We are thankful to God for giving us three new communicants, two girls in their “teens” – Mairi Macleod and Amy Munro and Alasdair Maciver who is twelve. We pray that the Lord will keep them and guide their young lives into his service in whatever way he has chosen for them. It was thrilling to see so many people yesterday at the communion services in the morning and then later for the evening service to have over 200 people present (counted 220) was wonderful. We then had 60 people at the manse for the young people’s fellowship. Most of the them were young but we let a few oldies slip in without comment! We had a great evening. Calum and Iain gave us a brief account of their conversions and then answered lots of questions from the young people present. After worship we sang psalms, had a beautiful solo from Fiona (must get this recorded for the website!), singing the hymn read by Dr Campbell as part of his fencing of the Lord’s Table at the morning service, with such an appropriate refrain considering the wonderful day we had – “Halleluyah, what a Saviour!”

We really would like to get posts from you giving us your thoughts about the communion services and fellowships. Although there were a lot of people in the manse last night we do so love having the young people and it is good to have a “homely” setting for the fellowship. But, would the young people themselves prefer to use the hall and have more space? Or do you prefer the homely setting even if it means a bit of a squash? Give us your thoughts!

We are very touched by your comments about missing us and we can assure you that we are feeling the same. We are also grateful for your prayers and your references to this on the blog. So important and valuable and we treasure this.

The conference has gone on as expected. It has been much more business-like than it was at first and so more enjoyable. The fellowship has been really excellent and it has been so rewarding again to meet so many people from many parts of the world. We will no doubt say more about some of these after we get back. Here’s a photo of the Free Church folk with Indian Free Church delegates and Gareth Burke from Ireland.

We have admitted a few more churches into membership of the ICRC. Unfortunately, while the air outside is rather cold, there has been rather a lot of hot air inside!

On Monday night we heard a good lecture from Dr. Nelson Kloosterman (USA) on “The Vitality of the Reformed Faith: Facing the Challenge of Individualism”, which was more interesting than it sounds! But we did not agree with everything said! American theology does not always fit into Lewis theology and practice!

This was followed by an excellent devotional by Rev Alex MacDonald who spoke about Legion and his healing by Jesus. Many comments afterwards on how good it was, so we felt very pleased that the Free Church’s ministry had come across so positively!

Last night we had the official photos taken, including one of the ICRC ladies. Models or what?!! Well, maybe some! After this and our evening meal we had a lecture from Rev Frank Van Dalen, on how the Reformed Faith relates to Islam. He have an illustrated talk giving us details of the work with which he is involved in various parts of the world. Afterwards we had another excellent devotional from Rev Gareth Burke, Northern Ireland, who spoke about Christ’s words to the thief that he would be with him in paradise that day.

Donna and Alasdair went on a bus trip yesterday to Akaroa, about an hour away, and today Alasdair spent the day with the family of the minister at Bishopdale, so we caught up with him again at the meal and lecture there this evening.

Today we have been busy with various committee reports in conference and are trying to get through much of that sort of business so that we can maybe have a less busy day tomorrow. Tonight we had another lecture (a bit more “heavy-going” tonight!) from Mohan Chacko an Indian Presbyterian professor. Ally said when it was over “Well, bha esan really fada!” (Well, he was really long!”).

Great to hear of the successful Point 2 Life trip and the Rosskeen induction. Probably the most Rudhachs they ever had in Rosskeen. Great for Callum, I’m sure he was pleased.

So, only one more day to go and then we head for home on Friday. We are now really looking forward to getting back. A month away from you guys is lonnnnng!! Our thoughts are particularly with Maryanne (Portnaguran) tonight.

“May you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” (Eph. 1:11)

Afterwards we were taken by various cars from the congregations hosting the conference to a farm about half an hour’s drive out of the city where we met up with other delegates. There we had lunch and saw some of their stock – pigs, sheep and cattle. We then came back to the church for the evening service which began at 5.00pm. This time the preacher was Rev George Knight III, who preached on Paul’s greetings to the churches as found in 1 Corinthians 1, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” We then came back to our hotel where we had supper at 7.00pm. Had a nice time with the other Free Church folk here at a table to ourselves for a wee change!

Tomorrow the conference gets under way again and we will be going at it (I hope at a quicker pace than Friday!) from then on till we finish on Thursday evening. Each evening session, including the main lecture of the day, is at Bishopdale Church.

Hope you will all have a blessed day today. As I write this at 9.00pm it’s difficult to grasp that we have finished with our Sunday services while you are just about to begin them! May our Lord truly be with you and work his work of grace in you while we are apart. Love to all. God bless.

On Thursday evening the proceedings began with an opening service at Bishopsgate Reformed Presbyterian Church which we all attended. The conference itself got under way yesterday (Friday) very slowly and poderously I’m afraid. What should have taken half an hour took nearly three hours and that was only dealing with the names of those who were delegates from the various churches! The Clerk of the Free Church Assembly was not at all impressed! The afternoon was taken up with various committees being appointed, some of which then met. Donna and Ally went to the Air Force Museum outside Christchurch. It has a marvellous display of over thirty aircraft all in their original colours and even has a full-size cockpit simulator of a Second Word War Mosquito bomber which Ally thoroughly enjoyed.

Then last night we went again to Bishopsgate church for en evening meal followed by the first lecture of the conference which was given by Rev. George Knight III, of the Orthodox Presbyerian Church, USA. This was an excellent lecture. The theme for the conference is “The Vitality of the Reformed Faith” and Rev. Knight dealt with this in relation to the Charismatic Movement.

Today was for outings. We had to choose from a number of options and we chose to take a train journey (long!!) through to the west coast of the South Island through a mountainous area known as Arthur’s Pass. Twelve in all, including the three of us, had chosen this outing and we left Christchurch at 8.15am, reaching the west coast at 12.45pm. We then had an hour in the small town of Greymouth before returning on the same train to Christchurch, arriving at just after 6.00pm. A long day, some wonderful scenes in the middle section of the journey, but we felt it did not live up to its billing as “one of the great railway journeys of the world.”

An arrangement had been made with local church families to meet us on our return and take us to their homes for an evening meal. We were with a young family, Raymond and Monique Posthuma and their four girls and two boys. Alasdair enjoyed this far more than the train journey! We had a really great time with them and came back to the hotel around 9.00pm.

Tomorrow we look forward to being with the congregation at Bishopsgate at their services in the morning and evening. We will be hosted by various families for the afternoon. There are three congregations altogether of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand in Christchurch and tomorrow they are sharing looking after those attending the conference. We look forward to meeting new friends in Christ during this time.

We hope all the services at Garrabost are blessed tomorrow. No doubt we will hear from you with details and we will be remembering you beginning your Sabbath as we end ours here. With our love and prayers. God bless.

We were very fortunate to catch sight of two whales within about half an hour of each other. The boats have sophisticated tracking equipment and are able to quickly travel to where a whale has been sighted. The two we saw were sperm whales, one of the largest creatures to be seen anywhere. They spend around 45 minutes submerged and then surface for around 8-10 minutes, giving avid photographers a wonderful opportunity to get some rare shots. Here is one of the whale blowing as it lies on the surface and another of the iconic plunge as it disappears, tail raised, back into the deep. The experience was quite amazing, having an atmosphere and a sense of wonder that no photo can capture, not even those taken by a Maciver cameraman! The trip was meant to take three hours but we lost the first 45 minutes or so due to the propellers getting snagged with seaweed. We had to come back to the wharf for a diver to remove the problem, which he did within 10 minutes. The bonus from this delay was that we were given a refund of half the cost of the trip! So we saw two whales, albatross and other seabirds, and it cost only half the usual amount. You guys have definitely been busy praying!

After we came ashore and got some lunch we headed for a place not far away where seals come ashore. They are incredibly unafraid of people and just lie around on the shoreline and even out near the road. Here’s one big guy you would not want to meet on your own in the dark!

In the afternoon we managed to get some more golfing in. The course at Kaikoura must be amongst the most scenic in the world. Not that the golf matched the quality of the views, but hey, we were playing with hired clubs (old!) without golf gloves or shoes, so what do you expect!

Oh, by the way, there is a Presbyterian congregation here in Kaikoura, and guess what? They are looking for a minister at the moment! Bright sunshine, stunning scenery, whale watching trips, great golf course – temptation comes in many forms! No, I’m not going to preach for them, and yes, I am intending to come back!

We are constantly being reminded of God’s goodness and of how important our fellowship in prayer is. Distance is no object to experiencing the benefits of your prayers, indeed the distance only heightens the wonder of it. It gives us some idea of what the apostle Paul experienced as he constantly felt the benefits of Christians praying for him throughout the various churches. The wonder of creation is also impressed upon our minds constantly as we see the grandeur of these scenes around us here. It’s not so much the wonder of creation as that of the Creator, whose divine mind is displayed in the incredible beauty and variety of the creation.

Well, tomorrow we head for Christchurch and conference. Hard to get the mind into gear for conference in a place like Kaikoura. Ah well, needs must! We will report again once we are established in Christchurch. God bless.

After leaving Picton we made our way south to Kaikoura. The drive took us through more beautiful scenery, especially when the road came close to the seaside for the last 30 kilometres or so. Mile after mile of stunning coastline with white breakers breaking onto the shore and light blue waters as far as you could see. However, the best was yet to come. Kaikoura is simply the most beautiful place we have ever seen! It really is a photographers’s dream! It has everything that makes for stunning scenery – a bright blue sea, waves sweeping in from the ocean, and huge snow-covered mountains rising majestically as a backdrop to the town. If this is creation still groaning under the bondage of corruption what will the new heavens and the new earth be like!

Our accommodation is at a small bed and breakfast hotel called Austin Heights, about a mile out of Kaikoura but looking down over the town owards the mountains.  The photo below shows what the scene looks like! Breathtaking! The layer of cloud lying halfway up the mountains added an element of mystique to the scene.

Some of the scenes at the shore are also wonderful. Donna eventually managed to drag her husband away from his camera clicking adventure, but he did manage a few shots for you to look at. There are “whale watching trips” and “encounters with dolphins trips” leaving from the wharf every day, but we could only get room on one leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7.15am, so we declined. Too early! James would have loved photographing whales at sea but he loves his beauty sleep even more! Not sure what we will get up to tomorrow but we will let you know in our next update.

Hope all is well back in Point. Thanks again for keeping us up to date through your blogging contributions. God bless.

To say that the scenery on the route was stunning is really an understatement. The ship passes through Marlborough Sound for the final hour of the route. With mile after mile of wooden hills and inlets, clear blue water, yachts and boats, it was breathtaking. These few images of the many James took hopefully give you some impression of just how beautiful the Sound is.

We arrived at Picton around 11.30am, the ferry taking about the same time as the Isle of Lewis from Stornoway to Ullapool. Ullapool has its own charm yet does not quite have the same exotic magic as Picton. It is a spectacularly beautiful town as the photo shows.

Yet another cousin came to see us soon after we arrived. Donna (sister of Jeanette and David mentioned in earlier reports). We then went to play golf (well, Alasdair and James played and Donna enjoyed the walk), over nine holes at a small golf course 6 kilometres away. The day was beautiful and the scenery wonderful, so we enjoyed the fresh air after a week of not getting much walking done.

In the evening we met up again with Donna and her partner Michael and had a nice meal with them at a local restaurant. We plan to see Donna again tomorrow morning for coffee before we head down the road to Kaikoura about two hours away where we hope to spend the final two days before we go to Christchurch on Thursday. Thanks again for all your prayers. Another update hopefully tomorrow.

We then went to see John and Mary Macneill, who live just five minutes from Angus and Sue. John is from Stornoway (mac Sarah Go) and his Mary is from Tong (daughter of the late Angus and Isabel Macdonald – Aonghas Bhragar and Ishbel Chraig). We really enjoyed meeting both couples and they were so appreciative of our having looked them up.

We finally arrived at our hotel in Wellington and just look at the view from our bedroom window! Wellington is such a beautiful city, with the lush hills all around covered with bright houses and tall buildings and as you can see lots of boats and yachts all around the harbour. Don’t worry, James is not planning on staying! Not to be outdone by Angus Finlayson’s promotion of the Loch a Tuath, Ally insisted on posing on the hotel balcony with a copy of the Rudhach proundly in front!

James’ cousin Margaret and her husband Murray came from from Poirorua, about 25 minutes from Wellington, and picked us up at the hotel. They took us to the main museum in Wellington which was packed with interesting things. One section was devoted to the history of the first Scots who came to New Zealand and the Scottish contribution to the development of the country. We came across this photo of Donald Reid and his family, dated 1863, who are described as “staunch members of the Scottish Free Church”, which will in all liklihood be a reference to the Free Church of Scotland, just twenty years after the formation of the Free Church. Wherever the Free Church went communion vessels went also as this photo of communion tokens, cup and decanter shows.

Murray and Margaret then took us to their house for lunch and we went from there to meet her mother Maisie, who lives not far from where our hotel is in Oriental Bay. She is the widow of James’ late uncle Murdo, his father’s brother. This is a photo of us with Maisie along with Margaret and Murray

After saying goodbye to them we met up with more relatives, this time with Chrissie, who had been married to James’ late uncle Donald, his mother’s brother, who died aged only 32. Joanne is Chrissie’s daughter from her second marriage, seen here along with husband Tony.

The weather in Wellington has been bright and sunny though the wind is somewhat chilly. Thanks to all who have left responses on the blog. More news when we get to Picton tomorrow (Monday) which will be the start of our travel through South Island on our way to Christchurch which we hope to reach on Thursday. Make sure you send us all the news of the services. God Bless. Love you all.

Of course the visit would not have been complete without a visit to the shop, where we bought loads of the stuff! How we will get all this chocolate through airport security remains to be seen – good job we are not leaving from Stornoway! The idea is that we will have some left for the communions the week we get back but…. temptation may get the better of us!

We then went to visit Jeanette’s mother Valerie who is currently in hospital, about twenty minutes from Napier. She is over eighty now and has the beginnings of dementia but was really glad to see us.

We saw this church not far from our hotel. It was the name “Knox Church” which caught our attention. It was the first church to be built in Ahuriri (the province of Napier that our hotel is in) built in 1866 with funds mostly raised in Scotland by a Mrs Mary Wilson and was first called “Bethel Chapel”. It is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand.

The weather here today has been very wet today, with quite a bit of snow on the Hawke’s Bay mountain range. The forecast is better for tomorrow so hopefully our trip to Wellington will be free from delay.

Hope Seoras is recovering from his fight with the car door. Honestly, the things that guy will do to get these ladies to pamper him! We trust everyone else is well. We will update you once we get to Wellington tomorrow.

The road between Rotorua and Napier was closed at the beginning of the week due to heavy snowfalls, so we were hoping that it was clear today for our journey through! It was, but as you can see from the photo there was still plenty snow on the mountains, although out run through was free of any problems. Some snow by the side of the road but no problems getting through.

Napier is an art deco city, having been totally rebuilt after an earthquake in the 1930’s. It is a beautiful city in a beatiful location, and with today’s bright sunshine it was just stunning to look at some of the sights. One of the first sights we came across after parking the car really caught out eye and encouraged us. It was an arch dedicated to a Harold Latham (we have no idea who he was), but with an inscription at the top from the book of Proverbs – “Without Vision the People Perish” -  as you can see in the photo. Sadly, like many places in our own country, Napier does not seem to apply the text on the arch to its day-to-day life, but at least here is a prominently placed inscription that keeps the Lord’s counsel before the public mind.

Tomorrow we are due to meet James’ first cousin Jeanette who lives here in Napier. She is the owner of a chocolate factory, “Silky Oak Chocolates” and we are looking forward to meeting her and getting a guided tour of the chocolate museum on the site. We also hope to visit Jeanette’s mother Valerie who is presently in hospital. She is the widow of James’ late uncle David, his mother’s brother.

Thank you to all of you who have left responses on the blog. Just to clarify that posts to the blog will not be posted immediately by Bluehost who host the site online. They send them thtough to me by email and only after I have approved them will they show up on the blog. This is just to make sure that any malicious posts (remember that anyone on the internet can access the blog and send in a post) can be filtered out. Just keep them, coming. It’s great to have all your responses. You are really developing into a right bunch of bloggers! We will update you soon. With our love and prayers.