Wellington's Not For Me

Here's a poem I wrote a few years back.

I was born and raised in Christchurch, but moved to Wellington in the 80's, and it's fair to say it took some time to adjust to life in a completely different city.

Things changed not long after this, when I met the woman I would marry (see 'Real Friends Tell Their Friends The Truth). 

Enjoy!

Frequent Flyer, Frequent Flyer

A lighthearted poem I wrote when waiting for an international connection on the way home from a missions trip to India / Bangladesh - and watching (other) people getting upgrades...

Enjoy!

In Remembrance...My Heart Is Broken, Too

Like everybody else in the world, I turned on the TV on the morning of 9/11/01, and watched in unbelief at the horrific scenes before me.

I wrote this poem the following week, and posted it on a Christian Poetry forum (re-posting date Sep 2002 if you're looking for it). Some of my other poems are there also.

This is dedicated to those whose lives were forever changed by the tragedy.

Scenes of Kolkata - Hope Amid The Havoc

In 2002 my wife and I were blessed to travel through Kolkata while on a Mission Trip.

After seeing the poverty, smelling the horrible stench, and feeling claustrophobic with the overcrowding, I became angry and bitter towards God.

But rather than God changing Kolkata, He changed my heart instead...

Waiting...waiting...waiting

One of the most frustrating things we came across in our Missions trip to India was the time it took to move anywhere.
And if anything involved state or government officials, you could guarantee that would make it all that much worse, and the whole process would grind to a snail's pace. It was obvious that speed and efficiency was not their forte.

For example; there were six of us in the Mission party. We needed to cross the border from Bangladesh to India, near Brahambaria, on foot. Apart from a couple of men in an old blue truck, we were the only people making a crossing at that time.
There were 2 huts on the side of the dusty road in both countries, with two big barrier arms blocking the road and a no-mans land in between - much like you saw in those old Cold War spy movies (but without the barbed wire and machine guns!).
The Bangladesh side took about an hour to process the group - not bad, given the poor resources at their disposal.
But when we passed through the barrier into India, well, that's another story...

They would look over every page of our passports and visas, ask questions, then write the answers manually in a book. Then the book would be passed to another, who would copy details from that book into another book. This happened about four times. Then finally the last person would stamp the visa.

Three and a half hours later in the exhausting heat we finally left the border area and collapsed into the waiting vans.

After many ordeals like this one, I penned my frustrations...

In Awe

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork." (Psalm 19:1)

No matter where you go you cannot escape the glory of God.

It is even in those things we sometimes take for granted... 

The Charlatans of Chandpur

In 2002 during a missions trip to Bangladesh, I passed through a town named Chandpur.

Like all towns we visited in Bangladesh, our party was the biggest thing around, with everyone crowding around us to stare at the 'rich' white people.

The opportunity to peddle their wares inevitably arose, and you felt like their lives depended on it...

A Simple Prayer of Repentance

Hi All

I thought I would share a simple Power Point Show of a poem I wrote simply called " I Repent".

I would never say there is a magic formula - a special prayer you need to pray, or certain words that you need to recite to be saved. That is not how the Holy Spirit works. No two experiences are the same.

This is just something from my heart.

Enjoy!