Life in the Papua New Guinea Highlands – as with many other mission fields – is all about flexibility. Plans are by definition tentative. It’s not a culture where advance planning is a fundamental aspect of things, and ideas about what to do and when to do it can erupt rather spontaneously.
So it was we found ourselves invited guests of honor to a celebration, the opening of a new building at a Lutheran school about a three hour drive from the seminary. It was a picture perfect day for such an outing – plenty of sun, and it was reported that the shooting skirmishes that had been happening along part of the road we were to travel on had ceased. Mostly. At least for the moment.
It was an extra special festive event because the provincial governor – Peter Ipatas – was to be the guest speaker. He’s been governor for a long time and is well-liked by his constituents, judging by the enthusiastic crowd. Some locals came in traditional festival attire, and that included both men and women. Others were more typically modern and casual.
As good Westerners, we arrived at the appointed time. But that didn’t mean it started on time. We waited around for at least 90 minutes before a cacophony indicated the arrival of the governor and a huge procession down to the makeshift stadium grounds were the ceremony would continue. The children were singing and chanting, each grade and each school represented by different brightly colored shirts and with distinctive chants and songs representing their particular school and grade. The governor arrived with a security detail of adequately armed guards to ensure nothing unfortunate happened.
We had intended to only be observers, but when it was made know who we were and who we represented, it was insisted that we should join the other dignitaries on the makeshift platform. I wasn’t sure how many people the construction was rated for but thankfully it held through the two hour series of speakers. I was invited to introduce myself and bring greetings from the LCMS and congratulations on this auspicious moment.
This was the view from the presenter’s box overseeing the area. Each speaker would get up in turn, flanked by two young women who stood stolidly through the entire event. The crowd was appreciative – everybody here loves pomp and circumstance and the opportunity to gather together for food and friendship. Even when it started to lightly rain at one point people dealt with it in good humor.
After the speeches we were ushered into the new building and told to eat. There was a massive amount of food for the event – chicken, pork, sweet potatoes, steamed greens and many others, as well as Coca Cola, which is much beloved here and a part of any event formal or otherwise. We were about half-way through the meal when we were asked to please eat more quickly – the governor and his entourage were waiting for us to finish before they ate. Talk about feeling special – we got to eat before the governor!
As we returned to the truck and prepared to make our way home, it wasn’t possible to leave without several people sending donations of vegetables to the seminary. The Engan people are gracious and generous and very supportive of the GLC and Timothy Seminary!
Fortunately the ride home was equally uneventful. However it rained, which made the roads (and by roads I mean basically a collection of potholes strung together for 20 miles or so) much harder to navigate. But it was a good day. We all were sunburned when we got home but not enough to make anyone ill or miserable!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 