a day of singing

I sat in the shade of a giant rain tree, less than twenty feet from the waves lapping the sand, listening to people praise God in their own language.  It wasn't what I had expected to do when we arranged the trip to New Ireland, but what an experience! 

A young boy sitting by his mother who was singing.

Six congregations from the church circuit gathered on the beach of one of the central villages for a hymn competition and recording.  When the people found out that we were going to be in the province that week, we were invited to come and witness their day of celebration. 

We were able to get a ride to the village from the church headquarters, and it was a fairly nice road so there weren't too many bumps, at least for most of the way.

Photo by Hanna Schulz -- the first part of the road was sealed with no potholes!!!  (Hanna and I were in the back of the pickup with the recording equipment)

Photo by Hanna Schulz -- the second half of the road was a bush track, which only had a few sections that were pretty rough.

We were escorted through a pathway of flowers and decorative grasses to the stage that had been built.  A group of women put leis over our heads and then the collective group sang a welcome song for us. 

One side of the stage with its bilas (decoration)

Then, the group moved to the edge of the water for a drama representing the first time the Gospel was brought to the islands. 

Photo by Rebekah Drew -- the man playing the chief in the drama

The people had spears and knives, ready to attack the newcomers.

We made our way back to the stage area for the hymns.  It was helpful for us that each of the three sections had a different color scheme so we could keep track of who was a part of which choir. 

The first section wore white and blue.

The second section wore white and purple

The third section wore blue.

One of our co-workers in the Islands region recorded all of the hymns, which I believe numbered more than twenty total.  The recordings will be made available to the people, perhaps by way of a micro-SD card that can be played using a mobile phone. 

Photo by Rebekah Drew -- Steven recording one of the songs.

The singing took several hours and although I didn't understand more than a couple of words, it was nice to be a part of the celebration of the vernacular language! 

Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The kids had fun listening and playing throughout the day.  Gatherings like these bring people from multiple villages so it's a chance for people to see each other.

Some men waiting and listening to another section sing.

Some kids I sat next to for a while.  They would not stop staring or inching closer, but when I asked if I could take a picture they were shy.

Two boys sitting in a child-sized outrigger canoe chatting.

Once the celebration was over, we had some time to visit with people from the surrounding villages while we waited for the truck to come pick us up.  Unfortunately, the truck took a few hours and so we waited and waited and waited.  It was after dark by the time it arrived and this time it was a bigger truck with a smaller cab so most of us rode in the back. 

As much as the wait was hard after such a long, full day, it was a stunning ride in the truck that evening.  The stars were a blanket over us, with no lights around as we traveled through the bush and then down an empty, dark highway.  And to top it off there were thousands of fireflies out that night.  They lit up the trees we passed until some of them looked as if the whole tree was glowing. 

It was a long day, but a day full of beauty.  Beauty of language.  Beauty of worship.  Beauty of people.  Beauty of creation.