I have finally found some time to work on pictures and videos and wanted to share with you a report from the December trip. Before I begin sharing about the wedding let me explain something to you.
Nicaraguans live together for life times because they can't afford a wedding. They have been told that their wedding won't last if they don't go through the entire process. If they only get the marriage licenses and not have the actual wedding their marriage will be cursed. For this reason and the simple fact no one can afford a full wedding most Nicaraguans never get married.
We wanted that to change. We want the "curses" to be stopped and for them to be taught that marriage is a part of God's plan for us and to not be married and to live together is sin and is not the ways of God.
In order to get married each couple paid $30 for the license (this was their choice actually, I had agreed to pay for it but they wanted to do their part, this was a huge sacrifice for most) and they had to have a witness to agree that they had a good relationship with each other, either a pastor or someone who was a Christian that would vouch for them.
The rest we provided for them. Even a framed photograph for each couple.
The most amazing part of the wedding for me was when an elderly couple arrived at the seminar. I immediately thought they are at the wrong place. They must think we are having church today, boy was I wrong. They had come to get married. They were on a mission. The bride told me they had been together for 50 years and that 3 years ago she had accepted the Lord and that they were old and would die soon and did not want to go and see Jesus not married because he would not be happy with them. Needless to say it made us the Americans cry and feel so thankful we were able to provide such an opportunity for them. In the pictures you will see this couple. The bride has white hair and is wearing very thick glasses. Look for them.
We left with plans to help 30 couples tie the knot legally but only had 25. The couples attended a seminar on Saturday morning with team members Mary and George and Marje and Chuck. Mary and George have written a marriage curriculum and was blessed to share it internationally. It was a huge success and couples received the Word of God, the curriculum in Spanish, a book on marriage by Derek Prince and recipes on how to keep their marriage going. After the seminar they were fed a great meal and then we all prepared for the big moment.
As the couples arrived they were met with hand made wedding veils for each bride, a beautiful bouquet for the brides and boutonnieres for the grooms. Each couple had their wedding pictures taken by Terry and wedding rings were distributed for each couple. All had come together like clock work. It was amazing..
Our little girl Karen led the wedding as the flower girl and then each couple was introduced and together they walked down the isle. It was truly a sight to see.
We had 16 beautiful wedding cakes that were served after the attendees received a traditional Nicaraguan meal and before we knew it our team along with a local pastor had legally married 25 couples.
It was a blessing to me because out of those 25 two were very special to me. My driver Antonio who has been a huge blessing to me and I love him like my own child was one of them and the other was the man who works for me and was responsible for making all the wedding plans take place. You will see Antonio in the pictures and his wife who are both dressed in black and Evert and his wife were the last couple to walk down the isle and they had the privilege of cutting the cake.
Other than leading people to the Lord this event tops the charts for me. It not only changed the lives of the 25 couples, it changes the families of those 25. The knowledge they now have is power and that power can be shared with many others in this community. Several couples accepted the Lord during the marriage seminar which make their marriage even more special.
Thanks to everyone who sewed into this event. It was truly amazing. Words can't describe how these families were blessed only the pictures can show you.
Check them out by clicking here.
More to come about the other events that happen on this trip.
Thanks again and God Bless,
Angie
