The Gift of Family
by Barb Stillman, missionary to Tanzania

The wedding was a happy occasion with the bride decked out in a lovely wedding dress that had been sent some years back in a container. Raymond, the groom, was looking his best. The small grass roofed church was packed out and many looked on through the windows. (These particular "windows" were holes in the wall, which provide light and ventilation. Of course, on the day of the wedding the ventilation was quite restricted because those who couldn't find room in the church were looking through the windows.)

The bride and groom entered the church together and were seated in the pulpit area at the front of the church. The best man and maid of honor sat beside them and frequently attended to the need of wiping perspiration from their faces. After choir numbers and wise words on marriage, the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife. At the reception, there were more choir numbers and words of counsel. The bride and groom fed each other cake and lemon-aid, and then a meal of beans and rice was served. The guests ate from platters that were shared among ten or so people.

Some years ago I heard Raymond give his testimony. He grew up in a home that followed Islam. While in his early twenties, Raymond started having medical problems. He went from one place to another for treatment — to no avail. Then God spoke to Raymond and told him that to be healed he must turn to Christ. So he accepted Christ and through prayer he was healed. How wonderful! But Raymond's family rejected him.

It wasn't until we were heading home from the wedding that I learned that the only person from Raymond's family who attended the wedding was his married sister who is also a Christian. The rest of his family had expected that there wouldn't be many guests at the wedding and that Raymond would regret having accepted Christ. But the Christian community turned out. In fact, the choir that sang walked from Ujiji to Kaseke, a trek of about four hours. God did, indeed, provide a family!