Leiataua-Lesa – Ōtahuhu
“Last two weeks, not last Sunday but the Sunday before, our family gathered together to have lunch with my eldest of my sisters still living.
She was 94 last month so to show her we care for her and we love her, we have to come and have lunch with her and her children and grandchildren. Oh, this Sunday again we’ll go there after church to have lunch with her and her children with my other sisters. The other two are 87 years old and the other one is 84, and I’m the youngest. I will be 82 on 5th June this year. Yeah, like, they rotate it so that each one has the chance to meet her at her place, her home, our whole family, whoever is available to come and see.
The important thing is that your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, all will come together. Some of them are available to know each other, because they live far apart in New Zealand, but once in a while you have a family gathering. That’s how we get together.
I was married to my wife on 1 July 1961. Now it’s almost 60 years, and we have eight children. Two of them are still staying with us; the eldest, my daughter, and my son who is a solicitor. They both are not married.
We love our relationship. We love our children. Plus, we were brought up as a Christian family so we value the Scripture, as sort of a guideline if you like. The happiest memories are that we have eight children. One of my sons is married to a Canadian. They have four children and they live in Vancouver, Canada. One of my youngest daughters lives in Sydney, Australia. One son is at University in Australia. The other one is at the college, and the youngest one, two young ones, they’re attending primary. That’s the most important thing to us – our children and grandchildren, and especially extended family. We get together and we talk about family. The others can contribute help, things like that.
Every family comes with their own food already cooked. All we have to do is keep them warm till you have your lunch and you get together. Well, the message is, if you want to have a happy family, you start from your own immediate family, and work towards your brothers and sisters and their children, their families, try to get them together. By keeping them together, there is a chance of a very peaceful, you know, happy families, everyone’s happy.”
