Jan 31 - Feb 2 Last of NZ, Feb 3 -4 To Padu, restored

Founder of the State of Canterbury, holding his place in the Christchurch Cathedral Square. As we left on Feb second, workmen on a lift completed washing and re-waxing the surface. He looked happier.


Folks, while we went to a church picnic, we did not go to church – the closest we got was food again, this shot of Canterbury Cathedral through the skylight of the coffee shop run as a fund raiser and employment for the underemployed. We must be Epicurean.



We were done with museums by Tuesday, so went to the Gondola, which took us to the volcanic rim which formed the harbor of Lyttleton, the port of Christchurch, The ride itself was fun, and the views spectacular. Good hiking around at the top.

Guess what? – that appealing body of water next to Christchurch is a tidal flat, so from colonial times, 1850, Lyttleton has been the port – now there are two 2 kilometer tunnels under the very ridges we waltzed upon. In the very far distance is Kaikoura.
We then had dinner with Amy and John, American ex-pats we met at the picnic. John very kindly picked us up and dropped us off, ½ hour each way. Their two children reminded us of Lena and Inara. The butterfly had just emerged from its chrysalis.Amy is president of the UU congregation and John was ½ the music program council and founding member of the Ministerial Relations Committee.
The next day, Feb 2, our last in NZ, we hopped the Penguin bus to the Antarctic exhibit, which, yes had penguins,
lots of gear used by various expeditions, and fish that live in 28 degree F water.




It's also next door to the airport, where we went aboard Emirates Air to Bangkok, which stopped in Sydney, a surprise for us. The flight path neatly skirted the raging cyclone on the northeast coast. We overnight in Bankok, on to India, Jet Airlines.

Feb 4 - 5 To Padu, restored

Feb 4-5 New Zealand to Jowai via Sydney, Bangkok, Delhi, Guwahati, Laban. Jowai, Padu. Many conveyances, from 777-300 airplanes seating 800, to 'cars' (taxis with a set route) seating 6 in space for four. We slept on the planes, in a Bangkok airport lobby, in Laban (suburb of Shillong, you can find on a map) in a B&B, and in Jowai at the Unitarian Union of North East India VIP guestroom.
Bhutan from the air,
Delhi to Guwahati.
Gail liked the colors in the streets, here in Laban, part of Shillong.
In Jowai, helping us get our phone to work, Rev. Helpme Morhman brought us to these two young men. Later we shared in a family birthday celebration with him at a nearby restaurant, culminating with a bit of earthquake and a walk home in a blackout to hear the choir rehearse in the dark.
The 600 member Unitarian Church in Jowai, next door to The UUNEI headquarters. One plaque reads “Love is the Gospel of this church, the quest for truth its sacrament, and service is it's prayer....”
The Padu church, near the border with Bangladesh, celebrating 100 years with this new building and hosting the UUNEI annual conference – I'm sitting here now during plenary, conducted in Kyndrian, the Vox Romana of the Kashi Hills (related to a tribal language in Cambodia).
Gail brings greetings from the Nashville church, fulfilling a 25 year dream to visit the Kashi Hills Unitarians. Her brief message was ably rendered in Kyndrian by UUNEI Director, H. Helpme Mohrmen. 'To Nangroi' means 'forever progress', and is the motto of Hajam Kissor Singh, founder of Unitarianism in NE India, 1887, and the association of churches that grew from his efforts.