Meeting Aggies' Family

Today I met Aggies' Mother & extended family - a culturally significant event here in Uganda. She had been planning this ever since (actually before) I arrived. I was accompanied by John & Rebekah and their girls, and Deo (another of the pastors here), which was also significant, as they carry weight as "character witnesses" for me. Many things are done in community here in Uganda, and as well as this being a "Meet the parents" event, this was also a chance for Aggies' extended family to approve (or disapprove?) of me as a potential husband for her. There were about 30 people there - most of Aggies' brothers and sisters (7 out of 8), their kids, and other relatives (e.g. uncles), in-laws, and friends. It was a big event! Most of the ladies were dressed up - some in traditional African dresses. Everyone had gone to a lot of effort cooking food & preparing. So as you can guess, I was a bit nervous! I pre-decided to just be myself & rest in who I am as God's child - even if they didn't approve of me. But it went really well! All of her relatives came before us (me, John, Rebekah & Deo - the photo here), we introduced ourselves, and Agnes gave a short speech to formally say that her & I are in a relationship, and that we are going to walk in God's light in this relationship as trust Him to guide us. Then each of them came by me & introdued themselves. After this, all the food was brought in (*mouth watering*) and we all ate, music was played on a stereo, we talked, and danced (to my horror, but it went ok!). At the end, Aggies' Mum sat on a mat and I came to her with a gift, and she took my hand in hers, which was really special as well: many people here believe in a superstition that if you shake the hand of your in-law (or potential in-law), when you get old, your hands will start shaking. Aggie didn't know if her Mum would shake my hand or not - but she did - so that was really significant to me!

All her relatives were really friendly, as you can see in the photo here, and afterwards Aggie said her family were very happy, and that it went very well. Webale Mukama (Thankyou Lord)! I'm still processing all of this - I'm still experiencing culture shock here to a fair degree - but I'm thankful that her family are so accepting and friendly.

Click here for more photos.