11th August

It was a pleasant surprise when we found out that we would be spending Saturday at a traditional African wedding. We were told we had to leave at 9:00 as it started at 10:00 but of course things ran on Kenyan time and we didn't actually leave until 10:00. The wedding itself didn't even get underway until 12:00! Peace was one of the 8 flower-girls and Emmanuel was one of the 5 page boys. They led the bridal party to a very African tune and danced their way down the aisle. As the bride entered, with her parents either side, the song changed to "You Raise Me Up" which we both found ourselves singing along to.
One thing that we noticed was how cameras were encouraged and at points you couldn't see the couple as they were surrounded by photographers. We had our own personal photographer, Emmanuel, as he ran off with Hannah's camera. Unfortunately none of the photos were usable as half of them were zoomed in beyond recognition and the other half were upside down.

The wedding provided Grace with the opportunity to release her inner black woman, by dancing with the gospel choir and congregation, which Betty found hilarious.
Because we spent the whole day there, it also meant we had to sample the 'pits' for the first time. Living with the pastor we're privileged to have a fully working cistern so have avoided using the 'pits' during the school day. Honestly the 'public pits' are worse than the toilets at Leeds Fest!

After a boiling hot morning we were shocked to witness a torrential thunderstorm in the afternoon during the reception. We didn't realise hailstones could be that badass! Surprisingly the celebrations continued and the presentation of wedding gifts (such as a bed and a fridge) went on undeterred.
At the reception there were labelled tents for everyone to sit under, e.g. "Ben's Parents & Family". We were disappointed to find there wasn't a "Mzungu" tent.