Wedding

Last weekend there was a wedding at our church! There is a Swiss lady who ended up marrying a Nigerien pastor, and they had their wedding at Sonitan. So Friday night there was a big musical concert (music and dancing is SUCH a big thing here among the Hausa) and a whole heap of choirs from other churches and groups came to perform in honor of the wedding. Aaron and I met up with our friends Soulaye, Ilya, and Louise at the concert, then went to the “afterparty” (No joke). Tons of dancing there; everyone is so joyful and it is such a close-knit community. I think we often miss out on close community like that in the States…and we are often too busy or structured to really CELEBRATE.

The wedding was actually fun. It was only about two and a half hours long (I was expecting it to be WAY longer) and of course there was a lot of singing. And a very unexpected thing was that the couple actually kissed! Quite a shocker if you ask me, because that is very atypical of an African wedding. In Ethiopia (where I grew up), the groom and bride are always very stern and solemn throughout the ceremony to signify their disappointment in leaving their parents and family. I think this was the exception because it was a cross-cultural wedding.

Anyways, here are some pictures:

Singing and Dancing

The happy couple...

Aaron in the crowd

With some friends...