29 Cows and A Rooster

This weekend was an eventful one. Johanna, Isaiah & I had the privilege of attending a Rwandan wedding ceremony with our friends Serge & Jennifer. It differs in many ways to what we are used to. It is the groom's side of the family that organizes everything and has to pay a dowry to the bride's family (which includes many cows). The reception ceremony is quite beautiful with wonderful traditional dancers, lots of drums and singing, cake eating and Fanta drinking. At one point of the ceremony there is the giving of gifts which again the biggest gifts are cows (the equivalent of $1000USD each). This bride and groom ended up receiving 29 cows! The MC also threw in a rooster to help the groom get up in the mornings. All I have to say is, I hope my son doesn't marry a Rwandese wife because where the heck am I am going to get all these cows?!?

This ceremony lasted almost 4 hours and through it all, Isaiah was happy to sit and watch the dancers and listen to the drums. We brought him back to the orphanage very late and by that time, he had passed out.

Here are some pictures from the weekend...