Catchword
Corner
December
2008 / January 2009
The Four Corners of the
Earth
On a lovely sunny afternoon I'm sitting
at my computer when I'd rather be outside tidying up the garden.
But a long list of 120 e-mails awaits attention. So I plug on
through the list, occasionally looking out the window. Would
I get my afternoon cuppa in the sun?
On the list are Adam and Heather, missionaries
to Zambia. Adam is a new friend I met while he was broadcasting
on Community Radio. There's Simon and Alison, missionaries to
Japan. I've known Alison since she was a teenager studying Japanese
at Whangarei Girls High. Then there's Jim and Darla from Canada.
They are more seasoned missionaries of 20 years, living on Awaji
Island in the inland sea of Japan. Robyn, in her 70's, spends
six months in America and six months in Japan. We first met on
a ferry crossing between Japan and South Korea more than 30 years
ago. Cousin Guy and his wife Sue from the UK now living in Brisbane
are waiting for a reply. Grandson Isaiah living in Melbourne
with his rock band members likes to get e-mails from Granny,
well I think he does!
E-mails associated with my radio show,
e-mails to do with the Polio society, e-mails about genealogy,
the minutes of a meeting, the agenda of the next meeting, e-mails,
e-mails, e-mails. There is no end to them. What do I file? What
do I delete? What do I read again? Oh yes that one about "Burn
Out", and that one about 20 ways to reduce stress, and those
cat ones that I laughed and laughed at. Yes, yes, yes, they are
all good. What will I keep? The shadows on the lawn lengthen
as I go through the list. Now there are only 80 e-mails left.
Are e-mails a bane or a blessing? I
think of Adam and Heather and their children living in 40 degrees
plus heat. He recently started a radio show in Zambia. He would
be encouraged to hear from me. In Tokyo it is already cold as
winter begins. Alison, Simon and their 2 robust sons are struggling
with colds. It's a long time since she's heard from me. And Robyn
climbing the steep hills behind Nara to her little Japanese guest
house, I know she would love an e-mail. Grandson Isaiah would
enjoy hearing news of family, Church and friends. Now it's too
late to sit in the sun, but I've been spurred on to plan my Christmas
list with graphics and photographs to send to all four corners
of the world via e-mail.
Edith
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