Three wedding services on the same day for the same couple? Unbelievable but true. First of all, in Suriname, there is no government recognition of a church ceremony per se. The normal procedure is for the couple to appear before a government official, who will officially pronounce the couple man and wife. The couple appears at a government office to apply for a license. Then a public announcement is made and people are given the chance to object. If they are no objections, then a date is set for the government service. We expect to see not only the couple sign, but two witnesses who have had to have government papers to serve as a witness. There is usually a special room for the marriages, and the government official will usually review certain of the laws governing marriage and give a little secular sermonette. Our church members usually schedule the church service about 1-2 hours after the government service and do both at the same day. Our church services usually last 2-3 hours in length, with singing, special music, a sermon, etc. Then the couple goes for a a reception.

So that is two services - but what about a third? In traditional Bush Negro society, the family of the man asks the family of the woman to give them the woman. Because it is a matriarchial society, the question goes to the maternal side of the bride’s family. The father of the bride decided to have that ceremony (“aksi soema”) at the same time, and arranged for a government official to come to his home so that this would be possible. It was very interesting. We were invited to attend because the bride had been in our church during her younger years. The service was scheduled at 3:30 p.m.

Typical of “Suriname time”, the groom’s family arrived just before 5 pm. The groom was very handsome in white - a white embroidered top in African style, white pants and white shoes. The bride had a pretty white top, an embroidered wrap-around pangi skirt with a design on it, and a colorful head tie. The rest of the family was dressed up as well. The Dutch step-father actually came in a tuxedo.

There were some introductions, and then the ceremony went in typical Bush Negro fashion. Usually the person does not directly converse with the other party, but has a second individual to whom he speaks - so that the speaking is done indirectly. The father of the bride introduced the topic, but then after setting the stage, he withdrew, because he was the father of the bride, and the discussion would be from the woman’s side. The family gave some warnings and advice to the couple. The husband, for example, was told not to beat his wife. Then eventually the family of the bride got up, and took her over to the family of the groom. After a few pictures, we proceeded with the less-colorful government procedure, and concluded with soft drinks and rice and chicken. The family then rode off to take more pictures before going to the reception where the third church ceremony was being held.

I had a challenging burial service today. A strong believer from the interior was buried in the city, and I was asked to preach. Unfortunately, through communication problems, the service was not held in our church, but at the burial ground. The burial place has a covered pavilion which will hold 300 persons, and has two places to place caskets in front of the group. They work on a very tight schedule, and the body arrived at 3:15 instead of 3 pm. The singing service was shorter than normal, but still the song leader lost track of time. I started preaching at 3:35 and needed to finish by 3:45 so that the family could “say goodbye” to the deceased which is traditional and very important. So only 10 minutes to preach the gospel. I preached from the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. I was just starting to show how to accept Christ, and the casket arrived for the next burial, along with a number of individuals. The man accompanying the casket walks in front of the pulpit, and asks everyone to rise in respect for the deceased. Everyone stands up. The next group filters in. Then everyone sits down again, and I was able to finish. Sometimes it can be a challenge. I did pray that some would understand and accept the Lord. However, there were certainly a lot of distractions!

Prayer requests:

1. Our own spiritual growth
2. Health and strength for the work here
3. Church independence
4. Continued development of national leadership
5. Increased soulwinning, especially by nationals
6. Shipment of 10,000 Sranantongo Bibles and 1000 New Testament Commentaries. The Bibles are printed and ready for shipment. They are finishing putting covers on the N.T. commentaries and hope to be finished Monday. We will be relieved to see both arrive.