First Noho - 13th Feb 2009

Friday

The moment we’d been waiting for had finally arrived.  Te Haerenga begins it’s first marae noho for the 2009 in Waiuku.  The whanau were all excited and for the new ones, a little nervous but excited. 

A Powhiri was held on the atea in front of Te Whare Aroha.  On the manuwhiri side the Te Haerenga whanau, DTS students and some new visitors to the marae. On the haukainga side, Kaumatua, Matua and a tonne of tamariki stood to welcome the guests.  The highlight of the Powhiri was the chilly bin of goodies that arrived from the heart of the Tauranga moana.  Pete stepped up to accept the taonga on behalf of the haukainga in the traditional fashion during the powhiri.  Good on ya Pete !!!! Good on ya Tauranga !!!! yeeyaa

After dinner we had whakawhanaungatanga in the whare. No shyness amongst this lot!  It was wonderful to hear from the DTS students and where they were from as well as their desire to learn and serve at this marae noho.  The tamariki had plenty to say and were keen to share about themselves.  It was great to see the Ta Haerenga whanau again after what has seems like ages. 

Some slept in the whare but most of the kids, some DTS students and parents slept in the wharekai.  The tamariki were that excited they couldn’t sleep.  Papa Steve tried to crack the whip a couple of times to quiet things down which worked until 3am when conversations began again.  “Wait till tomorrow when you do Mau rakau with matua's Chris and Pepe” Hahaha!! Aaaahhhh silence.

Saturday

The day kicked off with breakfast.  Frank Naea, our speaker for the weekend was welcomed on at about 9.00am (Country time, country living :-) after which we split off into our workshops for the morning. 

Grace and the DTS students ran some fantastic activities for the kids. The theme for the weekend was “Ko wai koe?” (Who are you?) The activities incorporated play and creative art in groups.  The DTS students encouraged the tamariki by explaining who and where they are from which in turn helped them to share and identify their own uniqueness being from Waiuku and many of them from local iwi, Ngati TeAta. This was a common thread through all the korero from Frank to the ranagatahi to the kids.

Ray had a session with the rangatahi who were asked the same question, “Ko wai koe?”  They had ot introduce themselves and there pepeha in the style of ‘American Idol’, allowed the other rangatahi be the judges. This allowed them to enjoy each others company while learning more about one another and themselves.  They continued to develop their pepeha which we look forward to hearing in future.

In the whare, Marina and Shannene introduced Frank to the whanau.  Frank has worked in many cultural settings around the world and the whanau quickly warmed to his friendly sense of humour. 

Frank began with korero on Jeremiah – A City set on a hill – Build houses, plant gardens and settle down.  He spoke of hope of the future – “is not in the things you can see but in those intangible things like vision, hope, faith and passion.

Part of this is in the renewing of the mind – exchanging for something new (Romans 12:1)  and recognising when a new change is coming.

In the renewing of our mind we need to seek the truth.  Frank shared, “A good measuring stick for truth is to question “Has the truth set me free?” Sometimes the truth we hold on to may not be the truth.  God gives in the context of his prospective. 

After lunch we had a whakatau to welcome Chris and Pepe from Te Whare Tu taua o Aotearoa back to reretewhioi and  were going to be taking a mau rakau session.

The whole whanau sat and listened to Chris who shared of the art of mau rakau interwoven with a various experiences in his life.  Chris challenged the tamariki to discipline themselves to listen intently for instructions before they where immersed in physical training. Chris taught how strikes and blocks practised in mau rakau are similar to those trials we come up against in life but before we perform them we must seek instruction from Christ as to the best manoeuvres.  Chris and Pepe then showed the whanau through some mau rakau moves and ended with a few games out on the atea.  Awesome, everyone enjoyed this session and Chris’s testimonial gave some of the whanau food for though.

A bit of a rest before diner to rest those weary bones LOL

Then after dinner Frank returned for another session with the adults and rangatahi while the kids played a few night games then settled for a movie. The DTS students went for a ride up to Auckland. 

Franks Kaupapa for the evening: We are transformed by the way we think.  “As a man thinks, so shall he be”. 

He presented this model as a means of changing thoughts and actions.

Thought – Words – Action – Habit –  Your Character

“If you know who you are you can be who you can be”   

Franks korero challenged us to think about the origin of our thoughts and whether they reflect the truth, also identifying thoughts that have become our character and determining new thoughts for a new character. Frank talked more about how each step can influence the next and relating this to real world experiences he has had. All in all a very deep session in which we all got a lot out of. 

Sunday

After breakfast the tamariki continued their activities. 

Frank returned to wrap his sessions. He opened a discussion  about changes we would like to see in our local community of Waiuku encouraging the whanau have have an input.

Whanau firstly discussed historical background to determine what we would change from.  Some good discussion was shared around local history and tribal hurts that have not yet been addressed were discussed.  For many, change meant hope of a healthier community that celebrates cultural diversity, with special recognition of tangata whenua. 

Toward the end of this korero Frank offered to participate in the journey of working with the local whanau bringing with him his networks and skills to enhance our community.  This was a special time which happened just as our kaumatua arrived in from attending church that morning. 

After Lunch and clean up we gathered in front of “Te iti o Waikato” for the poroporoaki. It was great to hear how the weekend impacted individuals.  The DTS students were fantastic and in a short time had really bonded with the tamariki.  Our tamariki were bold to stand and share what they had learnt.  Marley (9) was able to recite the names of all the DTS students and even though he was shy to korero on the Friday night he had overcome his shyness by Sunday. Ka mau te wehi. 

This brought an en  to the first noho of the Waiuku stream of Te Haerenga. It had been an excellent experience especially for those who had come for the first time.  Our kete was filled with treasurers to ponder on before the next marae noho in three weeks.  

Second Noho - 6th March 2009

To come ...