There was a wedding in Cana and Jesus was there......

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee, Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  Then the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ”They have no more wine.”  “Dear woman, why do you involve me?”  Jesus replied.  “My time has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servants, ”Do whatever he tells you.”

Nearby stood 6 stone water jars, the kind used by Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”;  so they filled them to the brim. John 2:1-8

These are what the stone water jars look like here. They are made of clay by the people.

Let’s do the math…   6 jarsX 25gallons= 150 gallons  X 16 cups in a gallon =2,400 glasses of wine.

                                        SO HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AT THIS WEDDING?

                     If you think that each person gets 3 glasses of wine you still have 800 guests…

                                                          Why do I write this?

                   I was at a wedding with 2000 yes 2000+ guests on Saturday.  Why so many?

They came to celebrate with this couple.

The husband is a Burser at our school, very outgoing, very friendly, and very involved in his community.  He is also from a large clan and tribe in the village. His wife, another large village and they are both from the W Nile. When a couple has an introduction (engagement, and agreement  to live together until you want to go to the church) or wedding, a list gets passed around to your everyone friends or relatives and they solicit funds from everyone that may know you.  Most people are poor but will give some little money. 500 shillings is 20cents and it all goes toward the wedding.  So if you contribute, you come.  That is how they pay for the wedding….

                      This is the bishop he had given the vows and then he held up the hands to say what
                                           "GOD HAS JOINED LET NO MAN BREAK"

                                                Aniku Sunday Henry's parents
Lydia's parents are dead so when they asked for her family to rise she had 5 different men stand up through out the church.  Her parents have died and the uncles then become her parents.
When a family cannot afford to help they often do not come to the wedding in shame. Loans too are taken for the extravaganza so, married today and can’t eat tomorrow… Sunday told me that they were spending 9 million shilling ($3,600 for the wedding) .  This was an Anglican wedding so no alcohol or smoking allowed but they did have to feed everyone.

                     Ugandans are big into certificates for everything and this was the marriage certificate.
                          Do you know where yours is?  I'm not sure where ours is but I have the ring yet.

They had 21 attendants and they were all up on the alter which is tiny. can you see the 4 flower girls and ring bears.... Wedding lasted 2 hours so the bearers became bears

This is the local village ladies holding the banner of where Sunday is from.  Terego area is know as rat eaters.  So those are rats under the name.  Bush rats get very large here like the size of pug dog and they are plentyful in the large hilly area where this village is and they are completly organic and you don't need a permit to hunt them.  They use bow and arrows. 

Some of the important guests arriving

Some of the fashion seen under 1 tent  of the  8 set up to keep the sun off the 2000+ guests

Another tent where people have gotten up to get in the food line

  Being white has it’s privileges.  There was meat served at the beginning of the serving,  but by the end you got rice, enyasa and some beef oily gravy and a soda..One of the 6 food lines.            Below are some of the women I work with in the hospital.  The lady in white is 1 of the "Christian Mothers Union" members.  They come to welcome the bride into the church org (if she pays) and they do church stuff.  They all wear the white Gomeze which is traditional dress for the Ugandan women but my friends tell me they are hot and heavy.  You can make then in any color but different organizations have matching ones.

The principal and an important someone from the health ministry in the town up the road 

Staff I work with at the school and the one in gold is my neighbor in the duplex we live in below is the woman who showed me around the hospital and is suppose to do what I do. She still gets paid but i see her on the wards of the hospital bout 1 or 2 a month..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugandans love speeches and this is what happens to many people when they go on and on and on..Below is the Church pastor Phanel and wife from the wedding service. I fell asleep too but woke up for the food

The bride and groom and all the 21 attendants go and change for the cutting and passing out of the cake.  The center cake gets cut and the attendants pass out a small piece to all the guests then the bigger cakes on the side are wrapped and given to the clan the work places, the friends and relatives of the couple.  Those are sparklers that get lit when they cut the cake.

These are the different clans coming to get the cake to take home to feed the flock

 

  Most people danced (everyone dances here and they all seem to have really good rhythm. They  laughed, ate, got a piece of the cake and celebrated the day.  So after 2 years I have a better understanding of this tradition.  I was honored to be invited.  Just a few more pics I liked but can 't figure out how to insert where I really wanted them.

Some more high fashion 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 One of the gifts

The cows even danced their feet and tails off.  Fortunately the Ugandan's don't dance until the cows come home.