Sunday: A Moveable Feast

We rose early yesterday to attend Pain de Vie (Bread of Life) Church, which is a half hour down the coast from our AirBnB.  We chose them on the advice of a couple of friends, an American and a Tahitian.  Our American friend actually emailed their pastor to tell them we were coming, and while our Tahitian friend gave us the highest urging to go, saying it was the perfect church for us to link up with because they have so many new believers who need basic discipleship, we had no translator, and the service was mostly in Tahitian!  Pain de Vie Church is renowned because of their singers are the national champions, having won first prize at the Heiva (Annual Tahitian Cultural Festival).  We were not disappointed by their singing and it was definitely for me the most beautiful church music I have ever experienced.  I have a video, but it is too large for the blog.

Their church service was more formal than what we have seen in the smaller gatherings here, with lots of announcements and even liturgy.  The sermon was on the parable of the landowner in Matthew 22.  They were very kind to introduce us to the whole congregation and include us in the reception line.  More kisses!  The language barrier, and even the French was more difficult than in other places, but we did feel like we connected with the pastor.  Please pray that the Lord smooths the way for future ministry here.

Leaving Pain de Vie, we headed further down the coast for a rendezvous with friends new and old.  We met Poet and Totoni Hamblen at the McDonald's in Taravao, then we followed them to his parents' house in Vairao (Vay Rah Oh), where a big group of family and friends had gathered for Sunday dinner.  Under a canopy, there was a table laden with a great many Tahitian delicacies: Taro, Breadfruit, different kinds of raw fish, coconut meat with vegetables, chicken with Tahitian spinach, three different kinds of potatoes.

The table was lively with laughter, and with fellowship in the Lord.  We fielded questions and answers on such diverse topics as women in ministry and Melchizedek.  Bibles stay open around here, and we see dog-eared and thoroughly highlighted personal Bibles often.  Suddenly we looked at our watches and realized we had evening fellowship and Bible study all the way back up in Papeete, at the far end of the island.  The afternoon had fled away like a polynesian dream.  We took photos just as a drenching downpour came over the mountain, said our goodbyes and made our promises to return and to stay with our new friends, and off we went.

We wondered if even had time to stop for gas, but it is a holiday weekend and there was no traffic.  We drove up the steep hill and met Joseph Ata and off we went through the street-labyrinth of Papeete, down perilous hills and up narrow lanes back to Arue' and the Bible study group.

And voila! A table creaking under the ponderous burden of food.  Kebabs, raw fish, BBQ chicken, taro, and all the other usual diet-destroying foods.  I taught on Romans 6:12-13 before we dug in, and again it was a fun group, very enjoyable in the fellowship of the word and in prayer.  We were whole-heartedly invited to return as soon as the Lord allows.  Great group.

All in all it was a "full" day.