I’d like to introduce you to another couple we are getting to know here. Zaldo has been mentioned in the past, as he’s my main language helper. I first met him when Erik and I made our initial survey to this area, I did not know at that time how important Zaldo would be in becoming a part of the local Ga’dang community. Not only has he been very patient with me as I struggle to learn his language, but he has been a huge blessing in acting as a ‘go between’ when I’ve needed to negotiate or otherwise communicate with the other people in the village.
When we returned to the tribe from our Christmas break, Zaldo informed me he had a girl friend and was planning to get married. We were very excited for him, especially as he is 33 years old now and it is uncommon for the guys in Ga’dang culture to wait this long to find a wife. Needless to say, we wanted to meet the girl but she was extremely shy of us. It did happen eventually and everything is looking like they will get married shortly after we return to the tribe this time. Zaldo even made sure to ask us when we planned to return so that we could be sure to be back in time to participate in the wedding.
It has been a great cultural learning opportunity already for us as there are events in Ga’dang culture that must occur leading up to the actual wedding day. One such event which has already happened was a procession of the family and village elders from our village going up to Tintin’s family’s village to announce the engagement. It was a time for traditional music and dancing, killing a pig, all the elders giving advice to the couple to be wed, and of course the two families discussing the date of the wedding. As we found out, this ‘date’ decision alone can take days!
Pray for Zaldo and Tintin as they will soon begin their lives together. We look forward to seeing the day when the Lord uses this couple to bring the Gospel not only to our village but also to the one where Tintin’s family lives as well.