It is a special weekend for Christendom when we mark the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as Easter by most people.
The month of April was actually set aside to worship the Anglo Saxon goddess, Eastre, the goddess of birth and fertility. Eastre was symbolized by the rabbit. Eggs and rabbits symbolize birth and fertility in many cultures but I am not sure how the eggs and rabbits came together to be associated with Easter since rabbits do not lay eggs.
Emperor Constantine gave the edict of the Easter rule in 325 AD whereby Easter had to be celebrated on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th.
These days many Christians celebrate Resurrection Sunday rather than the early pagan worship of the goddess Eastre.
This is a special time for me when I remember the sacrifice that God and his son Jesus gave for all mankind that we might have the gift of eternal life.
This year, the holiday weekend has an added significance for me.
A young Kenyan man I call my little brother has become a married man. His name is Enoch and his betrothed's name is Angela. They are both members of the Kalenjin tribe and come from Bomet, Kenya.
(The red symbol "B" shows the location of Bomet in relation to the city of Nairobi at "A". If you travel north and slightly west of Bomet you will get to Kericho. Travel even farther north and slightly west of the Kerio Valley National Park and you will see the location of Eldoret, site of the huge prayer meeting over the weekend).
The wedding was held in Bomet, Kenya. My friend Jonah had a difficult time getting there on time as it seems he had to compete for public transportation with those heading to Prophet David Owuor's prayer meeting in Eldoret, Kenya. Matatus (mini-vans which transport the public for a small fee) were in short supply on Good Friday, the day of travel. Over 500 buses and many matatus were in demand to transport the countless people from all over Kenya and neighbouring countries who flocked to the town of Eldoret to participate in the prayer meeting.
You can see how muddy the village roads are. It has been raining a lot and it is difficult to drive through this mud in the village. |
Here is the happy couple. I wish them a long and blessed union. |
I want to thank those of you who read and commented on my Elvis post. I am still praying for financial supporters who can help make his final term at university a reality. Time is short. If you can help, please let me know. You can read more at the GoFundMe post at the right of this blog.
Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!