Crashing a Wedding

On Friday, Lucy asked me if I wanted to attend the wedding of one of her friends from church. Originally I said absolutely, but then I thought a little more and felt like I would just be crashing the wedding. Lucy insisted though, so I got up early and got ready…wearing the most respectable clothes I brought hahah. While waiting for Lucy, I went outside and played catch with a girl named Pannena. It is amazing what these children use as make-shift balls. A pair of rolled up socks…a bundle of trashbags…anything they can roll into a ball. It’s just so simple and they don’t complain at all.

I met Lucy and walked into the church for the wedding. I was the only white person there and everyone was staring. My favorite was when someone asked me how I knew the bride and groom—I just smiled and nodded my head hahha. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. The bride and groom were so happy and everyone was dancing around praising the Lord for bringing them together. During the six hour wedding ceremony, I met lots of people and had the chance to talk to Lucy about so many things. It was crazy to feel so welcome in a place where I probably should have felt like an outsider.

When I came back from the wedding, I showed pictures to the girls and told them all about it. It turns out that they knew the groom very well! Small world here in Kenya :) I showed them pictures of my family and friends from home, and they each started taking out albums of their own families and friends. Each of the kids at the orphanage has a sponsor, and it was awesome to hear them talk about their sponsors as if they were their own parents. It was a fun night of just hanging out, talking, and sharing life stories.

Three of the girls—Agnes, Mary, and Milka—walked me back to my room. I sat outside with them and just stared at the stars. I started asking them to teach me the Swahili word for moon, stars, sky, etc. That turned into them teaching me every Swahili song that they know (including the one about seeing the hand of God heheh). The girls then started asking more personal questions…about life and friends. I started to hold back a little bit, but then thought to myself that they deserve more than that. They have welcomed me and shared their lives with me, and maybe one day something I tell them will help them make sense of the world. We just sat there and talked about all kinds of things, and it was truly incredible. I am very glad that I decided to open up about strengths and weaknesses, highs and lows because the girls’ answers and questions were thoughtful and mature.

When it got very late, I went to say goodnight. Agnes started giggling and I asked why. She said that she remembers the first night that I slept here. I didn’t remember this, but Agnes was the girl who found me screaming about the grasshoppers!! We laughed and bonded over my fear of African bugs and it was wonderful. I also called my family today and they got to talk to some of the girls! The girls were so excited :)