Tamariki A Ihowa Issue 28 by Maori Postal Aotearoa

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Matariki Celebrating the Māori New Year! Colouring In Page and Whetū Pattern Activity!

Na Wai Tatou I Hanga? Na Wai a Matariki Hanga?

Become a Tamaiti of Ihowā!

How to celebrate Matariki and honour Ihowā!

Mahia He Whetū Mo Matariki

Questions and Answers to Understand Ihowā!

AO TUKUPŪ - UNIVERSE AROHA - LOVE ĀTAAHUA - BEAUTIFUL EPEHA - EPHESIANS HAERE KAIKA - GO QUICKLY HOA - FRIENDS HOANI - JOHN IHOWĀ - GOD IHU KARAITI - JESUS CHRIST IKA - FISH IWI - PEOPLE KAI - FOOD KARU - EYE/S KA PAI - GOOD KARAREHE - ANIMAL KOHA - GIFT KORINITI - CORINTHIANS KOROHE - COLOSSIANS MĀHUNGA - HEAD MANU - BIRD MANUKANUKA - ANXIETY MARAMA - MOON MOI - SLEEP MOTUHAKE - SPECIAL MAUNGA - MOUNTAIN MOANA - SEA WHETŪ - STAR/S NUI - BIG PAIPERA TAPU - HOLY BIBLE PITA - PETER PO - NIGHT PUKEPUKE - HILL PUTIPUTI - FLOWERS RA - DAY RAKAU - WOOD RANGI - SKY RINGA - HAND/S RĪPEKA - CROSS ROMA - ROMANS TAMA - SON TĀNE - MAN TAMAITI - CHILD TARINGA - EAR/S WAI - WATER WAHINE - WOMEN WEHI - FEAR WHAKAKITENGA - REVELATION WHAKAPAPA - GENEALOGY WHĀNAU - FAMILY

TWINKLE TWINKLE PRECIOUS STAR (To the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) Twinkle, Twinkle Precious Star (Twinkling fingers) Jesus loves you as you are, (Hug yourself) He loves your smile, (Point to smile) He loves your voice, He thinks you are pretty choice! (Thumbs up) Twinkle, Twinkle Precious Star (Twinkling fingers) Jesus loves you as you are. (Hug yourself) Kapokapo nga whetu Te aroha ko Ihu Toku menemene Teku reo Kei te pai, kei te pai Kapokapo nga whetu Te aroha ko Ihu

MATARIKI CELEBRATING THE MĀORI NEW YEAR!

Matariki is a group of about one thousand ngā whetū, but only whitu are visible without a telescope. They are one of the closest groups of ngā whetū to our planet, but they are still a long, long way from us - 420 light years or more than 4 quadrillon kilometres away!! The biggest and brightest whetu is named Matariki, and is 5.7 million kilometres wide. This is over waru times bigger than our ra, and our ra can fit 1.3 million earths inside it! We are so iti compared to our universe! In the old days, Māori iwi looked out for the Matariki ngā whetū to appear in the rangi near the horizon. When they saw them, they knew it was time to start preparing to plant their crops. Matariki was also a time for the iwi to remember those that had gone before them - their tipuna. It symbolises beginnings and endings. Matariki was the start of the new year - a time to celebrate and remember those who had passed on.

Matariki came at the end of the year’s harvesting when the kai had been preserved and stored. So at Matariki, it is good to celebrate and give thanks for all that we have. In the Paipera Tapu, Ihowā talks about Matariki (also known as Pleiades). The Paipera Tapu asks us in Ihaia 40:26 to “Look at the rangi at po: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of ngā whetū out each po, counts them off, calls each by ingoa - so magnificent, so powerful - and never overlooks a single one?” And then tell us in Ihaia 40:28 “Ihowā is the Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired, and doesn’t pause to catch His breath. He knows everything - inside and out.” Ngā Whetū remind us how amazing Ihowā is - how enormous, powerful and forever Ihowā is. What is even more amazing than the massive size of our universe, is that Ihowā wants to be our hoa. He wants YOU to be a part of His whānau. Do you know that because we have all done kino things, there is nothing we can do to be good enough to be a part of the whānau of Ihowā? But Ihowā has so much aroha for you, He sent His only tama, Ihu Karaiti, to take the punishment that was ours, so we could join His whānau. Learn how you can become a part of the whānau of Ihowā on Page 11!

CAN YOU FIND THESE ITEMS IN THIS TAMARIKI A IHOWĀ?

“HE MEA HANGA NĀ TE ATUA I TE TĪMATANGA TE RANGI ME TE WHENUA.”

KENEHI 1:1

FINISH AND COLOUR THE PATTERN!

NA WAI TATOU I HANGA? NA WAI A MATARIKI HANGA? Who Made Us? Who CREATED MATARIKI? Nga wai i tatou i hanga? The Paipera Tapu tells us how the human race began. Long ago, Ihowā made the very first tāne and named him Adam. Ihowā made Adam out of the dust of the earth.

Before Ihowā made everything, there was nothing. No iwi, no places or things. Nothing. No up and down. No yesterday or tomorrow. There was only Ihowā, and then Ihowā created.

And there was light. Ihowā called the light “Ra” and the darkness “Po”. The evening and the morning came, and that was the first day.

But before Ihowā made Adam, He made the world so ātaahua and filled it with wonderful things. Ihowā made maunga, pukepuke, putiputi, rakau, manu and ika. Ihowā made everything!

Ihowā created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was empty without form, and darkness covered it. So Ihowā spoke “Let there be light!”

On the second day, Ihowā made the wai of the moana. On the third day, Ihowā said “Let dry land appear” and it happened.

Ihowā also created the rakau and putiputi to appear. And the evening and the morning came and that was the third day.

Ika and manu were the next on the list. Ihowā made every kind of ika to fill the moana, and every kind of manu to enjoy the land and sky. This was the fifth day.

Ihowā did something else on the sixth day - something very motuhake. The earth was now ready for tāne. So Ihowā said “Let us make tāne in our image. Let him be ruler over everything on the earth”. So Ihowā created tāne in His own image.

Ihowā made everything in six days, then on the seventh day He rested. Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, Ihowā was their Lord, provider and their hoa.

9 Then Ihowā made the rā, the marama and so many whetū that no one can count them. Among the whetū was Matariki. This was the fourth day of creation.

On the sixth day, Ihowā spoke again “Let the earth bring forth every living creature”. Every kind of kararehe, insect and reptile was made. Mischievous monkeys and clumsy crocodiles. Wiggly worms and cheeky chipmunks. Gangly giraffes and purring pussy cats. Every kararehe was made by Ihowā.

Then Ihowā said “It is not ka pai for tāne to be alone. I will make a helper for him”. So Ihowā put Adam into a deep moi, and removed one of his ribs. Ihowā made a wahine from Adam’s ribs.

We all do things we know we shouldn’t. This is called sin and because of sin we cannot be a hoa of Ihowā BUT Ihowā aroha us so much He sent his Tama, Ihu Karaiti to die on a rīpeka and pay the penalty for our sin. Now Ihowā can forgive our sins. If you want to live for Ihowā you can pray something like this: “Dear Ihowā. I believe

Ihu died for me and now lives again. Please come into my life and forgive my sins, so I can have new life and be with you forever. Help me live for you as your tamaiti. Amine.”

CREATION ACTIVITY !

All answers are in English

Across: 2. Ihowā created the marama on this day 4. The earth was this before creation 5. Ihowā created these on the fifth day 7. Ihowā created these on the third day 9. The name of the Garden where the tāne and wahine lived 10. Ihowā created this on the first day

Down: 1. The name of the tāne that Ihowā created 3. Ihowā did this on the seventh day 4. The name of the wahine that Ihowā created 6. Ihowā created the wahine by taking this from the tāne 8. Ihowā created kararehe on this day

BECOME A TAMAITI OF IHOWĀ! The Paipera Tapu tells us Ihowā created everything including you and me, and He is in charge of everything. Whakakitenga 4:11, Korohe 1:16-17 We have all disobeyed Ihowā. The Paipera Tapu calls this sin. Sin separates us from Ihowā and deserves punishment from Ihowā. Roma 3:23, Roma 6:23 Ihowā sent Ihu Karaiti as the perfect solution to our sin problem - to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. Hoani 3:16 Ihu Karaiti lived a perfect life, died on the rīpeka for our sins and rose again. Because Ihu Karaiti gave up His life for us, we can be welcomed into the whānau of Ihowā for eternity. This is the best koha ever! 2 Koriniti 5:21, 1 Pita 3:18 You can pray to Ihowā and tell Him you are sorry for your sins. Thank Him for punishing Ihu Karaiti for your sin so you didn’t have to be punished. Ask Ihu Karaiti to take charge of your life, choose to live for Him and aroha Him with all your heart, mind and soul. Hoani 14:6, Roma 10:9-13

HOW DO WE CELEBRATE MATARIKI AND HONOUR IHOWā?

Matariki is essentially a harvest festival - using the whetū to determine the seasons and the timing for gathering, storing and planting. Harvest festivals of different kinds are celebrated in many cultures all over the world - including the Israelites in Biblical times.

The Jewish festival of Sukkot uses the harvest as a time to remember the faithfulness of Ihowā to their ancestors, His faithfulness in the provision of the current harvest, and His promise of faithfulness for the future. We can use Matariki as a time to consciously take from the abundance He has given us, and share with those who have less. We can use Matariki as a time to come together and feast, sing and celebrate family and whānau. We give Him thanks for the ones we aroha who care for us.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

But more than all of this, we can come together at Matariki and rejoice in the grace and salvation given to us by Ihu Karaiti. Like traditional Matariki celebrations, we can use this time to thank Ihowā for all He has given us - we can thank Ihowā for His care for our whānau over the generations. This is why we can celebrate the only true Ihowā, in the person of Ihu Karaiti, who chose to come down to us. While the Matariki whetū are only visible for a short time every year, through Ihu Karaiti, Ihowā is available to us every day.

Spot the Differences in God Made the World Spot the Differences in God Made the World

Compare the picture on the top with the picture on bottom. Circle the eight things that are different. Compare the picture on the top with the picture on bottom. Circle the eight things that are different.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

MAHIA HE WHETŪ MO MATARIKI You WIll NEED: - 8 SQUARES OF PAPER - GLUE STICK 1. Fold each square of paper in half diagonally. 2. Open out and fold one side into the centre so that the outer edge meets with the centre fold. 3. Do the same on the other side. 4. Make 8 of these kite shapes. You can use all the same coloured paper or you can use different coloured square paper. 5. Once you have folded all 8 of the squares into kite shapes, glue them together - small upper triangle to small upper triangle as in the diagram.

MATARIKI 15

HOW MANY WORDS CAN YOU MAKE USING THE LETTERS “MATARIKI”? WRITE THEM BELOW: (EXTRA CHALLENGE: HOW MANY TE REO MĀORI WORDS CAN YOU MAKE?)

16 A tamaiti of Ihowā is someone who believes that Ihu Karaiti is the tama of Ihowā, sent by Ihowā the Pāpā to die for their sins. sa What i Tamaiti of Ihowā believe that OF I T I A Ihu Karaiti paid for their sins M TA ? when he was crucified on the IHOWĀ rīpeka, and that his righteousness was given to them so that they can be accepted by Ihowā. They also believe on the third day after he died, he was raised from the dead.

WHO MADE IHOWĀ? No one made Ihowā! Ihowā has always been alive and always will be alive. Nobody else is like that. He was alive before anything else because he made everything in the whole ao tukupū!

Questions and Answers from ‘The Big Book of B

17 Ihowā is omniscient, which is a HOW nui word meaning that he knows SMART everything there is to know. He knows IS IHOWĀ? the name of every kararehe. He knows the exact number and colour and length of every single hair on your māhunga. He knows it all because he made it all. Ihowā knows everything that has ever happened and all the things that will ever happen. There is no question you could ask Ihowā that he couldn’t answer!

HOW AM I MADE IN THE IMAGE O F IHOWĀ?

The Paipera Tapu says that people were made in the image of Ihowā. That makes it sound like Ihowā might have karu and taringa and ringa just like us. But thats not really what “being made in the image of Ihowā” means. It means we can think about things and make choices like Ihowā can. We can even understand right and wrong, which is why we are responsible for our actions.

Ihowā is everywhere! The Paipera Tapu tells us: “Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit or to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, you’d find me in a minute — you’re already there waiting! Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I’m immersed in the light!” It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you. Psalm 129:7-12

Bible Questions’ by Amy Parker and Doug Powell

WHERE IS IHOWĀ?

WOULD YOU OR SOMEONE IN YOUR WHĀNAU LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IHOWĀ AND THE PAIPERA TAPU? ASK AN ADULT IN YOUR WHĀNAU TO FILL OUT THIS FORM, AND SEND IT TO: MĀORI POSTAL AOTEAROA PO B BOX 10 WHANGANUI 4500 YOU WILL RECEIVE LESSONS EACH MONTH TEACHING YOU ABOUT IHOWĀ AND YOU CAN EARN CERTIFICATES!

NAME: ______________________________ BIRTHDATE: _________________________ ADDRESS: ___________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________