Your Son and Daughter

The big wedding celebration did not end in B@m@k0!! What a privilege and joy it was to present D@n@ya and his bride R3bek@ to his mom and his v!llage!!

D@n@ya's mom and many from the v!llage were not able to attend the wedding because of the distance between the v!llage and the c@pital city. As we sat with his mom and watched her look at pictures, my heart filled with joy as I thought about the privilege we had of bringing the greatest gift to her...Her Son and Her Daughter!! What a sweet, sweet moment to watch her take in every picture, to enjoy her baby boy and the greatest event of his life...an event she said, "I did not know if this day would ever happen."

You see, D@n@ya's dad died when he was just a very, very young boy. He does not remember his dad at all. His mom was chased away from his father's family and she was own her own with 4 small children. By the grace of G0d and a faith that was unwavering, this woman and her 4 children thrived and were blessed by G0d. She said she didn't know if her children would survive and certainly didn't know if they would grow up to be married and begin families of their own. All of her children have a strong faith and are powerfully serving the kingdom of G0d here in M@li.

Again I found myself watching intimately, the cultural joys of weddings, the joining of lives, and the welcoming of new people into a family and a v!llage. I watched as women came to greet us each one saying the same thing, " D@n@ya went to the big city and threw me away for this new woman." It was one of the funniest things I have ever watched as these women--all OLDER women, all described as D@n@ya's grandmothers--came to meet and joke with his new wife. The funniest moment was when we were walking through the v!llage greeting and we met up with one of these "grandmothers". She looked at R3bek@ in the eyes and said to her, "Do you know THIS man? Do you know THIS man? He has 14 wives and  you are the 15th one!" We all burst into laughter as this grandmother looked at us with the most serious face. I watched all of these interactions and saw the grace and peace of G0d displayed in R3bek@ as she enjoyed the joking and participated in every way with these women who were claiming her husband as theirs and not hers. It was such a joy to see her join in with the v!llage and become a part of it with her husband by her side.

I spent the evening and the early morning hours thinking about what it must be like to be in R3bek@'s shoes. We drove 8 hours to get to the v!llage, we greeted and all of these women came to joke with her, and then after it was dark, she was expected to cook supper for her new family and all of us. I could not imagine the intimidation of that task--entering another woman's kitchen not knowing where everything is or what is expected. Then to awaken the next morning and be expected to cook every meal for the family--your new family.

I was amazed by the grace, the joy, the peace and the fun that R3bek@ was having. She displayed a great love for her new family and became a part of them in a way that only G0d could have done through her. I was equally amazed by D@n@ya and the way he walked beside his new bride and encouraged her, helped her, and cheered her on. It was evident they were in this together!!

A Beautiful Celebration

On January 25th, we celebrated the wedding and the joining of 2 lives for the gl0ry of G0d!! One of our M@lian partners, D@n@ya, got married to his beautiful bride, R3bek@. It was a celebration filled with joy, excitement, and hope for all that G0d has planned to do through the lives of His 2 children, D@n@ya and R3bek@.












It was my first time to be intimately involved in the planning and preparation of a M@lian wedding and what fun it was!! We helped get the loads of tomatoes, onions, cabbage, egg plant, and rice needed to feed all the guest. We loaded up the cow in the moto taxi to be taken to be slaughtered and prepared for cooking. The moto taxi delivered a cooler for the drinks, the sodas, ice, chairs, tents, and everything needed for the big event.









Then the day of the event, the church was packed with people until it was overflowing. Tents were set up outside for those who could not fit inside. There was much singing, celebrating, and sharing of G0d's word with those attending. Then a sweet, sweet ceremony where D@n@ya and R3bek@ united their lives, making commitments to each other before a crowd of witnesses that were moved and touched.








You see, many in attendance had never experienced a Christian wedding. They had never seen the joy and love expressed in this celebration and they had never understood G0d's plan for One Husband and One Wife...the uniting of 2 to become ONE! As they bowed together before G0d, uniting their previous 2 lives into ONE life for the Glory and purposes of G0d, EVERYONE was touched!!

 To finish off the day, we transported family members back to their gathering places where the celebration continued!! This is one of my favorite parts of wedding celebrations here...load up and declare the fun and celebration to the whole city....

When I asked my friends who had seen a Chr!sti@n wedding for the first time what part they liked the most, the response was unanimous...

• When they made their alliance, giving each other rings, and committing to each other to love in all things...whether there is money or not, whether there is health or not, whether there is good or bad...
• When they knelt together before G0d to surrender their lives as 2 to become 1...one husband, one wife...D@n@ya is now R3bek@ and R3bek@ is now D@n@ya, if one hurts the other hurts, if one rejoices the other rejoices!