New Zealand visit – 10-16 April 2011
After months of planning the great day arrived. Elham, the Auckland coordinator, and myself arranged to meet at the airport McDonald's – not realizing there were three. We eventually managed to get together thanks to mobile phones and commenced our wait. There were four to five planes arriving from Sydney, all within minutes of each other, and by the time Geraldine, Liam and Father came through the door we were so busy talking that they got themselves through the crowd and came to us! Oh dear, what terrible hosts we made.
Luggage and guests were split between two cars and off we went to Northcote for Father to say evening Mass at St. Mary’s. By the time we came out of church it was dark and we had to make our way to a Catholic Bed and Breakfast venue in Epsom. The first miracle of the visit happened when both Elham (who was carrying Geraldine and Liam) and myself (who was transporting Father), got lost. Elham and I both have GPS's and although Elham lives in Auckland, I come from the Wellington area – about 800 km away. Auckland has a population of a million and a half people spread out over a huge area, and was a nightmare for both of us, especially in the dark. We got onto the motorway and across the Harbour Bridge and that is where everything went wrong for both of us. I couldn’t get across the lanes because of the heavy traffic to get onto another motorway and hence I drove Father around the city not knowing where I was going with Fred telling me to do this and do that – all too late, I might add! “Don’t worry Sandra,” I thought, “Our Lady will get us there.” And she did. What technically should have been a short trip actually took half an hour longer. As I pulled up in a very dark suburban street a car pulled up behind me. It was Elham – she also had a bad time finding out where to go. The miracle is that Elham had come using a totally different route, but we both arrived at the same time as if Elham had followed me. The good Mother was looking after us – and no doubt having a smile to Herself at the same time.
The next day, I drove Father, Geraldine and Liam to Tauranga, which is on the eastern coast of New Zealand. It is a great holiday area with a lovely harbour. Our hostess, Willy, a lady who had emigrated from Holland to New Zealand many years ago, had made all the arrangements for Father to concelebrate Mass at St. Thomas More church in Mount Maunganui that evening. After Geraldine’s talk, she prayed over the congregations as she was unable to speak individually with people due to problems with her back. When she finished there was Adoration, Rosary and the chaplet of Divine Mercy while Father heard Confessions. Because Willy and her team had done such a great job in advertising this visit we had a great crowd – for New Zealand anyway! Everything went well and books and DVDs were eagerly sought. When it was over there was a great sigh of relief from me, as one never knows how things are going to go.
When leaving Tauranga, our hostess being sympathetic to my getting lost (again!) while in Tauranga, gave directions for a short cut to Tuakau – only an hour away, if that. Well Fred and I started off well, but somehow something went wrong and we had a couple hours driving through the beautiful countryside! We eventually picked up the signal to get onto the motorway to Tuakau but again we somehow managed to miss our turning off the highway – well if Fred says “turn now” and the turn off is immediately on your left and you are doing 100 km, what are you to do??
“Recalculating.” “Recalculating,” screamed the GPS. “Take next turn on left," which looked like a track but was called a road – in fact it was called “Ridge Road,” – and that is exactly what it was – a ridge which kept going up and up and getting narrower and narrower – we had a wonderful heart-stopping view of the surrounding countryside but it was all too much for me, the driver. I stopped the car thinking that Fred had lost his buttons and made a call to Tuakau saying we were lost and would be late for the talk which was due in an hour’s time. Got back in the car and kept driving – five minutes later we arrived at St Andrew’s in Tuakau!! (Sorry, Fred.) My three passengers must have been praying very hard! It was a delightful country church with a very small congregation. Father Barcelo, the Administrator, services two areas – Tuakau and Waiuku. Our host and hostess there, Flo and Peter, couldn’t do enough to make us welcome. Geraldine gave her talk and Father heard Confessions after which we were free for the rest of the day. We couldn’t do an evening talk as Easter Confessions were being held that evening for the Parish with Father Szondi helping out. Flo and Peter are great promoters of Divine Mercy and are doing all they can to spread the devotion.
On the following day we went to St. Mary’s, Papakura for an afternoon venue. Once more we had people who had traveled a fair distance to hear Geraldine speak. Although we didn’t have a Mass, Geraldine gave her talk and then Father heard Confessions while the Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet were recited. At the conclusion people were able to buy books, medals and DVD's etc while having refreshments and a chat.
That night we ventured into another area of Auckland - St. Elias the Prophet Melkite Church in Manurewa. This for me was the highlight of the whole trip. Not only was the church crammed to overflowing – it was the difference in their Mass and how the congregation chanted all their responses. Geraldine had two interpreters as the nationalities were mainly Iraqis, Lebanese, and a handful of other nationalities. Everyone was so joyous at the Mass and even the children (of all ages) were included. There were lots of young people there in contrast to other venues where the congregations consisted mainly of middle aged and older people. It was like being part of one big happy family. Words don’t really do justice to this event. Geraldine’s talk about her near death experience, was something new to this community. They were besotted with the medal and for weeks after people were talking about Geraldine and her experiences.
The next day was also great. We went to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Mangere Bridge in Manukau where there was a great Samoan community. This time however Geraldine didn’t need an interpreter. The singing during Mass was wonderful and we finished as usual with the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy, followed by refreshments, distributions of books, medals, DVD's etc.
Our last venue on the following evening was at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Waitakere, looked after by Capuchin Friars. Thanks to the Auckland traffic on Friday night we were in for a bit of an adventure. Although extra time was factored in, due to an unforeseen accident on the motorway, we literally only just made it to the church on time for Father to start Mass. This community was made up of different cultural groups from around the Pacific who had immigrated to New Zealand. Once more the whole congregation put their heart and soul into the Mass with such beautiful singing. Geraldine gave her talk and prayed over the people, and Father then once more heard Confession while Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet were recited. All available books were sold, as well as the DVD's and the medals.
Overall it was a very eventful and grace-filled tour, and if you haven’t guessed already, my co-driver, Fred, was the GPS, which didn’t do too bad a job really!
Thank you Geraldine, Father and Liam for coming to New Zealand. We are already planning for your next visit!