Elena and Leonidas's wedding

Yesterday, we went to the wedding of Elena and Leonidas, an Indian couple who met and live in a village near the base of the huge, beautiful snow-capped mountain of Cayambe. In fact, yesterday was a “three-mountain day,” meaning that as we traveled north from Quito, we had gorgeous clear views of not only Cayambe, but also snow-capped Cotopaxi and Antisana. One of the first things Jens will have you learn about Ecuador is that its mountains are the highest in the world, if measured from the center of the earth (because of the equatorial bulge). Next, you must learn the names of these spectacular Andean peaks, which are spread around the country. Lastly, you must know that Ecuador’s national anthem won first prize in the world – when was that, back in about 1980?



Back to Elena and Leonidas. How is it we were invited to this wedding? Elena is the daughter of Segundo (I forgot to ask if he was the second son or how else he came by that name), a man who has known Helen and Gene since their missionary days a half century ago. Segundo has always encouraged strong bonds between the two families and it’s because of him that Jens and I are the godparents of Elena’s nephew Edison.

Finding the wedding was no easy matter and took us over one hour. We understood that the wedding party, friends, and relatives were gathering very early at the bride’s home village many miles away and then coming to the groom’s village for a 12 noon ceremony. We had the name of the small town and we knew the ceremony would be not in a Catholic church but an evangelical church. When we arrived at the small town, we asked people about every 100 meters for directions and eventually arrived at the town’s evangelical church. (Helen and Gene explained that the indigenous population is not very strong on giving driving instructions. One reason is because they walk and do not necessarily know which paths are drivable.)

There at the church we found not a wedding but some meeting. One of the people knew about Leonidas’s wedding and told us we needed to go up the mountain to the village of Carrera. We wended our way on hand-laid cobblestone roads up, down, around, and over, asking for directions enough times that Caleb’s Spanish vocabulary in this realm is now very strong. It turned out that the small village of Carrera has three evangelical churches and that was one reason we were wandering all over the place.

Our confidence that we would eventually arrive (by now it was well past the noon hour) was bolstered when we met a man who had just gotten off his cell phone and reported the wedding party was on its way by hired bus and would be there “in a short while.” He gave us instructions, but still we wandered. We did make it to the church before the crowds arrived and sat for a while in the car, out of the fierce wind, taking in the splendid vistas of the 11,000-foot-altitude plateau – so vast and striking that photos do not do them justice.



When everyone arrived, Caleb got to have that experience many other Brauns have had of being visibly very different and stared at and welcomed in special ways. He, who to me is still my little boy, towered over the Indians, which was so striking I had to take a picture.



The actual wedding service was pleasant and interesting, although Helen’s and my hackles went up when the pastor, quoting the Bible, said that a wife must submit to her husband’s authority. He didn’t dwell on that topic long and he did say about five times that a man must not beat his wife and must respect her and must be in partnership with her. Gene (“el pastor misionario”) and other pastors were called upon to come up front and convey blessings upon the couple, and as requested, Gene laid his hands on the groom and gave a wonderful prayer for the couple.

After about an hour when I thought the service was over (the bride and groom never kissed, as this culture eschews public affection), the pastor said that next we would have the presentation of the baby, which is like a welcoming ceremony (baptisms come later in life). Oh, did I forget to mention that this couple has a toddler? I was told that they were likely married a while ago in a civil ceremony and were saving up their money for the wedding service and reception. After the presentation of the child, we all went to the groom’s home for the reception. They said it was very close, only 20-30 minutes on foot, and we drove there in about 15 minutes over a very bumpy dirt road.



A big crowd gathered there and we were given seats of honor, meaning we had chairs at a table inside out of the fierce wind. The first course was soup with corn, beef, cheese, and carrots. The second course was a loaded plate with corn, potatoes, chicken, and guinea pig topped with onions and tomatoes. Caleb learned a lot about eating customs under such circumstances: How does one eat the big piece of meat in the soup? (use the hands) How does one eat the plateful of food with one’s hands? (get rescued by someone requesting spoons for us) Where does one wipe one’s hands? (get rescued by mom with the pocketful of tissues) What does one do with the leftovers? (give them to someone else to finish or take them home by putting them in a plastic bag, several of which all the women seemed to have tucked away – this is not rude!) We didn't see much of the bride and groom and their families, as they were very, very busy serving the 100-150 guests. Still we got a photo of the newly married couple before we left (that's Segundo in the background).

We left early, before the cake was served, as we wanted to get back to Quito by dark. The vistas were again spectacular as the sun headed toward the horizon, highlighting the snowy peaks and grassy plateaus against the dark crevices and ravines that erosion has created over the millennia.

-Spee