In 2015 After 19 months of devoting 100% of her time to serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the New Hampshire Manchester Mission, Sister Kotahi Tarawhiti returns home. She is greeted by her family and her father, Wayne, who welcomes her with a Haka at the Salt Lake City Airport. Wayne was born and raised in New Zealand and is of Maori descent. Her Nan and Grandpa flew from New Zealand to surprise her as she returns home, and her Nan welcomed her first with a karanga.
Our family had not seen Kotahi for 19 months and only had contact by email 1x a week and Skype 2x a year for Christmas and Mothers day. That is one reason this Haka is so heart felt by her father. You can watch the deep love for our daughter shown here. Being Maori, this haka was the strongest way her father could show her how proud he was of her completing 19 months of service teaching others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Kotahi was raised in New Zealand until she was almost 11yrs old before moving to Utah. Kotahi's father coached the BYU Rugby team and we are grateful to some of his players who know Kotahi well to come and welcome her home with him. This Haka was actually written by Kotahi's uncle, Jayson Tarawhiti, which talks about the Book of Mormon. We are grateful for the positive response that people around the world have had to Kotahi's homecoming video. We pray that those of you who felt something or were moved in any way would find out more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
To find out more go to: ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Also, watch for missionaries serving in your area and they will be happy to answer any questions you have.
31 мар 2015
