Over the past week, we have really kicked wedding preparations into full gear. One of the ladies is in charge of the reception; Rachel is working on flowers (bouquets and decorations) and the cake; Sam is working on the wall decorations for the reception; and I'm working on the music. Last Tuesday, Rachel, Sam and I made a trip to Bafoussam (a city about an hour away) to scrounge through their outdoor market for fake flowers. It was a little discouraging at first because we weren't finding anything. When we stopped to ask someone where we could find some flowers, the directions she gave us were to go to the fish and then turn right. Great, I thought, just find the one particular fish station in this crazy labyrinth that this woman is talking about.
Well, God was very good and directed our steps right to the correct fish stand--and to the flowers. We found huge bouquets of 36 roses in the very colors that we needed. We decided to buy three of those large bouquets and two smaller ones. When we went to purchase them, the lady asked for an exorbitant price. Sam and I said, "No way!" Sam has a gift of knowing the proper price for items at the market. She was able to haggle the lady way down to a good price. At first, the lady refused to give us the flowers at that price, but when we started to walk away, she called us back. She seemed pretty upset over the sale, so I must admit that I felt a little guilty. I'm sure that was all a part of the show, though. That day we were able to find five different boutiques with flowers, and we left quite satisfied with our purchases. Our sense of accomplishment was affirmed when we showed Pastor Richard the flowers that we had gotten for his wedding. He exclaimed, "Wow! You got those for the African price!" That's right--we may be white, but we can barter (or at least Sam can!).
However, when we got back home and Rachel started putting together all the different decorations that required flowers, we realized that we would need more. A lot more. And so, yesterday, the three of us (and Mark, Rachel's husband) headed back to Bafoussam to do more shopping. Somehow we managed to find our way back to the lady that had the really good flowers. I was nervous to go back to her, thinking she would not welcome us back. At the boutique, a different lady came to welcome us. Then the first lady we had dealt with told her, "No, I know them. They are my customers." Wow. A pretty warm welcome. This time around, we decided to buy three large bouqets and three smaller ones. Sam and I agreed on our top price while the lady was figuring out the total from her end. I was ready to start bartering and to stick to my maximum price. And then she showed me the total. It was the African price--just under the top price that Sam and I had decided to pay! So we got all of our flowers without having to barter. What a sense of satisfaction! Apparently, the lady wasn't mad at us the first time!
The wedding is rapidly approaching--less than three weeks now. I was able to check off several items I had to deal with on the music side of the wedding. However, there are still many details to be accomplished. Please pray for all the details and for our sanity!!!
