There has been many UMMers studying abroad in this nation, so I decided to look more into this nation
One of them is Erin A., who has been e-mailing me reports of her trip. She is attending school in Auckland. In of the e-mails, the picture didn't show-up (virus scan). I decided to search the internet of the pictures that didn't show along with their captions:
1-Whangarei Falls (up north)
2-Rope swing on walk at Whangarei Falls
3-Me in the waves at Whangarei Heads (east coast)
4-Me at the beach at Whangarei Heads
5-Driving home from Whangarei Heads
6-Standing on glass in Sky Tower looking down
7-Me in the Sky Tower
8-Trail coming out to view Cascade falls (a taste of what the bush looks like)
9-Me and my new surf board!
10-Piha Beach (where I first surfed...left of big rock: Lion Rock)
11-Lava cave on Rangitoto Island
Impact World Tour Day #3 (Fargo, ND on Sun., Oct 9th 11') -Island Breeze: New Zealand
"Auckland New Zealand's Sky Tower on January 26, 2007. " Official Tourism Wikipedia "..in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country and the nation's primate city, with over 1.4 million residents, over a quarter of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest of the country. Increasingly cosmopolitan, Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world.[3]"
"At least 75 people have been killed after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand. Updates will be posted here as they come to hand
...
Dramatic aerial video: Strong earthquake hits Christchurch, New Zealand
"New Zealand's Prime Minister has confirmed 65 people have died, following a powerful earthquake in the city of Christchurch. That number's expected to rise significantly. The magnitude 6-point-3 quake struck just after midday, causing busy office buildings to crash down in the bustling city center. Cries for help could be heard from beneath the rubble, during a desperate scramble for survivors. Rescue crews from across New Zealand and Australia are at the disaster site, where a state of emergency has been declared."
"CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – One of New Zealand's biggest cities lay in ruins Tuesday after a powerful earthquake toppled tall buildings and churches on a busy weekday, killing at least 65 people in the country's worst natural disaster in decades.
The quake even shook a massive chunk of ice from New Zealand's biggest glacier, some 120 miles to the east of Christchurch, where most of the damage was reported.
More than 100 people, including as many as a dozen visiting Japanese students, were thought to be trapped in the rubble as darkness — and drizzling rain — fell Tuesday night. Rescue crews with sniffer dogs fanned out across the city in search of survivors, some of whom were able to send text messages or make phone calls from under the wreckage.
It was the second major quake to hit Christchurch, a city of 350,000, in five months, though Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude temblor caused far more destruction than a stronger September quake that struck before dawn on a weekend.
"It is just a scene of utter devastation," Prime Minister John Key said after rushing to the city within hours of the quake. He said the death toll was 65, and may rise. "We may well be witnessing New Zealand's darkest day."
The spire of the city's well-known stone cathedral toppled into a central square, while multistory buildings collapsed in on themselves and streets were strewn with bricks and shattered concrete.
Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, while thousands of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens and car alarms blared. Ambulance services were quickly overwhelmed, and some victims clutching bleedings wounds were carried to private vehicles in makeshift stretchers fashioned from rugs or bits of debris.
Nathanael Boehm, a web designer, said he was standing near a tram track when the quake struck just before 1 p.m., sending the eaves of buildings cascading onto the street below.
"It was horrific. People were covered in rubble, covered in several tons of concrete," Boehm said, adding that he believed some of them had been crushed to death.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city center. He said it was impossible to say how many people were trapped in the rubble, but that it was estimated to be more than 100.
"The government is willing to throw everything it can in the rescue effort," Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said. "Time is going to be of essence."
Troops were deployed to help people get out and to throw up a security cordon around the stricken area, and residents throughout the city were urged to stay home or with neighbors and conserve water and food.
The airport was closed, and Christchurch Hospital was briefly evacuated before reopening. Power and telephone lines were knocked out, and pipes burst, flooding the streets with water. Some cars parked on the street were buried under rubble.
Police said reports of fatalities included people in two buses that had been crushed by falling buildings.
During hours of chaos in the city, people dug through rubble with their hands to free people trapped. Firefighters climbed extension ladders to pluck people stranded on roofs to safety. A crane lifted a team of rescuers on a platform to one group of survivors in a high-rise. Plumes of gray smoke drifted into the air at several points around the city from fires burning in the rubble.
Officials established relief centers in schools and community halls, where food was being served to thousands of sheltering people and blankets were being handed out. In at least one park, people — many of them tourists who had abandoned their hotels — huddled in hastily pitched tents and under plastic sheeting. The Red Cross was working to secure accommodation for them.
Key said eight or nine buildings had collapsed, and others were badly damaged.
Some of those stuck were thought to be visiting Japanese students who called their parents back home to say they were in a collapsed building, a Japanese official said.
Two students from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages remained trapped, while 11 were unaccounted for and could still be in the building, said the official from Toyama Prefecture, who declined to provide his name because he was not authorized to give public statements. Eight students and two teachers from the school had been freed from the wreckage, he said.
Others were also able to call out using their mobile phones, reaching family, officials, and media.
"I rang my kids to say goodbye," said Ann Voss, interviewed by TV3 from underneath her desk where she was trapped in a collapsed office building. "It was absolutely horrible. My daughter was crying and I was crying because I honestly thought that was it. You know, you want to tell them you love them don't you?"
She said she could hear other people still alive in the building, and had called out to them and communicated by knocking on rubble.
"I'm not going to give up," she said. "I'm going to stay awake now. They better come and get me."
The multistory Pyne Gould Guinness Building, housing more than 200 workers, collapsed and an unknown number of people were trapped inside. Rescuers, many of them office workers, dragged severely injured people from the rubble. Many had blood streaming down their faces. Screams could be heard from those still trapped.
Tour guides at the Tasman Glacier in the Southern Alps say the quake shook some 30 million tons of ice to off the glacier, forming icebergs in the lake. The falling ice created waves up to 11-feet (3.5-meters) high, which swept up and down the lake for 30 minutes.
A U.S. delegation of 43 government, business and community leaders was in Christchurch on Tuesday for a United States New Zealand Partnership Forum meeting. All were thought to be safe.
Nine U.S. Congressmen attending the meeting were reported to have left the city before the quake struck.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the city at a depth of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). It was felt across a large part of the South Island, and caused damage in nearby towns. The extent of damage elsewhere wasn't immediately clear.
"When the shaking had stopped I looked out of the window, which gives a great view onto Christchurch, and there was just dust," said city councilman Barry Corbett, who was on one of the top floors of the city council building when the quake struck. "It was evident straight away that a lot of buildings had gone."
The USGS said the latest quake was part of the "aftershock sequence" following the 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 4 last year. That quake wrecked hundreds of buildings, inflicted an estimated 4 billion New Zealand dollars ($3 billion) in damage, but caused no deaths.
A strong aftershock in December caused further damage to buildings. The city was still rebuilding from those quakes when Tuesday's temblor hit.
The USGS said the latest quake hit "significantly closer to the main population center of Christchurch" than the September quake, which was centered 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of city.
Known in New Zealand as the Garden City, Christchurch exudes the heritage of its 19th century English founders. A shallow river, the Avon, winds gently through the downtown that is traversed by historic tram lines and dotted with Gothic architecture, parks and sidewalk cafes.
New Zealand's worst earthquake was one that struck in 1931 at Hawke's Bay on the country's North Island, which killed at least 256 people. "
"On Tuesday February 22 at 12:51PM, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, 2 miles deep, hit Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch was still recovering from the 7.1 quake that hit last September and now much of what was still standing has come toppling down. Architects believe a third of the city is ruined, including Christchurch's iconic Cathedral, the centre piece at the heart of the city.
Even though the September earthquake shook the soul of the city, there were no lives lost, and over the last few months of rebuild a sense of normalcy had returned. However, the confirmed dead of this latest quake (as of today) is 145, with over 200 more people still missing. What shook the soul last year, the second quake has now pulverized. Five days later, you can see in the faces on TV, and hear in the voices on the radio, the presence of fear and anxiety.
Originally, we had been wanting to email in a rather "up-beat" mode, sharing what we have been forming in New Zealand with the launch of www.karakia.co.nz (karakia is 'prayer' in Maori). However, the introduction of a "new ministry" now seems rather redundant; but the call to prayer has never been more pertinent. God has prepared us to help people cope with the "infinite sadness" across the entire land.
But there is hope. The emergency response has been outstanding - from city council, to national government, to local church, people have been pitching in with amazing acts of rescue, kindness and hospitality. And as of yesterday, a song is being heard across the land that is providing healing in an amazing way
One of the reasons Jay was not able to be at the gathering in Scotland last year, was because he was heading into the studio with Cindy Ruakere to record her latest worship/prayer album. At the last minute it was decided to record a simple version of our National Anthem, God Defend New Zealand. Three weeks ago Cindy released the song for free on the internet, and as of yesterday, the song - a phenomenal prayer - went viral. National TV and radio stations have played it (a 7 minute track!) in its entirety. Tweets and Facebook status' all over the land show how the song has impacted people in overwhelmingly emotional ways: DJ's bawling on the floor of their station, Radio Managers teary eyed, people pulling over their cars in tears as the words impact the heart, forming hope and solidarity. Secular New Zealand is understanding, for the first time, our national song:
God of nations, at Thy feet, in the bonds of love we meet / Let our love for Thee increase, may Thy blessings never cease / Guide us in the nations van, preaching love and truth to man, working out Thy glorious plan, God defend New Zealand.
Yesterday we had over 3000 hits on our site, and over 1500 downloads of the anthem.
So guys, I ask for prayer. And to help you pray, I give you the link to the song and lyrics of our anthem. Pray this on behalf of us - and even make it your own for your land.
Loads of blessings to you,
Jay & Erin "
{2010}
7.0 Earthquake quake Hits in Christchurch New Zealand video ,
Associated Press Writer Ray Lilley in Wellington contributed to this report. Saturday, September 4th 2010 aolnews.com "CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (Sept. 5) -- The powerful earthquake that smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted rail lines around the New Zealand city of Christchurch also ripped a new fault line in the Earth's surface, a geologist said Sunday....
Canterbury University geology professor Mark Quigley said what "looks to us that it could be a new fault" had ripped across the ground and pushed some surface areas up. The quake was caused by the ongoing collision between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, said Quigley, who is leading a team trying to pin down the source of the quake....
LINK
"New Zealand's nightly Christian news programme Nzone Tonight talks to Roger Peake, the author of a new novel which goes inside the work of prison visitors"
"..is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, which is usually translated into English as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica)."
Missions
New Zealand Mission
"Learn about Brian's passion for missions in New Zealand."
' WELLINGTON, New Zealand - It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field � coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord.
Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, both from the town of Blenheim on the country's South Island, were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound when the engine spluttered, coughed and died.
"My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening situation was to ask for God's help," Stubbs told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
He said he prayed during the ill-fated flight Sunday that the tiny craft would get over the top of a ridge and that they would find a landing site that was not too steep � or in the nearby sea.
Wilson said that the pair would have been in deep trouble if the fuel had run out five minutes earlier.
"If it had to run out, that was the place to be," he said. "There was an instantaneous answer to prayer as we crossed the ridge and there was an airfield � I didn't know it existed till then."
After Wilson glided the powerless craft to a landing on the grassy strip, the pair noticed they were beside a 20-foot-tall sign that read, "Jesus is Lord � The Bible."
"When we saw that, we started laughing," Stubbs said.
Nearby residents provided them with gas to fly the home-built plane back to base."
Music
-Country
Talking to Jesus
"This song was written after a flight to New Zealand. When boarding the plane everybody appeared to be sitting with hands clasped together. The music and words and singing are all my own work. I hope you enjoy it."
-Worship
Bless the Lord - Jeff Deyo
"Bless the Lord - Jeff Deyo live New Zealand"
PARACHUTE BAND VIDEO BLOG #23 - P08 & ALBUM RECORDING
"PARACHUTE BAND VIDEO BLOG FROM P08 AND PREPRODUCTION/EARLY STAGES OF ALBUM #2!"
Glorified - Promise Keepers NZ - Music Videos
Sports
-Soccer
France vs New Zealand haka
"France vs New Zealand
11 nov 2006
Stade de Gerland - Lyon - France"
"Khaos Youth Group 2008 promo Burnside Elem youth Christchurch New Zealand"
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