ngā pā katoa. E rima ngā whānau i tō mātau marae e noho ana. Ko ō mātau mātua he mahi i ngā mahi tino hē rawa atu, arā, he inu pia, he purei kāri. Ahakoa ēnei mahi hē a rātau, ki te whakarere i a mātau tamariki mā, he taea e rātau he moni hei koho mo te pereti a Hihita. I whakaakona mātau e Hihita ki ētahi waiata, hīmene hoki o roto i te Paipera, ā, nui atu ngā kōrero paki o te Karaiti i whakamāramatia e ia. Kite kau atu mātau i a Hihita e piki ake ana i te rori, ka oma mātau ki te wharepuni ki te whakatangi i te pere, ā, ka oma rānei mātau ki te hari mai i tana pāhi. Ahakoa mātau kei te kai ka whakarērea e mātau ā mātau kai, e ka kitea atu a Hihita. He kauhau ia ki ngā tāngata katoa. I ētahi tāima, ka haramai he tangata haurangi ki te wharepuni hurori ai, whakararuraru ai i ngā kauhau a Hihita, kata ai rānei ki ngā hū koikoi, ki te reo wiriwiri o Hihita. E kore te kuia rā e āro atu, heoi anō karanga atu ai ia kia āta kōrero. I tērā, kua kati te waha o te haurangi — mo te tāima poto noa iho, ā, kua mahi anō i āna mahi. Ehara i te mea, he pārekareka a Hihita ki te inu pia. Tino kino tana ngākau pōuri. Kai te mahara tonu ahau ki āna kōrero, “Ka kino te waipiro e!” Tokoiwa mātau hei tika mā tō mātau whaea. He hiahia ia ki te mahi kāri putiputi, he whakapai i waho i tō mātau whare tawhito. He tino pai ki a ia ana kāri putiputi, he pai hoki te puāwai me te kore otaota. I haere mai a Hihita ki te kite i a ia, me tana whakamenemene ki ana kāri. Kite tonu a Hihita, kua fūfū tana māhuna ka mea atu, “Ka kino tēnei — he nui rawa ngā pounamu.” I whakatūhia e tō mātau whaea ngā pounamu kore kai, hei whakaātaahua i ngā tahataha o ana kāri. I te mutanga o ia tau, ia tau, i whakatūria e Hihita he hūkari ki te mihana. I reira ka hoatu he perehana mā te marae tino nui ngā moni koha mō tērā tau. Nō mātau te marae e hia tāima e whiwhi ana ki tēnei hōnore, nā te kaha o ō mātau mātua ki te āwhina mai. Kāhore e wareware i a mātau, i ahau rawa atu, ngā waiata, ngā hīmene a Hihita, Ki tōku whakaaro, nā Hihta i rui te purapura Karaitiana ki Ruaāhuna. Ahakoa anō te kaha o te hāhi Ringatū ko tēnei te mea ātaahua ki a mātau. I tēnei rā, kua tipu, kua puāwai ētahi o aua purapura, arā, kua minita ētahi, kua kaumātua ētahi, ā, kei School services. Our pa had about five families living there. Our mothers and fathers were great drinkers and gamblers (cards was the game then). But in spite of their irresponsible attitudes towards their families, they could always spare a half crown or a shilling for each of us to put in Sister Annie's offering plate. She taught us many choruses and verses from the Bible and told many, many stories about Jesus. We looked forward to all these things. As soon as we saw Sister coming up the road, we raced down to the wharepuni to ring the bell, or we raced down to carry her bag. Even if we were in the middle of lunch, we just dropped all and left our food, as soon as Sister was sighted. She ministered to everyone. Several times a drunkard staggered up to the pa and Sister just kept on with the service. Sometimes those daring ones made remarks about Sister's shaky singing and her pointed wrinkled shoes, but one little hush from her and they kept quiet — for a while at least. That did not mean that Sister liked them being drunk. She was always lecturing and lecturing to discourage drinking. I remember vividly Sister saying, “Drink is very bad!” My mother had a lot of us to bring up and feed and clothe, but she found plenty of time to beautify the outside of our old unpainted house. She was very proud of her flower gardens and when Sister came to visit her, she stuck her chest out proudly but only to be disheartened by the comment that came out. Sister shook her head and said. “This is bad — too many brown bottles!” Mum had used the empty bottles upside down as edges for her gardens. At the end of each year, Sister held Sunday School picnics at the Mission, at which a presentation was made to the marae that had given the largest offering for the whole year. Most times, our pa received this prize and honour, and our mothers received handbags for their support. None of us, including myself, will ever forget the songs and choruses Sister taught us. I believe that she sowed the seeds of Christianity in Ruatahuna. Although the Ringatu Church had many adherents, hers was more appealing to us. Today the fruits of the seeds she sowed flourish. Some of the men are ordained ministers, some are elders of the Church (Presbyterian) and a