A Tanzanian Wedding

I had the pleasure of attending a wedding of one of our women from Shining a Light. Tumaini has been with us since the beginning. She has a five year old daughter from a previous man who ran out on her after he discovered she was pregnant. This is the story of many of our women so when I heard that she had this new chance at happiness I didn't want to miss the blessed event. We all met at our workshop, the other ladies and I, to go together. Being an American I was pressuring the other girls to hurry up as they changed their clothes, applied makeup and did each others hair. As the time got closer and closer I began to panic about being late and missing the whole thing all together. We arrived at the church late to find no one there. We were the first ones!! You see the others knew what I have not yet learned after being here for 4 years, NOTHING in Tanzania EVER starts on time. We settled in the pews and waited for the ceremony to begin having our choice at any seat since the church was empty. After about an hour the bride and groom arrived, met with the pastor and entered the church, then and only then did the church begin to fill up. How did they know? How did the guests know that the service would begin an hour late? I guess they are all on the same time table. The service was all in Swahili so I understood very few words. The pastor brought the couple to the front as they rededicated their lives to Christ, then gave a wonderful message that most found charming and funny because there were many laughs throughout. Then the wedding ceremony began, the exchanging of rings, the signing of a document and then the introduction of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Phillip (No Kiss!) Now this next event really took me off guard, a couple, not apart of the wedding stood up and had their baby baptized! I have no idea how that came about or who they were but I didn't question it and either did anyone else. Ahhhhhhhh Karibu Tanzania! After the service we congratulated the couple and rushed off to their house for food and festivities. As we approached the house there were decorations in the brides color of blue and white tablecloth covered tables that littered the yard. There were about 6 tables and a steady flow of people out numbering the amount of tables. I watched in amazement as the crowed kept growing and wondered how everyone would fit and have a seat. But as only Tanzanians can
do, they managed. I looked around 30 minutes later and to my great surprise everyone was seated and waiting for the happy couple to enter. We ate delicious Tanzania dishes, we watched as the families got up and danced around the couple as they offered gifts for their new lives and then we laughed and danced to the sounds of a local D.J. I missed a lot of what was said but the meaning was not lost. Tumaini and Robert shared a special moment in their lives with family and friends which translates into any language.