New Presbyterian Minister from Canada

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 31, 22 January 1985, Page 11

New Presbyterian Minister from Canada

"If you see a car travelling down the wrong side of the road, thafll be us!" jokes the new Presbyterian minister for Raetihi and Ohakune, Don Bater. Don, who recently arrived from Sasketchewan, Canada with his wife Marge, gave his first service at Ohakune last Sunday. Don will alternate each week between the Raetihi and Ohakune parishes. They plan to stay here for 18 months. Don and Marge lived in Masterton for a year in 1981, and when they returned to their home in Canada, found they were "homesick for New Zealand!" "We really like the warm, loving receptive people we

have met in New Zealand," says Marge, "and youVe got such a beautiful country, and a mild climate." When the Baters left their home town of Wynyard, it was very, very cold. "I froze my cheek a couple of weeks before we left, shovelling snow to get out of our driveway!" says Don. So obviously they are enjoying summer in the Waimarino, but Don hasn't yet got used to the hills and narrow highways. "I heard the road to Wanganui was 'hilly' but to me that's a mountain road. Saskatchewan is very flat and the highways we are used to are very wide and long and straight." "But once I get over my fears IH be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery."

The Baters have four children, one of whom is in New Zealand at present, visiting the friends he made while at college in Masterton. Don was Ordained in 1970 and since then has served in three parishes in Saskatchewan. Before becoming a minister, he worked for 1 3 years as a railyard operator, then completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Divinity degree course. He specialises in alcoholism and plans to help with alcoholic rehabilitation in the area. Marge was a geriatric nurse-aid in Saskatchewan,

but cannot work in New Zealand as she does not have a work permit. But she hopes to do voluntary work in the community. The Baters are delighted at the way their home in Raetihi had been furnished for them. "It was far more than we ever expected," says Marge, "it was furnished so well with just about everything — there were even groceries in the cupboards and fridge!"