Wedding In Oman

June 21st. Hannah's wedding. Joe and Matt had flown in a few days before, Samarla, Hannah's friend from Hong Kong, Pyn's Mother and 2 brothers from India had flown in also. Pyn's family had had a 40 hour train journey across North India to get to the airport at Delhi.

Hannah and Samarla had spent the whole morning having a makeover. By 2pm Sam, Pam and Matt were ready to go to the Protestant Church near Muscat to meet the bridesmaids and pageboy. Joe would then drive Hannah and myself there for 3pm. We all knew it wouldn't start on time, as that's how things are out here. We arrived at 3pm anyway and sat in the car with the air conditioning going and waved to people as they arrived. By 3.15 we decided to make a start. As we got out of the car the heat of the afternoon hit us. Somewhere around 110 degrees today, over 100 degrees it's academic really. We cooled off in the Church foyer for few minutes and assembled the entourage before making our entrance. Hannah looked happy, relaxed and beautiful, especially without the sunglasses. As we slowly walked in we could see that the Church had been decked out with white flowers and sashes. The aisle was covered with white lace over a red carpet. A lot of the flowers had been in our fridge overnight because of the heat.

The service began with a lovely time of worship with songs like "Heart of worship" and "Over the mountains and the Sea". Most of the 200 present were fellow believers, mostly from the Indian congregation but also some from the PCO. The Rev John Aldis, the PCO minister went through the wedding ceremony. A loud cheer went up at the appropriate moment. Pyn's brother Bashan, who is assistant Pastor in Pyn's hometown of Shillong, then prayed for the newly married couple. Hannah and Pyn looked great together. After the service it had cooled down enough to take some photos outside before going to the hotel Al Falaij for the reception. The reception was alcohol free and we had a very enjoyable time together. My speech, which I'd waited 26 years to give, was well received. God blessed the day and we praise Him for his goodness to us.

Maurice Turlington

Back to This Magazine's Index