stepping out into this part of what Jesus wants us to do. I really enjoyed my time there and was pleased to see that my obedience, in going to a place I didn’t want to go, bore fruit.

Sabah

I was home for about a month then off to Sabah. Bill had been invited by the Bishop of the Anglican church to take a ministry team led by Brian France. I think we flew Air New Zealand to Kuala Lumpur and took a local plane out to Sabah. It was the most successful of the ministry trips we had done at that time. There were twelve of us in the team and there were a hundred others to be trained from the church. We taught and trained them for two days before a conference of 3,000 people started. As soon as we got to the church there was a prayer meeting where we heard that they had been praying for this event for six months. Already, I was feeling the presence of the Lord there. The hotel was very modern and was quite close to the church. The church members offered to take us in their cars each day. We were very well looked after. Ministry happened after the evening sessions mainly and sometimes during the preaching. We moved a lot in deliverance as they wanted to know how to do that kind of healing. There were two young Asian women who worked with me right to the end of our time there, wanting to learn all they could. One evening after I had finished praying, I looked to see if anyone needed help and saw a young boy jumping very high off the ground. The ministry team didn’t know how to stop him. It was a demon driving him. I commanded him to stop in Jesus’ name and he soon stopped. As I reached up to his shoulders and prayed, I found that he had been abused as a little fellow. He felt relieved, with a huge smile. We thanked the Lord for His healing power. The Holy Spirit’s presence was so strong it was a case of putting one foot in front of the other to move around as it became more difficult to move around in the church. One meeting near the end of the conference as people went up on the stage to be prayed for by Bill they were asked what their need was and several of them said “I’m Healed”. As soon as they got on the stage, the Holy Spirit healed them. Some were healed while they were sitting in their seats. We had wonderful worship times and again the local people loved to sing and dance. We had an evening with the teams that worked with us and blessed them in prayer as we said our final farewells.

Rest At Pulau Sipadan Resort

After that we went to a place where the houses were built on stilts in the sea. We stayed for four days. It was a beautiful place. It was quite refreshing and a welcome change. Under the houses there were lots of turtles that made grunting sounds in the evenings. The weather was hot and humid so I withdrew to the cabin and rested for the morning. I picked up after lunch and we went to another island by launch. I remember stubbing my toe as I was walking up a step and knocked a pot plant over. We prayed with people there as opportunities arose. Now it was time to go back to Kuala Lumpur to fly home and reflect on how God in His great love blessed us. It is a time that stands out in my memory as one of the most successful mission trips I have been on. I don’t think I will ever forget it.

Samoa Second time

In October of that year the pastors in Samoa invited us back again to train them in the deliverance part of the healing ministry. The thing that struck me this time was the use of humour. As I showed them what was needed I remember the peals of laughter as they got the message of how to do it. The weather was hotter this time but the crowds were still hungry for God. They had just suffered the tsunami that swept through the west side of the island and it was thought there would be some people needing prayer and healing. I did meet a pastor from there and asked how things were being restored. He was pleased to know I was concerned about them. This would be the last time Bill Subritzky would go to Samoa as I think he was promoted to glory at the end of 2016. Our time was coming to an end as we boarded the plane to come home to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Cousins

Now I want to tell you about four very special cousins. Since my mother died in 2005 at the age of 96 they have taken turns to invite me to stay at their homes over the Christmas break, for which I have been most grateful. Dale and her husband Dale Simkin in Kerikeri, Margaret and Robert Reynolds in Nelson, Sara and Graham Teal in Ruakaka, Northland and Moira Clark in Whangarei. They have made it the highlight of the year. When my friends would ask “Where are you off to for Christmas?”it has been great to be able to say where I would be. My brother Ross and his wife Nola have also passed on. My nephew Craig, a bachelor, is in Whangarei and my niece Megan is in Toronto with her husband Glen Gibson and their daughter Alexa; my great niece. As I have never married, it is wonderful to have these folk who really care for me. There is another cousin who helps me with repair jobs. His name is John Miller. With his wife Jenny he lives in Auckland. So I’m really blessed as my father died earlier at age 63 of a heart attack.

Hong Kong 2

In about 2013 Charisma Ministries was invited to send two teams to Jackie Pullinger’s ministry in Hong Kong. She gets men and boys off P and drugs through praying in tongues 24-7, day and night for ten days. Led by Brian France we were invited to cover the month of January and the Chinese New Year. I was in the second team led by Julie and Roger Samson. There were twelve of us in our team and we worked in pairs most of the time, but when praying we would team up with a Chinese worker as we didn’t know the language. For years I had longed to go to this ministry as I had read Jackie’s book Chasing The Dragon. God was meeting my heart’s desire. We met Jackie soon after we arrived and she said “I remember you from when I was out in New Zealand last year”. I was quite chuffed about that.

When I was praying with a guy, he was asleep in bed. The Lord would give me scripture to read out and I would read it aloud in between my praying. There was a real presence of God in the room and the guy would be stirring but not be fully awake until my two hour turn was about to end. As I was about to leave I said “I’m going now” and to my surprise he thanked me in English and gave me such a broad smile I can still see it. After ten days the guys we prayed for were allowed to mix with others in another house and have a little more freedom. The diet was mainly boiled noodles and rice with meat or fish, and kale for the greens. We all had a chance to pray with the guys and did other duties like gate-keeping and laundry. There were commercial machines to do the washing and drying of the bed linen. It was thought that some of the guys would abscond, but there was no one that we knew about.

We went to a worship meeting held on site. The songs were written in English and Chinese. There was a beautiful presence of the Lord in that meeting and we all worshiped together singing our hearts out. At New Year there were truckloads of yellow and red chrysanthemums in pots dotted all around the houses. They love their flowers. The Hong Kong government had given her land to build her houses high up in the hills overlooking the city. It started with several single story houses and now there is a six-story building with an area for teenagers, a guest centre, swimming pool and a gym. It was in the gym that we held the worship service. The buildings are surrounded by a white wall that can be seen for miles around. The temperature was around 18 degrees centigrade in January which was quite comfortable for we Kiwis. We went to Jackie’s fellowship in the morning and made our own way home after having a look around. One time we went to a grocery store to find that the aisles were very narrow and the food very expensive. We found a little park in the form of a rock garden with a stream running through and some turtles. It was a real oasis in the middle of a shopping area where people would come for a break from the hustle and bustle. Our time was drawing to a close, so we went to the market to buy gifts to bring home. I have very fond memories of the experience I gained there.

A Stroke

In 2014 a very different experience happened to me. In June, on Queen’s Birthday weekend, Charisma had its camp at Marsden Point. I was there taking part in the worship team. After lunch we were listening to a small group of speakers in the sun. Suddenly I wanted to undo my jacket and couldn’t, then my arm became numb. Someone asked me a question and a babble of words came out that I couldn’t understand. That frightened me. Then Bill prayed for me and I remember him saying that I would be healed. But right now I needed to go to hospital. So they rang for an ambulance and I went to Whangarei hospital where I remained for two weeks. Then I came back to Auckland Hospital to the rehabilitation unit for a further three weeks. Fortunately I had been at lectures about strokes, so when I was told this is what had happened to me I knew that the best thing I could do was to wriggle everything that I could to keep moving, including my brain! One of my uncles avoided a stroke by walking in the house for two hours. I lost my speech for about three weeks. I could answer questions but I couldn’t initiate anything myself. I felt so stupid but it gradually came back as did my reading, though the concentration took a while. The physios and nurses helped me to recover by giving me heaps of exercises. Spiritually I kept thinking that I would be able to go with the team which was going to Fiji later that year and I held fast to being healed by the Lord, as Bill said I would. The numb right arm regained its strength and the fingers were working, with the exception of the two little ones which are not so good. I thank God for the experience as I know He was with me every step of the way. It taught me to appreciate what others go through especially when they don’t know what is happening to them. It makes a big difference when you can help yourself because you have some knowledge. The Thursday group I belong to visited me when I was in rehab. Chris and about five other ladies came to pray for me. I know it made a big difference to the speed of the healing process.

Conference

Aglow, a world-wide ministry, was a way of keeping spiritual growth on track and a source of encouragement. Caroline and I went to the Aglow Conference in Christchurch in 2017. What a weekend of inspiration by the Holy Spirit. Graham Cooke’s message was to look forward as things are beginning to change in a major way. All that could be shaken would be shaken; no longer business as usual. We got accommodation through the national president and three of us stayed in a studio apartment while another friend of Caroline’s with a car took us to conference each day. It really was an exceptional weekend with God in our midst. I see that the shaking has already started and prophecies are being quite quickly acted on.

Health?

My health has been causing some problems. Since 2017 I have had a tumour in the lungs that can’t be removed, more infections than I can count, asthma, and a heart that wants to run instead of walking at a steady pace. But I made it to Africa and back! I have been in and out of hospital by ambulance while the doctors in A&E grappled with getting the medication to control the heart. Now things are running more smoothly. But still I’m here to tell the story because I want to give God all the glory. Because the story isn’t over yet. I have to give this body space but still I want to run the race!