Baptists of a Certain Age will remember Joy Smith. Joy is a former NZBMS missionary who served for 22 years in Tripura, India, from 1951 to 1973. She told her story in the book, Joy to the World, published in 2002. (This is still available – contact me for details.)Wednesday, 01 August 2012 16:14
Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, Viva Chile!
This is a familiar football chant in the Latin American country of Chile, but it was also heard occasionally during the annual Gathering of the Baptist World Alliance, which convened in Santiago from July 2-7.
Tuesday, 03 July 2012 00:00
“How many of you like cricket?” I asked a class of beaming slum kids in Chennai, India, last month. Every hand shot up.
“In my country we play cricket too, but our national team isn’t usually as good as yours,” I told them. The guide duly translated my words into Tamil.
“But,” I hastened to add, “we’re very good at rugby.”
One of my favourite places to walk is along a cliff path, with gardens on one side and the ever-restless sea on the other. Along the winding path are several lavender bushes, their brilliance impossible to miss. The bushes have no obvious aroma – just colour. 
Born in Thorup, Denmark, in October 1902, Joseph Daniel Jensen arrived in New Zealand in 1915 aboard the SS Rimutaka with his family of assisted immigrants. He spent his early years at Thames as a commercial fisherman.