Bride Held Hostage

   

This past weekend Doug traveled to Bondo near the shores of Lake Victoria and on the border with Uganda.  Torrential downpours at night and mud everywhere made the event an interesting one.

Paul Odhiambo, one of Doug's VSM students married Liz, a local girl.

Bride price is still very important in African culture as it not only compensates the bride’s family for the loss of a helping hand, but because it perpetuates relationship.

The bride price is often paid in installments, not only because the groom and his family may not be able to pay it in its entirety, but also because continued payments over the years guarantee contact with the bride and her husband.

Often families need the assurance that their daughter is being treated well. 

However, this day some chose to abuse this custom. The wedding was delayed for five hours, in part due to the demand for more money by those claiming to represent the bride’s family. Tensions ran high when it became clear that hooligans, perhaps brought in by distant relatives, were keeping the bride from entering the church until more money was paid. Doug spent a good part of the afternoon sequestering the bride and bridesmaids in his car far from greedy hands.   
Negotiations ensued until an uneasy peace settled on both parties and the bridal party was permitted to begin the long, swaying dance into the church hall. 

The crowd erupted in dancing and singing at the top of their voices as weddings are seen as a critical reinforcement in the circle of life.  Marriages and the expected children that will come from this union guarantee the preservation of life.

The long delay at this wedding and the subsequent joy at seeing the bride and groom arrive, reminds us of John the Baptist’s prophetic words regarding Jesus ~

“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice.” John 3.29

Doug and the other VSM Africa instructors are busy preparing for the next term which will begin on the 2nd of December. . .

For the kingdom,
Doug and Sue