28 Wedding Anniversary in Uganda

Patrick Brewer posted this about our 28th wedding anniversary in Uganda.  I had to copy to my blog and add pictures, so I could have it forever!  Thank you Patrick.

#Day4( fun day, full of joy and very funny- celebrating two things in one )

After our day in jinja, we had to get back to kireka for the most awaited day. Friday was a day to kick start the journey of cake. Friday was Reece’s birthday and we got to share aunt Patience Kirabo’s cake. Her cake was the beginning of the journey of cake. As my dad charles brewer would put ‘we have had a lot of cake on this trip than in our entire life.

Do you remember the wedding at Cana in the Bible where Jesus performed his first miracle.

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee . Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone , Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘they have no wine’
4woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied “my hour has not yet come “
7 jesus said to the servants , fill the jars with water. 8 now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet’
10
(John 2:1-11)

This time round it was a Ugandan wedding at CSI , one of the members of the staff of CSI was celebrating , there was no changing water into wine, it was all about cake. In Uganda ,if one attends a party and doesn’t eat cake, that person doesn’t count it as attending a party and he would go with thoughts of “this party wasn’t serious, we didn’t have cake” I can’t tell the thoughts of others beyond Uganda about the cake issue . Ours was beyond, it was in excess. The English men say ‘To much of anything is always bad” . The cake was too much.

This day was so special and it was a long day, There was a CrossFit from Lashae Bowen that was too serious. Then it was time to pick that serious dress, shirt, shoes that you had prepared for the day. It’s in Ugandans to always dress to the nines when it comes to functions like that . I saw my American team attending a Ugandan wedding . It was a new adventure to them. The ladies in the team had to take all the time they had to prepare and look gorgeous for the day.

The first session was to attend the church ceremony where the pastor was to share about the biblical view of marriage and everything in that line.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . Wives , submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the lord . For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church , his body , of which he is the savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives , just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish , but holy and blameless .
‘For this reason , a man will live his father and mother and be united to his wife , and the two will become one flesh.”
(Ephesians 5:21-31).

That was the message the pastor based on while joining the two using a ring to become one flesh. It was all through a series from petty to serious ones. The marriage message made me doze but Aunt Kim klippert couldn’t allow me to sleep. I think I needed a nap as she said. Then after the church ceremony was getting done , as a culture , the pastor had to command the bridegroom.

“You May now hug the bride”

That’s what the culture says, the American team had a different idea about this , in America, as one member of the team explained , it’s said

“You May now kiss the bride”

Then Andule Simon was against this , he replied in disappointment
“In public? “
‘In Uganda, they don’t kiss in public , better yet, in church’
Maybe he had his own idealogy about it. Everyone is entitled to his or her own ideas about something.

Then, from the church , we had to get to the reception. Before we could set off, one member of the organizing teams comes in and says
‘The bride wants to take pictures with the team, we are heading gardens to take photos ‘

‘Since it’s her day, we will follow her lead’, one of the team members said as we found our way to enter the cars and take their direction. I liked everyone’s thought about each other, the lady were ready for the photos. I wasn’t sure why I would follow the group for photos with the married couple, but I had to follow were the lead takes us.

The ladies used one van as the men also used the other van led by past Tucker Nsubuga. We drove in the crazy Uganda traffic jam until we reached the spot were the photos were to be taken , Everyone in our van was very hungry . So my dad decided
‘We should get back the guest house, have lunch and we shall meet the rest of the group at the reception, we have tried our best after all ‘ this idea was the best to me, I don’t know about the rest.
We drove back home, had lunch and rested to make sure we are ready for the reception activities.

Time was up, we had to set off and get to the reception. Should I call it luck, because as far as I can remember , we attended two weddings. This was serious. We first went to a party we don’t know about, since the party we were meant to attend was just across. We entered and everyone welcomed us. we even took a group photo not knowing that we are misplaced , locally known as “fluckers” . We tried to look around and see if the rest of the team that was there all in vain till when we were directed to where the actual party was.

In a few steps walk, we reached the reception , and we were directed at a table. It was a table reserved specifically and a note was placed on it “VIP” I really don’t buy the idea of such privileges , it’s cool but am not a fun. It’s okay with me sitting anyone, and see someone else have something better. So some kids and I chose a table across and that’s what we made ourselves comfortable at.

I tried looking around because my eyes couldn’t see two members of the team. It was necessary to take care of a member of the team before you do to yourself . I learnt this from this trip . Each one was an eye to the other and in that case, we were all safe. Dad Charles Brewer couldn’t sit in a car unless we were all in. That was a lesson to learn. Someone’s life is as important to you as your own. Later on I got to know that the missing members were not feeling well and had chosen to stay in the van . It was a worry moment in a lovely wedding. You had to make a prayer for the two . We ate, took sodas and it was all good.

Later in the night , it was time to cut cake. And the master of ceremony announced a surprise. I asked myself , what surprise could this be at someone’s wedding? Ohh, it was good surprise. My mom and day Jenay Brewer and Charle Brewer respectively were marking 28 years and they were celebrating their 28th anniversary in Uganda at a wedding . So instead of the couples cutting the cake, they decided to call the Brewers to come and cut the cake. It was a smart move I can tell, there was dances , American dancing and African dances combined , there were songs of praise and jubilation . I saw the American team dancing to the tunes of a song from Eastern Uganda commonly known as “Kadodi”

I loved everything about this day, the first days were about doing charity, serving others before ourselves,but this day, was full of fun and jubilation. I personally Carried the cake for my mom and Dad for their 28th Anniversary celebrations.

Congratulations mom and Dad upon this day your an example the the rest of the world and congratulations the married couple. We enjoyed eating your cake.

Thank you for reading . Be blessed