confessions of kinza....

So, I had the opportunity to hang out with one of our students this weekend. My Brasilian sister, Gabi invited us to a production of "Grease" put on by her school (a school to learn English). They did an awesome job and it was cool to see their take on it.

Afterward, we went to lunch and it started to POUR the rain. (I actually froze......and it was probably about 50 degrees....I was dreaming of a warm sweater that day). Anyhow, I began to ask Kinza about her life, where she lived, and somehow got on the topic of marriage. I happen to be fascinated with marriages/weddings in other cultures. So, it opened up a door for her to tell me about "Love Marriages" and "Arranged Marriages". Wow. Somehow I didn't know that that even existed in the Eastern point of view. But it does. She explained that the weddings typically take place for about a week. Both sides of the family sponsor different celebrations or steps to the final ceremony. The families also have to give money to the other family and the bride's parents have to buy all of her appliances, electronics, etc just in case something happened to their marriage or to the husband. It is legal for them to have up to four wives at a time. They can be married as many times as they want-but only four at a time. To which Kinza said that her father only had one.....I think because one was enough! The man can divorce any time that he wants by saying a single word three times (can't remember the word), but the woman can never divorce. She can also never remarry once she is divorced.

An arranged marriage can be between families like with cousins or between family friends. Engagement is usually short--2 to 3 months. You cannot date before (but they do now as new trends are trickling in) and I asked her, "What if you are dating(secretly) and in love but your parents arrange a marriage for you?" and she said, "Well, your parents are going to be really mad!" But, she didn't know anyone who was in that situation. I asked her if she had an arranged marriage and she said, "Nope." Many people ask her about this and her father says to tell them that marriage is not two people getting married, but two families. Many times the families live together for the rest of their lives. The new bride goes to the husband's house (if he is the caregiver of his parents) and they will live them from then on. (I was just imagining some and their in-laws.)....

Kinza is an amazing person. She is Muslim and yet, she participates with us, goes on our retreats, and hears the gospel over and over again. Next year she will graduate at 16 and go to college-possibly in Canada......I'm praying the BIS impacts her and that she will be saved.

On the other note-we had Science Fair...which I was dreading a little bit. I had several great projects but I just wasn't feeling it. We ended up putting eggs in vinegar and watching the acid eat the shells. It was cool, but I was DONE by the end! I really liked hanging out with the parents, watching my students run between my room and the preschool room, and taking pictures of the enjoyment. Basically, we hosted a social event :) Which is fine! Some parents we would never see if we didn't have some required events like this one. So-Success!

Steph and I rented a car this weekend to run around---and I forgot truly what that was like...to be able to go and get something to eat or to just get up and go somewhere even in the pouring rain! Or to go to Pontao and take pictures. To be able to pick up people, build relationships through meeting and giving them rides-it was really great! A sweet weekend!