Tamariki A Ihowa Issue 7, Nov 2018

TAMARIKI A IHOWA Tamariki Me Te Taiohi Pukapuka MAORI POSTAL AOTEAROA Issue 7, Hakihea 2018 Children’s and Teens Magazine - MAORI POSTAL AOTEAROA

Mere was sitting in the sun outside her whare (home). It was a normal day – a bit of cooking, a bit of helping around the house. She was having a few minutes rest, when suddenly an anahera (angel) named Gabriel appeared.

“Do not be afraid.” he said. “Ihowa (God) has blessed you and is pleased with you. You will become pregnant, and give birth to a tama (boy).”

Mere was shocked “That is a surprise as I’m not even married.”

The anahera knew that Mere was engaged to Hohepa, so he explained the details. “Your tamaiti (child) will be the Son of Ihowa. You are to name Him Ihu (Jesus).” Mere thought she was dreaming. “It is hard to understand,” she said. “But let Ihowa do what He chooses.” “Now I must fly.” Gabriel said, and he was gone.

Mere sat for a very long time thinking. She was very afraid but she trusted Ihowa.

Hohepa was worried when he found out Mere was expecting a pepe (baby) before they were married, and considered putting their wedding off. But an anahera appeared to Hohepa in a dream and said “Do not be afraid to take Mere as your wife.” The anahera explained that Mere had been chosen by Ihowa to be the mother of His tama (son), and that the pepe was to be named Ihu which means `Saviour’.

At this time, the land where Mere and Hohepa lived was part of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor wanted a list of all the iwi (people) in the empire to make sure they were paying their taxes. He ordered everyone to return to the towns where their whanau originally came from, and enter their names in a census. Mere and Hohepa had to travel over 140km, from Nazareth to Bethlehem because that is where te Hohepa whanau came from. Mere rode on a donkey, while Hohepa walked beside her.

When they reached Bethlehem, they had trouble finding somewhere to stay. So many iwi had come to register, that every whare was full and every moenga (bed) was taken. The only place they could find to stay was with nga kararehe (animals).

While Mere and Hohepa were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mere to have the pepe. So in the place where nga kararehe slept, Mere gave birth to Ihu – the Son of Ihowa.

In those days it was the custom to wrap newborn pepe tightly in a long length of cloth called “swaddling clothes”.

The moenga of Ihu was the manger where nga kararehe ate their hay from.

Not far away, there were some shepherds looking after their hipi (sheep).

An anahera suddenly appeared and the glory of Ihowa shone around them.

The shepherds were very very scared, but the anahera said “Do not be afraid. I have ka pai (good) news for you. Today in Bethlehem a saviour has been born. You will find the pepe lying in a manger.” To the amazement of the shepherds, the sky was filled with nga anahera singing “Glory to Ihowa, and peace to all iwi.”

When the nga anahera had gone, the shepherds said to each other “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem and see what has happened.” So they went to Bethlehem and found Mere and Hohepa, and Ihu lying in a manger just as the anahera had said.

When they saw Him, they told everyone what the anahera had said and everyone who heard the story was astonished.

Then they went back to look after their hipi, praising Ihowa for sending his tama to be saviour.

When Ihu was born, a brand new whetu (star) appeared in the sky.

Some wise men in a faraway country saw the whetu, and knew what it meant. They were very clever men that studied nga whetu, and had read in very old writings that a new whetu would appear when a great kingi (king) was born. They set out to find the new kingi and bring him a koha (gift).

The wise men followed the whetu towards the country of Judea, and when they reached the capital city Jerusalem, they began to ask iwi “where is this tamaiti who has been born to be the kingi of the Jews?�

In those days, there was a kingi called Herod. He heard that the wise men were asking about a future kingi, and it made him very angry to think that someone might take his place. Kingi Herod sent for the wise men to come to him. He told them to keep following the whetu, and when they found the pepe to let him know so that he could go and worship him also. But Kingi Herod did not tell them that he really planned to kill the pepe once he was found.

The wise men followed the whetu towards Bethlehem. It stopped directly above the whare where Ihu was. The wise men entered the whare where Mere and Hohepa now lived, and found Ihu. They worshipped him and gave him their koha.

The wise men were warned in a dream by Ihowa not to return to Kingi Herod, so they went home to their whenua (country) a different way.

Ka mea a Ihu “I haere mai ahau kia whiwhi ai ratou ki te ora.”

Hoani 10:10

Jesus said “I came so that you can have eternal life.”

John 10:10

I HAERE MAI A IHU JESUS CAME FOR ME Ever wonder WHY? Why do we have Kirihimete (Christmas)? Why did Ihu leave his beautiful home in heaven? Why did He come to earth?

Ihu is a koha from Ihowa to us. We remember this at Kirihimete and may even give a koha to our hoa (friends) or whanau, as a way of remembering that Ihowa gave the greatest koha to us.

This is how much Ihu loves YOU!! Ihu left His whare in heaven to make a way for us to be a hoa with Him. Heaven has no sickness, sadness or badness. He came to earth where there’s a lot of sickness, sadness and bad things happening because He aroha you soooo much that He wanted to give you a way that you could have your sins forgiven and be accepted by Ihowa.

Before Ihu came to earth, there was no way we were able to be a hoa of Ihu but He came to change that. Would you like to be a hoa of Ihu? Do you know you are a sinner? Have you ever told a lie? Ihowa says to “Obey your parents.”

Have you ever disobeyed your parents?

Because we all do wrong things, we are all sinners.

Roma 3:23 “Kua hara katoa hoki, a kahore e taea e ratou te kororia o te Atua.” (“For everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”)

Did you know that Ihu lived a perfect life, died on a wooden cross and then came back to life e toru (three) days later? Ihu was punished for your sin and died in your place. He did this because He aroha you and wants you to become a hoa of His and a tamaiti of Ihowa?

Roma 10:9 “Ara ki te whakaae tou mangai ko Ihu te Ariki, a ki te whakapono tou ngakau na te Atua ia i whakaara ake i te hunga mate, e ora koe.” (“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”)

You can pray/talk to Ihowa and tell Him you are sorry for your sin. Tell Him you understand Ihu was punished for your sin so you didn’t have to punished, and you want Ihu to take charge of your life. You are choosing to live for Him and aroha Him with all your heart, mind and soul. Would you like to do this now?

Hoani 1:12 “Tena ko te hunga i manako ki a ia i tukua e ia ki a ratou nga tikanga e meinga ai ratou hei tamariki ma te Atua, ara ki te hunga e whakapono ana ki tona ingoa.” (“To as many who received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”)

When you receive Ihu you will still be a tamaiti of your whanau, but you will also be a part of the whanau of Ihowa!

GOD HAS A GREAT PLAN FOR YOU. YOU ARE WONDERUFLLY MADE. YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE. YOU HAVE PURPOSE. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE LOVED.

HE MAHERE A TE ATUA MO KOE. HE MEA WHAKAMIHARO KOE. HE TINO MAHI KOE. KEI KONEI KOE MO TE KAUPAPA. HE ATAAHUA KOE. E AROHAHIA ANA KOE.

Ka taea e te hummingbird te rere whakamuri A hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards

Ko te roro o te ostrich he iti ake i tona kanohi An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain

Te kereru o Aotearoa tetahi o nga kukupa rarahi o te Ao The kereru, native to NZ, is one of the largest pigeons in the world

Kaore te pikao tame e whiwhi i ona hiku huruhuru ataahua kia tae noa ke ia ki te toru tau

A male peacock doesn’t get his beautiful feathers until he’s three

Ka hopu te kiwi i te kai ma te hongi hongi haere The kiwi is the only bird that hunts by smell

MEKA MO NGA MANU NGAHAU FUN FACTS ABOUT BIRDS

Kaihe (donkeys) don't dream. Well, not in an aspirational, "follow your dreams" way, at any rate.

But Boaz is no normal kaihe. Marching in a circle grinding grain is not Bo's vision of destiny fulfilled. No, Bo and his hoa, Dave the kukupa (dove), have royal aspirations: marching with the iwi of the te kingi caravan.

Bo breaks his ropes and escapes his Angry owner, but a mamae (injury) to tetahi (one) hoof keeps him from fleeing far. He soon takes refuge in the courtyard of a young couple named Hohepa and Mere. The tender-hearted, miraculously pregnant young woman helps Bo's hurt hoof.

Meanwhile, a dazzling, mysterious whetu appeared in the rangi (sky), prompts nga wise men e toru and their kamera (camels) - Deborah, Cyrus and Felix - to begin the long journey toward, well, actually, they don't know quite where. But they're convinced the whetu points to the birth of a kingi.

Someone else has taken notice of the whetu too: Kingi Herod.

It means something. But he's not sure what. The unexpected arrival of the visitors e toru from the East only amplifies his paranoia, especially when they carry on about bringing a koha for a kingi - a different kingi Back in Nazareth, the birth of Mere’s pepe is now fast approaching, but she and Hohepa must take a long trip to Bethlehem for a census ordered by Herod. Little do they realise that their kingi has ordered a speechless, ogre-like henchman and his fearsome kuri (dogs) e rua to track down the identity of this would-be kingi ‌ and end his reign before it begins.

Thankfully, Bo makes the perilous journey with them, fulfilling a bigger destiny than he could have guessed in his wildest kaihe dreams.

Can you find the real Ruth among these baaaaaaad hipi?

Can you unscramble these kupu (words) from THE STAR?

A I

H E K

M A A E R K P I

I

H

Can you spot the rima (five) differences between these rua pictures of Deborah the kamera?

H E A P O H R E E M U E H T W

ANSWER: KAIHE, KAMERA, HIPI, HOHEPA, MERE, WHETU

Dream big like Zach the koti (goat) and solve the puzzle!

K G N M U P

E H A M

O K

O

I

H A E R

I

I

K W U R

N M T K U

U H P N

N G

E U G A

I

H U

P K E I

A K

N R H

E H O

P U N M E N

K W U A

E W H O M P

H O H E

P

A H R

A G

A H

I

N E U T H K W

M E

R

E H K

HIPI HOHEPA IHU

KAIHE KAMERA KINGI

U R

KURI MERE PEPE

I

WHETU

H

Waiata Kirimihete o Aotearoa, by kingi ihaka New Zealand Christmas Carol (The 12 Days of Christmas)

On the first day of Christmas My true love gave to me A pukeko in a ponga tree On the second day of Christmas My true love gave to me Two kumara And a pukeko in a ponga tree On the third day of Christmas … and so on, until ….

On the twelfth day of Christmas My true love gave to me Twelve piupiu swinging Eleven haka lessons Ten juicy fish heads Nine sacks of pipis Eight plants of puha Seven eels a swimming Six pois a twirling Five – big – fat – pigs!!

Four huhu grubs Three flax kits Two kumara And a pukeko in a ponga tree!

RAPUA NGA REREKETANGA TEKAU

FIND TEN DIFFERENCES

HANGAHIA TO PIKITIA KIRIHIMETE

MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS PICTURE

Nā, ka kawea mai ki a ia ētahi tamariki nonohi, kia pā ai ia ki a rātou; otirā, ka rīria e ngā ākonga te hunga nāna i kawe mai. Nō te kitenga ia o Ihu, ka riri, ka mea ki a rātou, “Tukua ngā tamaraki nonohi kia haere mai ki ahau, kaua hoki rātou e āraia atu; nō ngā pēnei hoki te rangatiratanga o te Atua. He pono tāku e mea nei ki a koutou, ki te kāhore e rite te tango a tētahi i te rangatiratanga o te Atua ki tā te tamaiti nohinohi, e kore ia e tomo ki roto.”

Makā 10:13-15