Lary summed it up best when he said that this one worship service was worth the entire trip. We were especially blessed because most of the worship service was a wedding. It truly was an amazing experience to watch this young couple, both of whom had their previous spouses pass away, begin their new lives together. I am struck by the similarities and the differences between our cultures. The similarities were the most touching. The nervous groom was dressed in his best, it looked like the bride had spent days getting her hair done, both the bride and the groom seperately walked(actually danced) down the center isle of the church, and the excited families of the young couple were sitting at the front. Even the father of the bride was teary eyed. Other than that, wow was it different! I have never seen so much singing, dancing, and clapping. Koffi explained to us that the groom had to come up with a sizable dowry before he could marry
her. You know when in the US we traditionally ask "Who gives this bride away"? It was at a similar point that the father of the bride stood up and annouced that the groom had paid the dowry in full and that he supported the union. Enough about the wedding, but it really was way cool!
The trip through the airport here in Lome was as good as ever. For some reason there were less than 10 of us needing visas so we went right through. We were a bit delayed after we got our visas, but overall it was very smooth. For those who have been here before you know what a nightmare that can be.
Even on very little sleep, our team is getting along great. We have spent some really great time together processing what we have seen and experienced. And we have only been here a few hours!
This afternoon we are going to rest a bit and then meet tonight to make some plans for the week. Tomorrow we will have several different meetings here in Lome with missionaries. We will update more as we can.
Also read Elisa's blog elisaorr.blogspot.com
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