Many Meetings

Kia ora! It’s time for another update on what Dan and I are experiencing!

Thursday dawned bright and beautiful. The view from our kitchen/ dining room is incredible. Every morning my squinty eyes struggle to take the sheer magnificence that is New Zealand. And that’s just from our kitchen, going for a jaunt down in the valley is even better.   The rain that seemed to dampen our arrival has pushed the falls to even greater splendor.

 With Cheyne leading and God working among us, we continued to share life stories and testimonies. So much healing has taken place in such a short time. We have seen so many walls torn down and chains broken. Its like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Our God is so good.

Walking down to the valley

Our whole school!

The leaders! Linda and David Cowie, the founders of Marine Reach,  are shown here with Cheyne Hosking, an incredible DTS leader.

After lunch, we began our walk down into the valley to be welcomed by the Maori people in a powhiri ceremony. We had gone over the protocol for this ceremony before hand. We were to walk down to meet them, women first, with men bringing up the rear. We were not to smile or laugh, as this showed disrespect. Tradition is so important to the Maori people, and for good reason. The welcoming ceremony began with a Maori warrior charging the group, testing us.  He wanted to make sure we came in peace.  While waving his taiaha (spear) dangerously close, the warrior yelled and chanted in this native tongue. After he was done testing us, the warrior laid down a feather in front of our group’s representative. Our guy carefully picked it up, signaling that we came with the best of intentions.

Maori warrior checking us out

This would be incredibly scary if we weren't sure they would receive us peacefully...

Approaching the tangata whenua ("people of the land") for welcome, having been deemed well-intentioned by the warrior.

The ceremony then moved into an oratory stage, with the Maori side giving several speeches and songs. Our side then returned with speeches and songs in turn. We had the honor of singing “How Great Thou Art” the Maori tongue. After all the singing and speech making was over, we lined up and participated in the hongi. Much like some North American Indian tribes, we touched noses with the members of the welcoming party, and breathed in together. Hongi literally means, “the sharing of breath”, and it is a beautiful welcoming gesture from the Maori people.

Giving speeches and singing. These are the tangata whenua (note that "wh" makes an "f" sound in Maori), the native Maori or others who have been welcomed previously.

Singing in Maori and English.

More speeches

The hongi

After the powhiri, several of the guys and I were able to talk to the Maori warrior over tea and crackers. He explained to us the significance that culture and history has among the Maori. Its never “just another powhiri” or “just another haka”. For him it is a way to honor his family and ancestors. He also explained the meaning of his traditional Maori tattoos. The tattoos tell the story of him and his family. They aren’t just cool shapes and designs they are a actual record of where he was raised, who raised him, and what he has done. I loved soaking up his cultural knowledge, and welcomed the opportunity to sit and talk with him.

The Maori welcome was fantastic, but after being still and reserved for part of the day, many of us were ready to doing something athletic. Ultimate frisbee fit the bill nicely and we played until it was nearly dark.

ULTIMATE!

To our surprise, we had dinner with a local couples DTS that is going on right now. At this point, we have all become experts at meeting new people, and so enjoyed the new company.

Nearly every day ends with time to fellowship. We are catching a glimpse of community as God intended it to be, and it is an incredible thing. We have known everyone here for less than a week, but we are already bonding and becoming true brothers and sisters in Christ. I look forward to seeing how we will grow as a family in the coming months.

Gods Peace,

Seth