Well, there was one last adventure for me in Tahiti. And if you can believe it, I wasn't even sure I wanted to go. The last time we'd been to this location, I'd cut my foot on corral and had to deal with the lemon. Also, it just seemed odd to go to the other side of the island to sleep in a tent the night before I was going to get on a plane to go home. But I was SO GLAD that I went! It's funny how I've desired the adventure and yet the predictable, routine, comfortable thing is still tempting. All through my time here I felt that God just kept whispering, "Embrace the adventure." So I did...one last time.
We drove until the road ended. Then we boarded a boat. When we arrived at the camp site, we set things up and then huddled under canvas as it rained for a few minutes. When the sun came out we had some free time just to kick a ball around. Then they divided the camp up into 4 different teams. That night they played game after game that involved learning other people's names. It was so cool -except that I still have an incredibly hard time with some of the Tahitian names. It was kind of a relief to hear a "Victor" and "Peter". It was amazing how quickly this group bonded together. They had my heart in no time.
The next day we had breakfast. It was fish, cooked on beach fires, and bread. There was a devotional and then we were off to hike in a valley. This hike included a stop at a burial site and an altar where human sacrifices were made many years ago. Later on, we rested at a beautiful place along a river where most of the Youth went swimming. I took a walk deeper into the woods -as I knew I'd be leaving soon. These woods were filled with beautiful green-moss-covered trees and sometimes vines and jungle-type terrain. The camp had an Indiana Jones theme and it couldn't have been in a better location. I half-expected a native to jump out with a spear.
What really struck me though is the difference in sound that day that one heard in the valley -compared to what must have been 200 years ago. I could imagine the screams of loved ones horrified with the sacrificial ritual. And then I thought of how awesome it is that today -laughter is heard there -from the children of God.
After a lunch of New Zealand corned beef with beans and lemon, we headed back to camp. It was time for me to go and suddenly I realized that Thierry Albert, the camp director, had gathered the whole camp together to say goodbye. They all started to sing a beautiful Tahitian song and I couldn't help but cry. Then they gathered around me and prayed. They followed us to the boat as I was saying my goodbyes to Toimata and Yves and Mirella. Then they waved as we pulled away from the dock. It was Mario's boat, the same one we'd taken to Hawaiki Nui, and suddenly he was putting my hands on the wheel. As I pulled the boat around the island, the Youth had run to the beach and were waving from there. I was glad to be distracted from the huge lump in my throat by the need to steer the boat.
No comments:
Post a Comment