Taiau, Toimata and Teremu

Saturday morning I found out that Herehia's little brother, Taiau, had a soccer game and it was for the championship. She said that he's always asking if people will come to see him play. He is a "mark" and plays well, scoring often. So I decided to walk to the stadium.
Because the sun is so hot here, their games go for 20 minutes and then they take a break. When I arrived, they'd already been playing. He spotted me and came over -followed by most of the team. He had an injury and his finger was bandaged. He explained that part of his fingernail had bent backward. As I asked him questions about his Mom knowing and if he's going to a doctor, he asked if I was thirsty. I think hospitality runs in the blood of Tahitians at the youngest of ages. Taiau is 11.
He proceeded to play and as soon as he got the ball it was obvious the control he had over it. They won the championship that day.

Later that day, Toimata (Tama's sister) picked me up and took me to the Orovini church to practice with the youth for their Christmas program. I explained to them, as I have many times to my other choir, that they will need to smile when singing about joy. It's an odd thing for people to see a group scowling at them while singing, "Joy To The World". I think smiles come easy here though.
After they sang, Toimata worked with them choreographing a song -but instead of dancing, they will simply use their hands. She is incredibly creative. With a song about the cross, they are in three seperate groups, at times spelling out words, at other times making shapes. I got chills at one point when the side groups pointed toward the middle -as the middle group placed their hands together in the shape of a cross.
After the youth meeting, we had dinner in downtown Papeete. In the main square of the town is a large open area where many food trailers (or roach coaches -as we say in America) park at night. Some had steak frites (steak and fries) -but I opted for poisson frites (fish and fries). The look of this area changes often as many different ships dock here. We were surrounded by 3 huge ships that were just beautiful.
Afterward we took Teremu, the worship leader for the youth, home. He writes songs and would like to be a Youth Pastor. He currently creates websites and, in fact, created one for me just for fun. He also happens to be Toimata's boyfriend. Because I first met Toimata when she was 9 years old, it's odd sometimes to see her as an adult. Earlier on this trip we jumped in the car and she was driving. I expressed mock concern and Teremu said to me, in regard to her driving, "Tu connais Jesus?" (Do you know Jesus?)
The pictures here show us doing a little shopping and checking out Teremu's office in downtown Papeete.