This past weekend a few of us went to a local church with one of the day volunteers. These are local people who we hire to assist with translating and general duties around the ship.  Most of them are quite talkative, are just as interested in us as we are in them, and are very easy to make friends with.  The church we attended was called Life Glory Mission and there were about 200 people attending this week.  The visiting preacher was Nigerian and we sat right next to the speakers, which were about 30 decibels louder than what I am used to.  He spoke in french, then an even louder speaker translated into english.... it was so loud, that we couldn't make out 90% of what he was saying during the 2 hour sermon.  After the sermon, there was a baby dedication, which was very similar to one that we have monthly at my church.  Except.... the members of the church walked down the aisle to present the baby with gifts.

Some brought giant kassava roots, some wheat wrapped in little bundles, a couple of 25 pound bags of rice, and best yet... a live rooster.

After the baby dedication, there was a wedding.  The bride danced down the aisle, but other than that, it was very similar to a western service.  The bride and groom were also given a variety of gifts... many of the same as the baby and another rooster.  

                      A local woman made these cakes and was so proud we took photos of them

The video of the bride dancing down the aisle was too dark to put on here, but it was fun to see her and the girl carrying her train totally getting their grooves on all the way down the aisle!