Hawaiki Nui Va'a: Day 2

Before the competition, Yves and I flew to Huahine and stayed with the Assembly of God pastors on the island. They believe the island has around 6,000 people, but they are the only Assembly church. They were incredibly hospitable and we went to a service at their church that night. As the people were leaving, the Pastor had us stand with him at the back door to give the traditional greeting/departure...a kiss on both cheeks.

At the end of the first day of the competition, we were now in Raiatea. Our little boat pulled up to a house with a dock. This belonged to some family members of Mario's. They were incredibly gracious people. Then we explored the town a bit -having steak frite for lunch. (steak and fries) The main town wasn't very big but there was alot of activity because of the competition. Later on we met with the team for a pretty subdued meeting exploring what went wrong and what needed to change. Yves shared a DVD with them about Olympic champions who were Christians and gave their testimonies. Then we prayed together. It was pretty cool.

That night I woke up in the middle of the night hearing something in my room. At first I thought it was outside but quickly realized it was crawling under my bed from one side to the other. I thought it might be a mouse but it sounded too big. So I turned on the light, crept around the bed, and noticed next to my luggage ...a crab! I think it was trying to borrow my shampoo. There was no broom to move him out and I figured I was in his room anyway so I just left him alone.

The next day's competition was closer to 2 hours. We started from Raiatea and headed toward Tahaa. It's amazing to see the race start -there are so many pirogues and people in the water. The guys were incredible that day. But they did have to take one out and send in another person.

At one point, I turned around and saw the most incredible sight behind us. There were probably hundreds of yachts, small boats and large boats, all churning up the beautiful aqua-colored water. Many of them had flags of the teams they were supporting. It was a wild moment because I remembered that about 6 months ago I saw a picture of this exact view. I didn't know what it was at the time -but just seeing the picture caught my breath. I thought, "Wow, where is this -because I want to go there!" It was stunning to now see it 'live'. Sometimes the blessings of God just unexpectedly take your breath away.

Well, our guys did awesome that day coming in 17th place. I could tell Mario was much happier. When we docked in the small town, they made arrangements with the team. Then we went out and followed a competition for ladies that went about 2 hours. Then Mario took Yves and I in the boat all the way around to the other side of the island. He went pretty fast and it was a blast. The whole time you're seeing these beautiful green rocks and mountains -but then we rounded the corner and drove into a bay. There were two huge yachts we passed at one point but that was about it. Up ahead were these incredible mountains that just made you wonder if they were real. As we got closer to the dock, we saw Yves's friend, Pero, waiting for us on the dock. He and his wife, Anna, were vacationing there and we were staying with them for the night.