Monday, October 31, 2016

Church wedding

Eli with the groom, Peter (directly to Eli's right) 
A friend of ours called us on Thursday to invite us to an Uduk church wedding for her nephew. This was a significant event because it was the first church wedding in this tribe since they fled to Mabaan 5 years ago! The bride and groom were both 18 years old and had grown up in the church.

We arrived early (kawadja/foreigner) time so we went to visit and pray with each of them before the ceremony.

Praying with Rebekah, the bride (in the middle)

The church was packed!

The bride coming down the aisle
 I kept thinking to myself, "Where are we??!!" The wedding was full of western flavor -
- the bride wore a white dress and carried a bouquet of flowers down the aisle to a tune played on recorders (flutes)
- the father of the bride prayed over the couple before the vows
- they said vows to each other
- they had a receiving line after the service so everyone could greet and congratulate the new Mr. and Mrs.

The pastor who gave a short sermon had several couples get up and share with the church how they kept their love alive over the years - again another thing I've never seen in South Sudan before! The couple above was the former commissioner of the area and his wife who are well loved and respected in the community. Then they asked Eli and I to share because they declared that Kawadja marriages don't have fights or trouble. Well, we put that lie to rest and shared a few of our "tips" in our marriage. As you can see with my blushing face, Eli had everyone roaring with laughter.


Saying their vows


Look at that crowd!

Little Evan and Big Evan

The boys drinking tea after a big feast

3 comments:

Leeann said...

These are awesome pictures!

Leeann said...

These are awesome pictures!

Pazzta Tali said...

They catered my wedding last month and they were amazing! Don't overlook these gorgeous DC wedding venues!! It's something you have to check out in person. My family and friends could not stop talking about how good the food was and how sweet the staff was!

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