Many Meetings

Morning:  We met with Erika and her children's preschool teacher to provide child evangelism tools and to explain how to use them.  As our conversation went on with this young Tahitian mother, we began to see it as an opportunity to clarify the Gospel for her, the teacher, and the teacher's son who was present.  We find ourselves again and again with opportunities to do this very thing and often with nearby people listening in. We were very satisfied with this connection, and next time around we plan on getting into the where Erika's children attend preschool.

Rene' with Erika and Two of Her Three...

Not long after, we headed down the coast a short ways to meet with our friends the Takaio's.  We met Joel and his wife last year, and picknicked with them in Paea a day or two before we left.  We finally had time to meet up.  At first the conversation went slowly as the language barrier loomed between us, but then we began to find our way with eager biblical conversation over a variety of topics and passages.  My French and their very limited English did not hold us back, and soon there was humor and joy going back and forth.  Before we knew, the appointed hours had come and gone, and we said our goodbyes until next time.  Joel continues to post teaching videos on YouTube and lead a small family group in their home town of Paea.  I left a Village Ministries Foundations book with him, which I believe will stimulate a fair amount of conversation online.  As always we made our promises to connect again the next time we visit.  This is a good relationship to pray for going into the future.

With the Takaio's

In the evening we had a date for Chinese food in Papeete with friends from last time, and spent the evening talking about the history of evangelical ministry in Tahiti and Moorea over the last 30 or 40 years.  The main takeaway was the observation that it has to be God's work and not man's.