Mark Baird

I was born in Rotorua in 1961. A town with pop 54,000 situated in the center of a volcano caldera. http://www.rotoruanz.com/

Fr Norris wrote 8 hand written spiritual diaries which is his work on the St Ignatius spiritual exercises. He gave me these little treasures and I am currently working on the book and have just published the obscure, never going to be popular first edition.

My first big life changing event was in 1984 I had a motorcycle accident and lost my right arm in Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. In 1986 I purchased 12ha bush block in Australia. I started a small nursery business, (NPO) I worked with the local government on street tree planting and park regeneration liasioning with dept Corrections and local unemployed youth programs improving environmental areas in local towns. I worked on two Aboriginal communities in NSW replanting of native trees.

The second major event was In 2004 moved back to my hometown (Rotorua. NZ) I sold everything and moved back to Rotorua.

The third event was more important. http://www.catholicrotorua.org.nz. I was at the Good Shepherd College studying Theology when I was commissioned by Mahitahi http://www.mahitahi.org/ in 2009. I then went to Kiunga, Papua New Guinea for 3 months to work as project manager on a farm that was in the middle of the jungle.

I returned to Auckland where I met my wife Annette and we were Married at St Michael’s Church in Rotorua in 2010. We live next door to Mum & Dad in Rotorua. Thanks be to God they are healthy and over 80 still going strong.