Celebrations
In January I was able to be part of three different celebrations. The first one was the Thomas's celebration of 10 years of ministry in Rwanda. On a Monday night we gathered with 40 - 50 friends and church leaders to celebrate the work they've accomplished since they first came in 1996. We watched videos they've made for furloughs in the states, heard people share what they've learned from the Thomases, and enjoyed a meal together.
The next celebration was an engagement party for a Rwandan couple. I didn't personally know the family, but they invited all of us "muzungus" (white people) to come to the ceremony. We arrived at 11:00 and were told that it would last until 1:00. However, the grooms family was about an hour late so it didn't end until about 3:00. There was also some misunderstanding over how the ceremony should go. The grooms family was from a more rural area and the bride's family was from Kigali. Traditionally there are four ceremonies in the wedding process, but in more urban settings the first two (gaining permission to get a bride from the family and formally asking for the specific bride) are combined into one. This led to some confusion and we never did get to see the bride. However, after the ceremony it's a tradition for them to talk over what went wrong and how it might be avoided the next time. It was interesting to hear them talk through the miscommunication so that everyone could understand what had happened and learn from it.
The third celebration was Alandra's sixth birthday. We celebrated by having one of her favorite meals, spaghetti, and chocolate cake. She got some amazing princess dresses to dress up in and some other great presents. We ended the evening with a great game of Twister. The next day we had a small party at the end of the school day and all the students gave her cards and birthday compliments. Birthdays are such fun.
So far 2008 is off to a great beginning. I look forward to seeing what else I get to celebrate this year.
The next celebration was an engagement party for a Rwandan couple. I didn't personally know the family, but they invited all of us "muzungus" (white people) to come to the ceremony. We arrived at 11:00 and were told that it would last until 1:00. However, the grooms family was about an hour late so it didn't end until about 3:00. There was also some misunderstanding over how the ceremony should go. The grooms family was from a more rural area and the bride's family was from Kigali. Traditionally there are four ceremonies in the wedding process, but in more urban settings the first two (gaining permission to get a bride from the family and formally asking for the specific bride) are combined into one. This led to some confusion and we never did get to see the bride. However, after the ceremony it's a tradition for them to talk over what went wrong and how it might be avoided the next time. It was interesting to hear them talk through the miscommunication so that everyone could understand what had happened and learn from it.
The third celebration was Alandra's sixth birthday. We celebrated by having one of her favorite meals, spaghetti, and chocolate cake. She got some amazing princess dresses to dress up in and some other great presents. We ended the evening with a great game of Twister. The next day we had a small party at the end of the school day and all the students gave her cards and birthday compliments. Birthdays are such fun.
So far 2008 is off to a great beginning. I look forward to seeing what else I get to celebrate this year.
posted by Chrissy at 6:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home