Mieke and Walker (Part 1)

If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that Mieke and I go waaaay back, as in almost 20 years back!

She met Walker while she was serving on the Doulos.

“Mieke and I met on the M.V. Doulos in 2007. Because of the onboard social policies, Mieke and I weren’t allowed to be romantically involved. I was very attracted to her from the first time I saw her, but steered clear of her because of the policy and because of the impracticality of pursuing someone from South Africa. However, as time passed and as we spent more time together, my logical inclinations and faded and the difficulty of a continent gap disappeared. The social policy was a struggle for the remaining months we had together and I often tried to convince myself that I did not have feelings for her. I realized that I was spending way too much energy trying to avoid my feelings and finally decided to speak to her. The day before she went home, I told her how I felt over a nice meal on the coast of southern Australia and we agreed to stay in touch (I still had one year of commitment left at that point). The following year was hard as we tried to develop our relationship over email, Skype, and the phone. Mieke was able to visit me in Hong Kong just before my commitment ended and when she left, I knew I was very much in love with her. The time together was a real confirmation for both of us.”
(Taken from the letter he wrote to his family in the States - seen later)

After meeting Walker on Skype for the first time (and spending many visits at Mieke’s house in front of the tv or with her siblings because of “important Skype dates”) I could tell Mieke was serious about this guy. The first time I actually met him face-to-face was in Sep 2009, and my heart broke when I saw the way Mieke looked at him - mostly coz Mieke had NEVER looked at a guy like that before.

Anyway! Back to the wedding...
Mieke and Walker were married on a house boat on Langebaan Lagoon. It was a week long celebration with people staying on the boat and helping with preparations - it gave the two families time to connect and get to know each other and gave the bride and groom time to spend with their friends before moving to Taiwan after their honeymoon.

This was our first view of the lagoon

Bianca and Eben (Mieke’s sister and their cousin)

Bianca and Melanie (Eben’s sister)

The first day was spent going back and forth with the little speed boats to get all the food and supplies on the boat, then as soon as that was done - it was time to relax...The morning of the wedding the lagoon was unbelievably tranquil.

Bianca - the Maid of Honour

Walker seeing his bride for the first time

Mieke struggling to get Walker’s ring on

Man and wife...

More to come later this week!