 Last Christmas Lumsden celebrated its regular lively Christmas Dinner for those who are far away from family or who have no family. What happens is that two or three church families get together in the local hall and invite along anyone who would like to come. This year there were unexpected guests. The local petrol station was closed for the day and four tourists with an almost empty petrol tank found themselves stranded in our town. Seeing some activity in the hall, they came to seek help. They were invited to stay for a Christmas meal - and this they did. Allan, the vicar's son, was present, and having a good grasp of Japanese, acted as interpreter for some of them. In the photograph are two Japanese travellers, Mr and Mrs Katsumi Nakano from Saitama, in Japan, and a young Dutch couple with members of the church. Later Mrs Nakano wrote to us. ‘This unexpected stop,’ she said, ‘was the highlight of our trip to New Zealand. We were so glad to have run out of petrol.’ A local farmer was persuaded to allow the visitors to ‘borrow’ enough fuel to get them to Queenstown and the next petrol station, about 80km away. The vicar said, ‘These
things happen often here. Instant hospitality is one of the things that
makes the parish so special.’
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