Today was the first day of the YWAM Jubilee. For those that don’t know, this is a 50th anniversary celebration for Youth With A Mission. There were about 700 people in attendance, including a large contingent from the various pacific islands such as Tonga, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. With so many different cultures in attendance, the atmosphere was extremely vibrant! We started out our day with an experience we will never forget. The local people, known as the Maori, were preparing a feast known as a Hungi(similar to a luau) as a welcome for the guests at Jubilee. We got to help them with all of their morning preparations. For the men, that meant digging a large pit in the ground in which they cook all the food. Meanwhile, the women got to help with 
cutting pumpkins and other vegetables, peeling potatoes, and putting together silverware. It was such an amazing experience to work side by side with the Maori on something which is so sacred to their traditions. They even gave us a special welcome, which included each of our groups singing to one another, as well as a Hongi. The Hongi consists of grasping someone’s hand, placing your nose and forehead against theirs, and breathing in deeply. This is symbolic of God breathing life into man, which correlates to the traditional Maori creation story. What an honor!
cutting pumpkins and other vegetables, peeling potatoes, and putting together silverware. It was such an amazing experience to work side by side with the Maori on something which is so sacred to their traditions. They even gave us a special welcome, which included each of our groups singing to one another, as well as a Hongi. The Hongi consists of grasping someone’s hand, placing your nose and forehead against theirs, and breathing in deeply. This is symbolic of God breathing life into man, which correlates to the traditional Maori creation story. What an honor!
Later in the day, the actual ceremony began. The festivities started with a hukka, which is a traditional Maori warrior dance (We will post a video soon). Afterwards, there were several speeches by various leaders of YWAM. We also heard native songs from each of the cultural groups represented at Jubilee. After the welcome ceremony was complete, we worked the rest of the day managing parking, security, ushering, and child care. These will be pretty typical activities for us during the course of Jubilee. While we work in these various areas, the conference will be taking place, including worship, prayer, motivational speeches, and various cultural presentations. It should be an exciting few days!
Pictures to come!
