Unfortunately no pictures to share today. We have wanted to share more things lately but it seems the pace of things is picking up here! We have three and a half weeks left here. We have ten page papers due as a final language project, and Heather's mom Ellen, stepdad Dave, and sister Holly coming to visit in three days. We are really excited they are coming, and we know these last three weeks here are going to be a wild ride! At the end of it all we will be getting on an airplane to move to Papua, to begin serving with MAF. Exciting, nervewracking, new, yes all emotions bound into one. We especially covet and appreciate your prayers over these next few months.
So a wedding and a funeral? Yes these last two weekends took un-expected twists. Two weekends ago we were graciously invited to another wedding here in our neighborhood. How fun it is to see this neat cultural tradition. The first time we did that we had only been here a couple months. We actually had a lesson in our language school a while back on the meaning of the traditions (which are much different from in America), so it was neat to watch! Hopefully when I get some time to do pics I can put some up here. It was a pretty neat sight. One funny thing about weddings in Indonesia, is that they typically don't send out the invitations very far in advance. People generally don't plan to do much on their weekends here. We have some funny ongoing conversations with some of our friends here almost weekly that go something like this "Have a nice weekend"...or "Selemat berakhir pekan." Then "Do you have plans for the weekend?" Or "Ada rencana untuk ahikr pekanya?" And that question is usually followed by a laugh or giggle and "tidak ada, di rumah saja" which means, "No I'll just be at home." So our wedding invitation for the wedding two weekends ago came two days before the wedding. A pleaseant surprise! No biggie because we didnt have any plans either. We enjoyed the wedding this time. And this time we were savvy to the fact that they tell you to show up at a time that is way earlier than you need to. Last time, we were among the first to arrive at the wedding. Then, they seated us up near the very front (which was embarrassing because we didn't even know the bride or groom!) and they also seated us close to the MC's, and from what we could tell we were a good source of comic relief for the DJ's, a punch line in many jokes!
So this time we showed up at a more normal time. Thankfully we were seated among the general guests. And our kids (generally) were good throughout. Elise even made a little friend during the wedding.
The funeral? Funerals are also very different here in Indonesia. The same as weddings, funerals are a neighborhood affair. Last night the mother of a neighborhood friend of ours passed away. In Indonesia due to both religious and practical reasons, people are (almost always) buried within 24 hours of their death. So the announcement went out from the mosques in the neighborhood early this morning to the community. (Sorry, we didn't get that memmo. Still not good enough to understand what's coming out of those loud speakers) Fortunately our friend Teresa told us about it. So we went to the funeral that started at 10:30 AM. Almost the ENTIRE neighborhood was there. I confirmed this when, part way through the service Elise had to go to the bathroom. That meant I had to walk her home! As we walked through the neighboorhood (the long way around the block so we didnt have to walk in front of all the people in the street) It seemed like you could hear a pin drop. As I walked down the street that the mourning family lived on, I did not see a single person. They were all at the funeral. Normally that street is alive with all sorts of people. At the funeral there were some that prayed over the loudspeakers, there were special ceremonies, and it was followed by the pall-bearers taking the deceased to the local cemetery (less than a kilometer away). I followed to see what came next. The casket was only for transportation, there is a special cloth that is used here instead (I think it's called Kain Kafan)(I did not get there in time for the transfer, which I dont regret). Again there were prayers lead by a spiritual leader, mourners gathered around, religious chants, and finally the family members taking turns to help fill in the grave. She was laid to rest within about 12 hours of passing away. Ironically the only other funeral we've been to here was her husband (our friends father)who passed away about four months ago. Suerly it's a hard year for this particular family and I am sure they would appreciate your prayers.
