TE AHORA

Did we tell you already that Servas works so much better in New Zealand than in South America? Over there, Ingrid wrote like 100 letters to Servas members, asking in her best Spanish if they could host us for 1 or 2 nights. 10 of them replied. Now in New Zealand it's just a matter of selecting between hundreds of members, making a phonecall to one of the members that are on your route and that don't require prior notice, and bingo! Like this time. We are staying at the Wallaces. Dennis and Joy, together with Dennisses mother Ruby who is spending some days at their place, welcome us like we've known each other for a long time. We even got a little house for ourselves! It was so nice that we ended up staying for 3 nights at their farm. Ingrid so much wanted to stay at a farm, and that's exactly what we've got. Although a farmer in New Zealand is not at all resembling his colleague in Belgium. Have you ever met a farmer that goes to play squash on a wednesdaymorning?
Dennis and Joy are owners of about 120 hectares of land but no cows. Another farmer owns 230 cows but no land. They work together and share the profit. Together with Dennis we went to see the milking of the cows. That factory belongs to a third person. The cows are installed on a caroussel. A caroussel can milk 80 cows in the same moment and it requires only 2 people to run the whole process. Actually, 2 and a half, for Ingrid tried to help them for some 15 minutes.
Cows have 4 nipples. Goats have only 2. We learn all about it as we continue and visit a goat milking company, some kilometers further down the road.
Dennis can be really philosophical about cows. One of his thoughts: how can a brown cow, that eats nothing but green grass, produce white milk? Well Dennis, I'll look it up for you in Bill Bryson's extraordinary book 'The history of nearly everything'.
Dennis and Joy travel a lot and besides preparing their next trip, which will be to India, they are very much involved in the Manawaru Open Brethren Church. I learn that they hold the historic Christian faith, because they find it plainly taught in the Bible, which is to them 'the only infallible rule of faith and practice'. They are wholeheartedly evangelical in their understanding and presentation of Christianity, proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the all-sufficient Saviour of those who put their trust in Him and as the only hope for mankind.
Anyway, we liked it very much when they included us in their prayers, before having breakfast on the day we were leaving. Thanks Dennis, Joy and Ruby. May God bless you.