Kwanjula la la!

               Let me give you a quick update on school and then I’ll continue with my exciting experience from Saturday. School has been going well. God had to change my perspective and attitude again and again – which isn’t the first time and it definitely won’t be the last. By God’s grace changes are happening. They are very slow, but they are happening. Praise God! He is working at ECLAC despite all of the obstacles (one of them being me and my human-ness) and circumstances, and I am learning and growing constantly. Every day I am reminded of what I need to change about my thoughts, attitude, and actions – especially learning to give God the complete glory and acknowledgement. I want to constantly be pointing people to Him…always. Yet I am not very good at that at all. Don’t we all struggle with that?
                My students are also teaching me a lot. I’ve had to ask for constant patience for myself and for these children. God has been providing the love I need to give to them – not only so my students receive the love of Christ, but so the other teachers will see how they need to love these children as well. Each of these kids need so much love, attention, and time to be worked with. I really need to rely fully upon God to provide for me teaching ideas and ways to connect with them. Slowly by slowly.  To God be the glory.
               

Now on to a tale of Ugandan culture!

This post will mostly be about my experience at the introduction ceremony, which happens before the actual wedding for Ugandan couples. The Baganda tribe calls it a Kwanjula. I don’t know the groom very well, but he is from my church, and I was invited to come along so I could experience more of Ugandan culture. So I became part of the entourage that escorted the groom and his gifts/dowry to be formally introduced to the bride’s parents.
                Once I found out what I needed to wear and a little about what to expect, I was beyond excited to attend this ceremony! I borrowed a gomesi (Baganda tribe traditional dress) from one of the teachers at ECLAC, and the ladies from church helped me with a necklace and the kikoy (the fabric to go under the gomesi to make the “bums” bigger). A gomesi is usually made out of fancy fabric – the shoulders are made tall and pointy, and it is tied with a wide belt around the waist. The Baganda men wear a long white tunic – much like something an Arab man would wear – and they add a suit jacket over the kanzu.  I was so mesmerized by all of the different gomesi around me worn by my dazzling friends. They were also excited to see their friend, a muzungu, wearing traditional clothes.

The group from church met at a school in Luweero (an hour outside of Kampala) in cars full of the gifts/dowry the groom has collected. The ladies and men got dressed and then we lead the caravan to the ceremony location. The groom has to pay for the ceremony and the gifts he should present to the father of the bride – this costs millions of Ugandan shillings and it takes many years to save. The ceremony lasted all day.
                Every tribe in Uganda does an introduction, but each tribe does it differently. This one was for the Baganda tribe. Here is a summary of what I understood to be happening during this 6-8 hour event (I didn’t want to look at my watch):

The groom and everyone with him have to ask permission to enter the area the ceremony is taking place. The groom was not identified or pointed out until the bride’s side greeted those with the groom. The ladies kneel as they greet in the Baganda culture and everyone danced when they were coming out to the floor. There was one spokesperson for each side: they are constantly talking back and forth in pure Luganda, and they facilitate the whole ceremony. There was also an entertainer who had many roles and guided the dancing. Once all of the greetings were over, representatives of the groom presented the “wine” (juice) to the bride’s side so it could be tasted. Then some people from each side go into the house (the groom was among them), and then eventually, the groom and his aunt come out with dancing and excitement. The aunt (the mother of the groom isn’t allowed to be there) is responsible for attending to the cultural practices and “mentoring” the couple before the wedding, so she is a very important person. The bride eventually danced out and then the groom’s side started presenting the gifts to the bride’s family. The bride had four different outfits throughout the day. After many more hours and events, the groom gave the bride an engagement ring while he was knelt before her. She then cut a cake and served us each a piece. A big meal full of fancy Ugandan food was served after the gifts were presented, and then the families thanked everyone for coming.
There was so much music and dancing and hollering and clapping and celebration! This culture-fascinated girl (me) was beyond happy!

It is difficult for the Ugandans to explain why everything happens a certain way, and I know I can’t really explain it to you well, but at least I got some taste of the traditions. And being the “token white person”, the spokesman from our side (groom’s) made me take part in the ceremony despite my complete ignorance of what was taking place. He had to guide me every step of the way ("kneel!", "no, here!", "take this", "put that here", etc.), and I didn’t like all of the attention. However, it was still a great and fun experience, and now I have many stories to tell. My favorite thing I got to do was to help the rest of the groom’s side bring in all his gifts. All of us ladies carried the baskets on our heads while dancing up to place them before the bride’s family.

By the end, I was completely overstimulated and tired of sitting, but very thankful that I had an opportunity to be a learner. If you are more interested in this, you should research it. I am sure you could find explanations that make a little more sense.
            It amazes me how diverse this world is. God was beyond creative when He created the nations, peoples, and tribes! What a privilege to be able to experience a part of the Creator's workmanship!

            P.S. I probably won’t try and blog every week – give myself more time to think and experience without thinking about sharing everything right away…if that makes sense. Thank you for praying and caring enough to read my jumbled words!

Prayers:

-Praise for an opportunity to learn more about Ugandan culture. It leaves me with more questions to ask and more conversation starters to have in my pocket.

-Continue to pray for ECLAC, the teachers, and for God to be glorified as things change.

-For more relationships with ladies. It has been difficult for me to connect with these Ugandan women – in and out of university. Pray that I will seize more opportunities to engage in conversations, hospitality, and fellowship.

-On the topic of hospitality, I haven’t been inviting anyone over because my housing situation hasn’t been “stable”. Well, now that my current house is going to be my permanent place (praise God!), pray that I will be able and willing to give my time up to have people over. It is difficult for me to constantly be around people, but God is asking me to go deeper in my relationships. Opening up my home is just one way I can do that. :-)

-Pray for interactions with the other foreigners on campus that I have met (from Norway and North Korea). Pray that I will “lean in” and use the opportunities to bring Jesus to them.

-For God to continue teaching me how to always be looking to Him and His voice. For Him to always be glorified in everything!

Highlights:

-Obviously the Kwanjula! Pretending to be a Muganda lady was fun.

-Met many of the important people at church. The assistant chaplain has a son with special needs, and she wants to spend more time with me. Praise God for an opportunity to encourage a parent!!

-When I walk into church, I know most of the people I run into. It takes me a half hour to accomplish something that should take 10 minutes because of all the conversations I have with people I have a relationship with. If that isn’t a blessing after starting a new life in a new country, I don’t know what is.

-Friday was the coldest it has been since I’ve arrived. It was nice to wear a jacket and get rained on. Many people are thanking God for the rain – even the earth.

-God continues to challenge me. It is difficult to be constantly convicted and having so many things to work on, but it also means that the Lord is shaping me into become someone who pleases Him.

-Met some professors from North Korea who lecture here at Kyambogo. I feel more comfortable talking with Ugandans, but God is giving me an opportunity to bring Him to a wider demographic.

Luganda:

                Mpola mpola (slowly slowly). This phrase is constantly reminding me to not focus on the tasks, but to focus on God first and foremost. The rest will come slowly by slowly.

Photos:

                These were taken by on my smartphone…so the quality is low. I'm glad I got some shots! 

The groom presenting the bride with a ring and an speech in Luganda. 

Allen and Rachel in their beautiful gomesi! 

Groom and his aunt dancing.

The bride's first appearance in her first gomesi.

Bride and attendant. 

Photos before the ceremony. My brother is showing off his kanzu and I am the white girl pretending to be a Muganda lady. :P

Waiting to be invited in. 

Ladies from the bride's side coming to greet us.

Before leaving for Luweero pre-gomesi. I wasn't excited for the day, can't you tell?

Some of the many gifts the groom prepared to present to the bride's family.