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| A Magical Day |
Two weeks ago Sallie, Katie, and I flew to Abu Dhabi to begin Russell and Talitha's wedding week. I wanted to get there before everyone else's flights started to arrive. This way we could help with the craziness of arrivals, and housing and any thing that needed to be done. Also, and more importantly, Lindsey, my niece was coming in the same night and Katie didn' t know it! Katie and Lindsey are sisters, and with Katie living in England right now, it was a big surprise! (She wrote in her newsletter..."I can now add crying in an airport in front of 50 Pakistani men to my list of unique cultural experiences.") Russell took Katie to the airport and he loved seeing the shock on her face. A great start to an amazing week.
Speaking of unique cultural experiences, there were many. And blessings, too. Russell and Talitha did a good job making sure the out of town guests had plenty to do but not so much that they were stressed about it all. Tuesday we went on a desert safari. Our visitors from Texas and South Africa got to ride camels, dune bash, climb sand dunes, get henna if they wanted it, star gaze and enjoy the belly dancer( which is not from this culture AT ALL but they had one anyway. ) Mike and Robert flew in on Tuesday and managed to link up with us in the desert. ( That in itself is quite a story which involved hitchiking and an unwilling taxi driver, but in the end they made it.) Ryan wasn't there for the desert as he had no tickets when he got to the airport in Austin. He arrived a day late but still in time for most of the fun. My friend Mary and I managed to retrieve his girlfriend, Annie, from the airport and she fit right in with the rest of the craziness. She has traveled a lot and took everything in stride, including spending the day with strangers halfway around the world! By the second day we were pretty sure we all had known her her whole life. :)
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| Cousins! |
Ryan arrived Tuesday evening. Wednesday the rest of the Texas crew made it. I think in total there were 16 Texans who flew over for the week. This included Ryan and Sallie, and Corey and Haley who live and teach in Moscow. Every time I hugged one of the them I felt like crying. Ok, I did cry. To come all this way, to jump right in, it was such fun for all of us. Wednesday a group went kayaking in the mangroves, then dinner at one of Russell's favorite local places at the port. Sallie and I had dinner with Talitha, her family and the bridesmaids at the British Club. (It was so nice to spend time and get to know her sisters and her bridesmaids. A beautiful evening on the water.) Thursday was the Grand Mosque Tour, where I finally got to see Corey and meet his sweet wife. Russell and Corey have been friends since 2nd grade and I hadn't seen him in seven years.( Yes. I cried.)
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| Visiting the Grand Mosque |
Mike and I hosted the Rehearsal Dinner Thursday evening at the Officers Club in Abu Dhabi. This is not a tradition in South Africa but Elmarie and Corbus both told us how much they enjoyed the evening. Katie had put together a slide show that played in the back with childhood pictures of Russell and Talitha as well as shots of the whole wedding week. All in all, it was a wonderful evening and provided time for our families to get to know each other.
And the wedding. There was laughter. Friends from Texas,Kansas,Russia, England, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. . Muslims and Christians. Old friends and new. Promises made. Flowers thrown.Music and dancing and food and toasts. And lots of love to go around. Mike and I could not stop smiling. I loved every single minute of it.
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| Ryan toasting his brother. |
The smiles on Russell and Talitha's faces said it all. Mike and I prayed for our kids' future spouses from the time they were young. We thank God for bringing Russell and Talitha together from worlds apart and for the sweet, wonderful celebration that began their new, united life!
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