An Awesome Visitation of God Amongst the Maoris

We planned to leave Christchurch and arrive in Sydney in the New Year (1970). Prior to leaving we were invited to minister, over the Christmas season, at a five-day Maori young people’s camp in the northeast of New Zealand. On our arrival we found about 100 young people had gathered. One of the parents called out to us as we met them driving into the camp grounds...

"We've been praying. We're expecting great things for our young people!"

None of us realised how wonderfully the prayers of these parents was going to be answered.

The camp did not fully get underway for two days. The tent for the young men had been left behind and someone had to go back to get it. Also the cooks were two days late arriving. But then began something we will never forget. As Paul ministered from God’s Word when the first meeting began, the young people just fooled around. They were throwing paper aeroplanes at one another and talking back and forth. They were full of high jinks and would not settle down. It was obvious they did not really want to be there. Finally, Paul stopped ministering.

“Young people” he declared in a firm voice. “We are here to have fun but we are also here to meet with the Lord. If you don’t mean business with God we are packing our bags and out of here.”

The noise and misbehaviour stopped and a hush came over the meeting.

“But if you mean business with God" Paul went on, "you get down on your knees and repent before Him now!”

I was standing at the side of the platform and could see all the young faces clearly. I was utterly amazed at what happened next. I must say it took me totally by surprise. Many ran to the benches that encircled the Maori meeting hall and fell on their knees. Their voices began to rise in a cry to God for forgiveness. Others went to their knees where they were. The room was filled with the sound of weeping before God. This went on for quite some time and then suddenly, like watching the effect of a wind blowing (John 3:8), the Holy Spirit moved again. Beginning at the front and sweeping across to the back of the room, young people began to raise their hands to the Lord in thankfulness for forgiveness and God began to fill them with His Holy Spirit. The joy and praise was wonderful to hear. This went on for quite some time and then suddenly, again, the Holy Spirit blew like a wind across the room. Beginning at the front again, one of the young girls began to weep.

“Oh, His hands....His hands” she began to cry.

We went to her and asked her what was happening.

“It’s Jesus” she said “I can see His hands.”

She described the vision she was seeing. She could not see the Lord’s face but out of a cloud He had stretched out His hands to her and she could see the nail prints.

That began the most awesome experience. Sweeping right over the room almost all of these young people began to fall over under the power of God. Some of the parents tried to pick them up but Paul told them not to worry. God was at work in their lives. For the next three days we witnessed an astonishing visitation of God to these young people. They saw visions of the Cross, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. Some walked the streets of Heaven led by angels and saw the Throne of God. Jesus appeared to each of them and spoke to them personally. We asked them what he looked like. Each one said he wore a long white robe with a golden girdle and golden sandals. What did He say to them? "Be faithful to me. I will be faithful to you." Some were out in the Spirit for hours. The sense of the presence of the Lord was breathtaking. I remember sitting on the floor surrounded by young people seeing these glorious visions and saying, “Lord, what about me?” But this was their special time.

This holy, awesome time lasted for three days. On the last day, I saw one of the young women kneeling before the Lord. The day before she had told me she had not experienced what the others had been experiencing and had wondered why. When I saw her kneeling there I went up to her. She was talking to the Lord. It was like listening to a one-way telephone conversation. She would pause, listening, and then reply “Yes, Lord. I will, Lord.” I waved my hand in front of her eyes. She didn’t blink or react. She couldn’t see it. I bent over to look into her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes were covered by a white haze. She was in the heavenly realms, seeing and speaking with the Lord.

When the young people came out of this experience many could not even share about it for several days, they were so overcome by the glory and holiness of God.

Needless to say, those young people left that camp totally transformed. One of the young ones, Cecily, who had seen the whole passion of Christ and then been taken into Heaven, later became a great evangelist for the Lord, seeing many come to the Lord in India.

For Paul, myself, David and Rebecca it was an event we shall never forget and since then, though we have by no means sought it, we have had the joy at times of seeing God sovereignly move in a similar way amongst the tribal people of Asia.