This just in from Pastor Allison:
Hey All!
Just wanted to check in and let you know I'm a married woman... The wedding was beautiful, everything went so well. I loved wearing my sari, but pictures are being withheld until the 28th. No one will think I'm pretty that day if you've already seen the pictures, I concluded. :) I heard there were around 720 people. Not everyone fit in the church, they had to sit outside too. After the ceremony we had the reception next door which involved feeding all these people. They sort of had to eat in shifts. We were the last ones to eat, because we had to mingle and say hi to everyone and everyone was snapping pictures on their cell phones.
The little girls from the orphanage here were so sweet. Before the wedding they went to school and told their principle they wouldn't be in school on Monday because their big brother Emmanuel was getting married. And they bought me a beautiful bouquet of roses, which they handed me at the door on my way out, after the ceremony. It's not common to have a bouquet as it is in the States. It was so sweet, I really loved it.
A lot of the ceremony was in English, so I was thankful I knew what was going on. We spoke and both gave our testimonies which everyone liked. It's not usual, but Mummy & Papa thought it was a good idea, especially for people to know me a bit, and to hear our plans. There's so much more to tell you about the wedding but I think you'll just have to see the pictures to believe it.
Another cool thing was that after everything was over, the mother in law "welcomes" me into the home, and it becomes my home too. So she was waiting at the front porch, and hugged me and gave me a Bible they had inscribed for me, and then I walked into the house, (right foot first, apparently it's 'good luck' haha) and Papa was waiting inside to welcome me. It was really special and they love me. :)
So we are doing well here and we'll be hanging out with the family until the 20th when we go to London for a few days rest. What is 'supposed' to happen is that we visit all the family members all over creation for the next month and they have a wedding feast for us at their house. We're skipping that part, it makes me feel full just thinking about it. Thank you all so much for your prayers.
See you soon!
Love, Allison POTHEN
