February 24, 2008
Willis and Jaakurya
are joined in
Holy Matrimony!
In December 2007, we asked you to pray that the Lord would perform a miracle in the Wusuraambyan culture and intervene so that Willis and Jaakurya could be married to each other because of their love to each other and to the Lord. As you remember, Jaakurya was promised… before she was born… as an exchange to one of her older uncles, Waaru, who is about 42 years old and who already has two wives. Purchased brides and polygamy are the norm here. We thank you for your prayers and want you to know that God answered them!
Now, Willis has incurred a bride price debt. No amount has been agreed upon at this time.
Debra
Normally, he would exchange his sister for Jaakurya but he refused to do this. (He feared that his sister, Debra (14), would be given to an unbeliever or an older man who already had a wife.)
So Willis will pay about $200 for Jaakurya. This will be a large amount for him to pay but he will use the proceeds from his coffee garden.
Both Jaakurya and Willis will work together planting and harvesting coffee until his debt is paid in full. Raising this money will take over a year.(The average annual income from harvesting and processing coffee for one person is less than $100.)
It was a simple wedding that brought tears to our eyes. There was no monetary expense incurred for the wedding ceremony but it was a precious day for the couple.
Jaakurya dressed in her best clothes…a simple blouse and skirt. She did not have a beautiful white wedding dress but her radiance was apparent because of her inner peace in marrying another believer…not a man who would ultimately marry several women and beat her if she did not agree to the multiple wives. She knew that the Lord had given her Willis who would cherish her and protect her. Even though Jaakurya’s inner radiance shown through, she did not smile. Smiling would portray "pleasure or pride" with the attitude "I got my own way."
We were disappointed that Willis did not “dress” for the occasion but we were more impressed with his humble spirit than his garments as the Lord is concerned about our inner hearts.
Unlike the weddings in America, the bride and groom faced the congregation instead of the minister.
Andrew spoke a few words about love and marriage from I Corinthians 13. In their own words, Jaakurya and Willis promised fidelity to each other.
Then, Terry led them in their wedding vows. Then, Darryl talked about the fact that Abraham did not want Isaac to have an unbelieving wife. Following that, Darryl prayed beseeching God’s blessing on their marriage.
No rings were exchanged. Instead, they included their own cultural equivalent. Notice in the picture that they brought and held a small red “victory leaf” tree during the ceremony. After the ceremony, they planted this tree near their bamboo hut to remind them of their vows to each other and to symbolize their “growing” love for each other. Jaakurya said, "when we argue, we will look at this tree and remember our wedding day when we promised to love each other".
Jaakurya and Willis would cherish your prayers. Please pray that their marriage will be be a testimony of God’s love before the young people in the church.
Willis is our main Bible teacher. He teaches the Creation to Christ lessons to the unbelievers four days a week. Also, he teaches to the believers from the book of Acts on Sundays. He has burden to disciple young men in their homes.
Jaakurya is our main literacy teacher. Now she has about 50 in her class. (The average age of a literacy student is 20. Some are much older.) She teaches Children Church on Sundays . . .Creation to Christ lessons. (She has about 35 in her class.) Also, four days a week, she leads the ladies in the Review Question/Answer sessions after each lesson.
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