Banquet Walk-In's

Banquet time is a BIG deal in this community.  For one week, all the parents of the Grade 11's and Grade 12's and the youth group leaders and Bible Study leaders and coaches drop everything to work on Banquet.  I like to think of it as a "Thank You" from the parents to the kids.  It is the parents' way of saying, "You didn't really have a choice to become an MK.  We were the ones who were called and you have had to sacrifice so much for the work that we are doing. This is YOUR night.  We love you!"

You can literally feel the love when you walk through the doors of the converted Teen Center.  So much thought and energy and effort goes into this "Mother of all Prom's". :)

So, around 5pm, the rest of the community gathers around and waits for the kids to make their "grand" entrance.  Some arrived in buggy cars, some on horse-drawn carriages, others in the shiniest trucks on center.  As they walk in, we all get to "oo" and "aaah" at the beautiful dresses that were either found at the local second hand store and transformed or shipped from home countries.

If you are raised in this community, you grow up watching the "princesses" walk in every year.  One of my girls, Leslie, can remember at age 4 watching Banquet. Even though we are returning to the States July 1st and have no idea if we will return to PNG, I get kind of excited thinking that one day, we might have a picture of Melanie dressed for Banquet the first year she was born....and then later down the road, who knows, if she were to graduate from UIS, we would have a first and last banquet picture. :)

Above are the pictures of our friends who live in Goroka (about 2 hours away).  Ben and Caleb were at the Clinic during Banquet walk-in's this year because Ben had a really high fever.

Here are some pictures of my beautiful-oh-so-ready-for-college Grade 12 girls.  I wasn't able to get pictures of all my girls, though because of the lighting or because they walked/turned so fast. :)

First to walk in was Kaela (Ban's babysitter every Thursday night):

 

Above: Leslie (who remembers watching Banquet walk-in's when she was 4) with her dad

Below is Jodie

They were creative and had "secret service" (See below)

Flora moved to Madang (5 hours away) and almost didn't make it to Banquet.  Someone in the community anonymously paid for a ticket for her to fly up for her Banquet.  Again, it is a BIG deal....and a way to say "We love you" to the kids!

Below- Emma

Hannah (Below)

Kelsey (She cuts my hair)