PNG is not a country where marriages are often registered. 44,000 marriages are registered over 50 years of history. More deaths are registered than births or marriages. Informal/de facto marriages are much more common, and fewer still are blessed in the church.
Which makes this story all the more interesting to me.
I was sitting in a village church in the area of Kokopo. When a couple stood up and in their heart language that I didn't understand, they came forward, spoke for a while, then turned, the church leader/pastor said a few short words, and then it was over.
It was quiet, it was simple.
The first thing that surprised me was that the man and woman were sitting together. Traditionally in church the men sit on one side of the room, the women on the other.
After it was all over I asked someone who knew the language 'what was that about?'
They said:
This couple stood up to tell us that they were living a sexual relationship life outside of marriage and keeping it secret. They considered themselves married, but the village did not. (possibly because there was no bride price/tradition?) But lately they have been coming to church together and have been convicted by the Bible, and their beliefs, and so they decided to ask the church for the blessing on their marriage. And so the church did, and wed them right then and there.
It is extremely rare to see a PNG wedding because of the many traditions around it, and how all of those traditions are in flux.
For me though, the real story was that they were convicted by the Lord to make their relationship a true marriage in the eyes of God.
