Sue insisted I write the Christmas letter in December this
year rather than the 31st of February like last year so here goes.
we have now completed nearly 21 years in Napier and are pleased to be here. David is well settled in Napier with an accounting job at Blue Rock accounting and a
hankering for buying a house. We helped
a little bit with the deposit and flatmates help him pay the mortgage. It is 3 bedrooms on a nice small section It is walking distance to the supermarket
and Greenmeadows shops.
God has started doing some new things in the church,
bringing in several people from other nations (Thai, Chinese, Indian…) into the
church so that has been a bonus. We have
also had several international students coming along which is great. Sue still works with the international
students at EIt as the Homestay Coordinator.
She is often under pressure as student numbers remain high. We have had our usual series of students stay
with us. Currently we have a Japanese
and a Chinese student plus Kiwi John who has been with us a few years and we
expect another from Vietnam in late January.
One delight was to go and visit several of those who have stayed with us
when we took a month’s holiday to go to Cambodia and Vietnam and Taiwan. Sue was pretty nervous about our 3 days’
transit in Hong Kong but that passed peacefully.
Highlights of the trip involved meeting several ex homestays and some amazing scenery. Haulong Bay is a beautiful place and the day
we spent on a bicycle meeting locals in Hoi An is probably the other
highlight. We did an intrepid tour for
12 days and enjoying meeting the other 10 who traveled with us. If you are our Facebook friends, you would
have seen lots of pictures and if you aren’t yet it is not too late to go and
look back over our photos and comments.
The third highlight was going to Taiwan to meet with Judith Jackson for
a week. Judith was Sue’s first friend at
Bible college and has worked in Taiwan for over 30 years. She took us to meet some of her High school
groups who were great fun. We also got
to see some of the sights including this sunset at the salt fields.
I have enjoyed the
year saying no to most extra responsibilities from the Presbytery other and find
having time and energy to concentrate on the people of Napier is enough. I still go to the gym a few times each week
along with a long walk or bike ride along the cycle trails. Sue is still enjoying walks and was tempted
by a puppy as it is over 2 years since her beloved Misty died but our Chinese
student is allergic to dogs and going away would have been unfair to leave a
new puppy. Sue has had a few trips to
nelson now her mother has turned 91 and both my parents celebrated their 80th
Birthdays in the past year.
Paul and his wife Mary are still in Gisborne and also
enjoyed a holiday to Vietnam this year.
Paul continues as a Chef at the Vines and Mary is still at the BNZ. They are coming down for a few days before
Christmas and we will go there after Christmas before a week in Nelson with
Sue’s mother.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas a peace-filled New
Year. Greetings from Brett & Sue
Walker
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