'Soul Skool' Camp 2012 and my Maori experience . . .

'Soul Skool' 2012 was a big success and a life-changing experience for many of the teens who participated! Thank you for your prayers on behalf of our young people of New Zealand and the families they represent.  If you have followed my blog, you'll know that this is my third youth or children's camp in the last 6 weeks. Tis the season (Summer holidays just concluded.)!

  Each event may be unique with different students, challenges, and activities, but one thing remains the same:  God is genuinely alive and active in the lives of our young people! We gripe and complain about the darkness and confusion that seems to drive the world around us (I know I've done my fair share), but if we open our eyes we will see that God is STILL changing lives.  He is STILL delivering from addictions and rescuing from abuse and neglect.  He is STILL giving people purpose and leading them into life everlasting! 

This particular camp was hosted in Otara at the Ngati Otara Marae down in Auckland.  The Lord provided safe journeying for my passengers and me, as this was a my first road trip in my own car with my new New Zealand driver's license!  :) Activities included daily worship and devotion sessions, a newspaper fashion show, great meals, team-building games and lots of sleeping. .. NOT! (Do you ever sleep when there's 100 people all crammed in one building and the majority of them are teenagers?  lol!)

For those interested in things Maori, this was an educational experience for me. All activities took place at the marae, a Maori meeting house where the local community gathers for various events such as speeches, council meetings, funerals, weddings, unveilings, etc.  Nearly every city or suburb in New Zealand has a marae for the local iwi (tribe).  At the marae  there is very specific protocol that must be observed.  For 'pakeha' (white- non Maori) people like me, I have to be very careful to ask lots of questions, as not to offend my accident.
 I am by NO means an expert at all, but here are just a few things I learned:

-- Before anyone is allowed to enter the marae, there is always a formal 'powhiri' or welcome that is given to remove the 'tapu' of the visitors and make them one with the local/home people.  This represents a joining of the two groups in peace. A full traditional powhiri includes 10 lengthy steps that included honoring all the ancestors and elders of this marae,  recognizing the land, mountains, sea, etc, and perfoming a haka, offering a gift, sharing food, and many other steps. It can take quite a while.

-- Because we were a Christian multicultural group, comprised mostly of hungry teenagers, we were asked only to offer a short welcome, share a song, and hold a moment of silence in honor of those who have gone before.  We were then invited to enter the marae, women first, followed by the men.

-- Shoes, eating, and drinking are never allowed in the marae.  There are other facilities reserved for eating.

-- Everyone sleeps together in the marae on thin foam mattresses. 

-- Never sit, lean, or lay your head on a table or countertop, or use anything but items strictly reserved for food on tables.  The head, feet, and backside are considered unclean, therefore you never allow those parts of your body to touch a food space or anything that could ever come in contact with/serve food.  This means that bedsheets and clothing must always be washed separately than dish towels. 

  

Many more cultural norms and expectations exist when on marae grounds, but these are just a few I learned this weekend.  All in all this was a fantastic experience!