Most New Zealanders speak English, with a modified British accent to American ears, although Maori is also enjoying a revival among the growing indigenous population. One-third of the nation lives in Auckland -- NZ's counterpart to New York City -- and one of them in five came there from some other part of Asia or the Pacific. By far the country's largest and most cosmopolitan city, Auckland's 1.3 million residents sprawl from Waitemata Harbor on the Pacific Ocean to Manukau Harbor on the Tasman Sea. Auckland appropriately calls itself "The City of Sails" -- its harbors' dancing waters sparkle … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2000
KEEN ON KIWI-LAND (2)
This was a working vacation to New Zealand, in which I averaged almost one presentation per day. On successive Sunday mornings I preached at Titirangi Baptist Church (pastor Jonathon Weir) and at Owairaka Baptist Church (pastors Bruce Hilder and Carl Josephson), sharing three points from John 3:13-17 -- that God desires to save people, not to condemn them; that he saves believers through the merits and for the sake of Jesus Christ; and that the alternative to eternal life is, indeed, to perish. Sunday evenings saw advertised public meetings at Remuera Baptist Church (pastor Warren Prestidge) … [Read more...]
KEEN ON KIWI-LAND (1)
We arrived home safely about 9 p.m. last night (Thursday, August 24, 2000 Houston time), 28 hours after waking on the same date in the distinctly "Scottish" town of Dunedin on the South Island of predominately "British" New Zealand. New Zealand is an extraordinarily beautiful Pacific country composed of two major islands, situated 1200 miles southeast of Australia. Explorers launch out from NZ to Antarctica and the South Pole. If you imagine England and Scotland 125% larger, inverted in the South Pacific, you won't be far wrong. Or think of California, reduced by 25%, then stretched thinner to … [Read more...]