Jorgen and Darlyn's Wedding - Part 2

After the short wedding ceremony I headed off with the bridal party in the wedding car (a van from LCM) to do the photos. We went to the garden at the top house because the views there are second to none. Lots of other smartphone photographers came too :) Hendry, one of Jorgen's buddies, got married in December, so he helped out by making sure the bridal party could understand my broken pidgin. That was very helpful!! After the photos were done we headed back down the hill to the kitchen where the LCM boys have their dinner each night. Again, it was beautifully decorated and there were lots of chairs set out, with tables for the bridal party and direct family. The rest of the guests scattered themselves on underneath the trees and on the grassy areas close by.

After a short introduction by the MC, everyone was invited to share a meal. While explaining the process, the MC kept reminding everyone 'em wanpela celebration kaikai, noken pulap' which made me laugh. It means 'this is food for celebration, you don't need to fill up', which made clear that people didn't need to eat huge amounts or take a mountainous plate (which would have happened otherwise).

There was so much delicious food. It was cooked in the traditional way and the boys who prepared it had been working since 5:00am to make sure everything was ready! There was chicken, rice, potatoes, salad, vegetables and more. They did an incredible job! The food was followed by some speeches and the cutting of the cake. It was a relatively short reception compared to Western standards (about an hour), but equally as festive and equally as beautiful. All in all it was a wonderful celebration of a young couple in love, who desire to put God first in their marriage. What a blessing it is to see that. I pray that these two stay faithful to God in their lives as husband and wife.

I really enjoyed photographing the day - here's a few more pictures to get a glimpse into what it was like.

Jorgen and his buddy Patrick

A close up of the bride and one of her friends

This is one of my favourite shots of the day. 

A photo with the newly married couple. I wore my traditional clothes for the wedding as you can see :)

Jorgen had a t-shirt on under his white shirt. I could see it slightly so I asked him what it was and this is what he showed me. I love it! So true and awesome to see men of PNG standing up against the domestic violence that happens so frequently here. 

A bridesmaid bouquet

People waving small branches so the food doesn't get spoiled by flies

Some of the many, many guests! There would have been over 300 people who attended the wedding. It was unreal!

The servers organising the food. There were three different places to collect food and the guests were asked to go to separate areas. One area for the bridal party and family members, one area for staff of LCM and extended family and a third area for the boys of LCM. 

The bridal table (notice the cans of soft drink as opposed to alcohol)

The bridal couple with their marriage feast

Another huge cake - this one reads '1st Golden Wedding to Ps Jorgen Umbi and Darlyn Sumani. May u have a happy and a prosperous future. Wishes and best of luck from Suambus' (Suambu is the name of the plantation so I assume the staff organised it). 

Cutting the cake

Cake smash! Cop that :)

Some of the food I had - it was absolutely delicious!! The chicken was cooked underground in a mumu. Hot coals are lit and left to go out, the chicken is wrapped and put on top and then it's buried - for hours and hours. It was the best chicken I've ever had in PNG - so tender. It also had a smoky taste, which was just the best!

Father of the bride speech - thanking God for the blessing of marriage and sharing advice for developing a strong marriage. It was a beautiful speech.

All of the boys of LCM came past to congratulate the bridal couple. I think this was the longest congratulation line I've ever seen! Well over 250 people. Family and friends joined in at the end :)

Darlyn's parents with Bob and Ann - the General Managers of LCM. Giving gifts of coconut and chickens

The end of the aisle, just before the stage. If you look closely, you can see little pink flowers that say I Love U

It was such a fun afternoon. God bless you, Jorgen and Darlyn!

Jorgen and Darlyn's Wedding - Part 1

On the 16th of April I went to another wedding :) This time as the official photographer.... eeeek! I love taking photos, but that's a little bit of a step up! Thankfully, professional photography is quite limited here, so my skills were up to par.

The wedding was of Jorgen Umbi to Darlyn Sumani. Jorgen is a staff member at Lae City Mission. I met him in January 2014 when I came to PNG on a work team to build the houses. In September 2014 he was away at Bible College so I didn't see him. Now he's back and working as one of the junior pastors here at LCM. He was at Chris and Nicole's farewell a few weeks ago and saw that I was taking photos for them and asked me to do the same. Pretty exciting to photograph a wedding. There were at least 25 other people there with their smart phone cameras, so plenty of photos were taken! 

This wedding was really different to Freddie and Alo's wedding that I went to in March. Firstly, Jorgen and Darlyn were both living separately until their wedding day, when they moved into a house together. Also, Darlyn's parents gave her away by walking her down the aisle and the service itself was very different too.  Pastor Bob (the new General Manager at LCM who is from USA) officiated and the service was conducted in quite an American way. It was short, very short! I think it was about 10-15 minutes all up :) The bride walked in, a short address was given, vows were made and basically it was finished. No singing, no long address, just wham bam!

It certainly wasn't done in the traditional PNG way - which involves lots of singing and a longer address. I still don't entirely understand what a regular PNG wedding is like as there were lots of things about this wedding that seemed to be quite new for the people here. I am making it my goal to figure out what the 'norm' is - which will be tricky, as a lot of people (especially the younger ones) are quite influenced by Western culture. 

Anyway, here's the first lot of photos. More will be posted when I do Part 2 :)

The wedding program. Try as I might, I couldn't get it around the right way... sorry! I was impressed to receive a program, so great effort by the couple, I say!

The inside of the program. You will notice that there's a timeframe next to each section. I was very surprised to see this as time is approached differently here. We certainly didn't adhere to the times at all! I was told the wedding started at 1:00pm, so I was ready at that time. The bride didn't arrive until about 2:45pm.... I'm still learning how to guage 'PNG time'

The stage, all decorated for the ceremony

The beautifully decorated aisle. I love the flowers along the side! The photo doesn't capture how stunning it was. 

The pastor, the groom and the groomsmen arriving - all dressed up in their suits. They must have been soooooo hot. It was a scorcher that day!

The bride arriving in the wedding car (the LCM ute decorated with balloons)

The bride walking down the aisle with her parents. She went first, followed by her bridesmaids. I was really surprised to see that she had a strapless gown on - which does go against the modesty code here. The bridesmaids were also very exposed considering normal standards for PNG. It just goes to show how much social media and the Western society influence other countries.

All of the photographers! Including some on the stage :) Here the pastor is asking the bride's parents, "Who gives this woman to this man?" Darlyn's father was very emotional, so he couldn't get his words out. He just stood there...

...until Jorgen went down, received his bride and brought her to the stage

The message - a man shall leave his mother and father and be joined to his wife. Woman was created from man's rib - so she could be by his side and be his equal. Not his head, that she could lord it over him, not his feet so she could be underneath him, but his side - to be his partner, his friend, his love and his support. 

The vows and exchanging of rings

You may kiss your bride! (Again, I was very surprised to see this! Public displays of affection are never seen in PNG - men and women don't hold hands or touch in public, so this was very out of the ordinary!)

Introducing Mr and Mrs Umbi

Walking out of the ceremony.

Jorgen wanted lots of photos here. It was quite tricky to get them as there were at least 25 people in front of me with their smart phones :)

This was as close as I could get!

Photos in the garden at the top house - showcasing the beautiful view.

People here don't often smile in photos, especially when they are official ones.

The wedding bands with the stunning bouquet of frangipanis

The bride with her bridesmaids

The groom with his groomsmen - most of the photos were so serious, so I told them to have a bit of fun and this was the result!

The whole bridal party - in the nicest location we could find for a group this size to fit. All of the beautiful spots were just too small!

Sunsets

Since living in PNG I've seen some beautiful sunsets - testaments to God's creativity and care for us. The sun sets right over the field in front of our houses, so we're in a great position to catch them. You've got to be quick though! The sun sets at speed here :) There's so many different colours and patterns in the sky each time it lights up. I continue to stand in wonder. Our God is an Awesome God. Here's one we had last week. 

The People of 11 Mile

Here in PNG I live on a compound with three other families - when Dave and Cheree vanderWal come to work with Lae City Mission, there will be four families and me in this compound, which will mean it's very full!!

Our houses are close together (it takes me 15 seconds to walk to the nearest one, 20 seconds to walk to another one, 25 seconds to walk to the third house and 30 seconds to walk to the fourth house), so you can imagine that we all see each other a fair bit. In saying that, though, there can be half a day where I don't see a soul. Funny how it goes hey. Our doors are always open and people are always wandering in, which is nice. No running around in undies, you will get caught :)!

It's handy have others so close by that you know well. Cooking and need a bigger pan? Go and ask next door, or the next door or the next door. Run out of milk? Ask next door. Need an egg? Ask next door! What goes around comes around :)

Here are the people of 11 Mile. These photos were taken on Chris and Nicole's last morning in Lae, so they feature in all of them. These are the only group photos I have :) Enjoy!

The Walis family - Freddie, Alocinda, Louisa, Alousiena, Francine and Nicole with the Steenhofs

The Wildeboer family - Ian, Nadia, Jono, Karlyn, Caleb, Ben and Ava with the Steenhofs

Chris, Nicole, Adele, Elisabeth and me

The Slobe family - Julian, Shannel and Anna, with the Steenhofs

A Kitchen Market!

Last week I didn't get a chance to go shopping. We share cars here and they are always in high demand, so sometimes things don't work out as planned. Em oke blo mi! On Saturday I was the official photographer for a wedding, so no doing groceries for me that day either. On Thursday Julian was in town and was planning to go to the market, so he kindly grabbed a few things for me, which was GREAT as I was down to my last vegetable :) And we all know that I'm a huge vegetable eater, so no veges for at least a week would be a real struggle street for me!

I was busy in my office working when Julian came home. He must have been very quiet because I didn't hear him at all when he dropped off my food (that could be might slightly deaf ear too.....). When I came into the kitchen he had set the fruit and veges up for me in typical PNG fashion. It was uncanny how similar his set up was compared to the ladies who are selling at the market each week. It gave me a good laugh and I couldn't resist taking a picture! 

Here it is for you to see, enjoy :)

Perfectly arranged - look how well balanced the potatoes, carrots and capsicum are!

Top view - positioned wonderfully :)

The Steenhofs Last Sunday

Sunday the 10th of April was the last Sunday at LWRC for the Steenhof family. We had a special service for this. Pastor Isidore preached a powerful sermon on Isaiah 41:10 'fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'  So often we look at the future with fear, but when we go with God and trust in Him, we do not need to be afraid. We can put fear, worry and anxiety behind us and go forward, in prayer, knowing God will give us strength for all things. This is hard to do sometimes but something that we must all strive to be faithful in. 

After the service many church groups presented items, gave gifts and shared thoughts of farewell for Chris and Nicole. It was a wonderful celebration, with many heartfelt moments. There were tears, there were smiles and fond memories created. It's always hard to see someone go, especially when you don't know if you will ever see them again. Jumping on a plane isn't as easy as we in the Western world are used to. For some, this will never happen. So goodbyes come with a lot of sadness. 

One of the most beautiful things I heard that day was when one person said, 'I will never see your face again but you are my brother in Christ, so I will see you in heaven.'  Nothing could be more true. 

We then had another church bungkai lunch  (the third one since I've been here). There was plenty of food. Especially cake. Bulk cake! It was such a beautiful afternoon and one that will stay in the hearts of many for years to come.  All praise and thanks to God for the work He has done through the Steenhof family. Chris, Nicole, Elisabeth and Adele, you will be greatly missed. May God bless and guide you as you return to Australia. 

Pastor Isidore and his wife Clotilde singing a farewell song they wrote.

The ladies group singing  God bai i stap wantaim yu oltaim, which means God be with you till we meet again. 

Greg and Imelda presenting their poem called, ' How amazing what God has done.'

The group from Biwat sang two beautiful songs - Thy Word and It's Time to Say Goodbye.

Jeremiah singing a song he wrote called Brothers in Christ which reflect the relationship he has with Chris. 

Jeremiah presenting Elisabeth with a bilum and some bilas (bag and jewellery).

The Samson family singing a song about a ship sailing on the ocean.

There were so many beautiful presentations and items. Moments to treasure always. 

John Lanta presented on behalf of the school board, thanking Chris for his work.

The school board presented Chris with an up to date school photo. I took the photo and organised the frame and printing. It was tricky to do this without being noticed when you live with the person it's for! 

The Lanta family presenting Chris and Nicole with some gifts to thank them and remember them by. John was very entertaining and shared about the fun he and Chris have had together. 

A mug each - with two photos and a Bible text from Jude. One of the photos was taken when Chris and Nicole arrived in Lae in 2013 and the other one was a family photo taken a few months ago. It is cool to see how the family has grown in the time they've been here. Two became four. 

Elisabeth with her Bubu Grace

The Kamkumung church group group singing a song based on Isaiah 66.

The farewell speech - heartfelt and humourous too :)

A final performance by Chris and Nicole. The bilums around Chris's neck are some of the gifts the family received. 

Lunch is served!

Cutting the cake which reads, 'Farewell Chris, Nicole, Elisabeth and Adele. We will miss you all.'

This cake was a gift from some church members to Chris and Nicole. The two cakes were HUGE! Needless to say, there was far more cake than was needed. Unbelievably, it did all get eaten!

(Sorry it's sideways. I loaded it 3 times the correct way around but the blog kept turning it back)

The cake that Chris and Nicole bought as a gift for the church.