Our Journey Thus Far

When we are young we seldom think about dying. As we get older we wonder just how much longer we will live. We start preparing for death by taking out life insurance and making a will so our families will be taken care of when we do eventually die.

If we live long enough we will finish our final days in a small retirement unit. Once we realise we are unable to take care of our basic needs on our own we will be forced to move into a rest home.
By this time most of our material possessions that we have accumulated over the years will be gone and everything we own will finally fit into a few drawers of our small bedroom.

All we will have left is our memories and some of us won’t even have them. I recently decided to visit some of these elderly people in the retirement homes and I encouraged each one to share their life story with me.
As I listened to them talk about their life I remembered all the names on my own family tree. All it told me about most of my ancestors was the date they were born and the date they died and I’m left with nothing to tell me about what their journey was like in between. Any information there is has been wriiten by someone else and it may not be true.

I started asking these elderly folk if I could record their life story and publish in a book.
The majority were more than willing to have the publicity and I am now well on the way to publishing a book about people who aged in the late 80’s and 90′s through to 100 years or more.
These people were born when Europeans were just getting settled in New Zealand and they have some fascinating stories to tell.
It is one thing to sit and listen to these stories but I have taken it a step further by recording their stories in preparation for a book not written by me but recorded by me and published in their own book in their own words along with their favourite photos.

Fundraising
The greatest gift these elderly people are leaving behind for the enjoyment of generations to come is their memories.
We want as many people as possible to read their stories and look at their photos as a reminder of how lucky we are and where we may finish up one day.
Recording their stories and collection their photos is a major job involving many hours of patient work. So much so that I do not have time to fundraise for this worthy cause. If you would like to become part of a fundraising team in this most rewarding challenge then please let me know as I would certaily welcome a hand.

To ensure everyone can afford to own a copy of Our Journey Thus Far we invite you to make a donation and have your name recorded in this great book as a sponsor of these wonderful pioneers who gave of their labour to make this country a better place for you and I to live.

Post your donations to:
Our Journey Thus Far c/ Ron E Bishop 132 Gleniti Road Timaru.
Phone (03) 686 1271