Guns and Rose

We are recovering from the wedding flurry this weekend. We are glad to say that it was a huge success!! Organising a wedding here is certainly an experience. Where else in the world would you be able to book a banquet hall 48 hours to "I do"??
Abi was concerned when the wedding rehearsal ended in rain, especially as there was no back up plan - the ceremony and the reception for 120 guests were both planned to be outside. The stressed out couple were strongly advised to come up with an alternative venue, which they thankfully did. It was decided that the reception would be inside regardless of weather, but we were still planning to try to hold the ceremony outside. On Friday night we were frantically dipping strawberries in chocolate and trying to make 20 floral centrepieces for the tables with a few wilted flowers and lots of random greenery cut from equally random gardens around the neighbourhood. Thankfully, Ben, one of our gap year students had spotted a pink wild rose bush earlier in the week and thought it might come in handy so we despatched a crew off to the river to "hunt and gather". They came back with tales of wading in sewage and revolting smells which made them wretch but it was all for good as they returned with armfuls of very prickly pink wild roses!!! We immediately set to and filled the holes in our oasis which had been soaking in the bath all day!!
At 9am on Saturday morning there were grey clouds looming but we were still optimistic. The wedding wasn't until 4pm so we decided to wait for an hour until we made the final decision. Primrose and Abi took off to the vegetable market to buy the fruit and Abi was soaked to the skin whilst buying the bananas in a total downpour!!! At that point there was no alternative but to mobilise the forces and decorate an inside venue. With the help of the guests from Northern Ireland and the missionary community we were ready to go with a few minutes to spare. As the bride drew up in the car the heavens opened once again, confirming it was the right decision to hold the ceremony inside. It was a wonderful service and there were many tear stained faces. Snacks, drinks, photos and tray bakes were the order of the day and a small crew took off to get the tables filled with appetizers for the hungry guests at the reception venue. The final guest count came to about 130, but there was more than enough food and lots of traditional dancing into the night. We arrived home, shattered but amazed that we had pulled it off at such short notice and very thankful for God's grace. Ezzie was delighted to have her photo taken with the bride and thought the pepto-bismol pink cake with silver glitter all over was like something from Cinderella!!!!!



















Meanwhile, the day after the wedding a motley assortment of people from all over our region were taking to the mountains for a camping/hiking trip. The weather continued to be brisk and rainy at best but they were not to be deterred. Our gap year guys were among the crew and Matt somehow found himself in the possession of an AK47! How he managed it we are still not sure but it makes a great photo. They are pretty much standard issue here so it is hardly surprising, but not something that you would find behind a bush in Harpenden that's for sure!!