Dressed in white

The elders casually mentioned to us, “There is going to be a wedding of the Boat Family on Saturday. Do you want to come?” Duh!….I course we did.

So, Saturday morning, after meeting the preacher at the appointed hour in front of the fruit stand and driving him to the beginning of where the dirt path to the boat family’s campsite began, we walked together to where they were camped.

I realized we had arrived when I could see through the bushes the mom dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress having her hair combed and face powdered with baby powder. The woman combing her hair was a member of the New Amsterdam Branch who just met the family when she accompanied the elders to one of their teaching appointments. She happened to be there when the matter of what the bride would wear was discussed and she offered to bring her wedding dress for her to wear. The dress just fit. There were clothes hanging on the line to dry. The logs they had harvested from the jungle and hoped to sell were still scattered over the campsite. Two boats were parked at the river’s edge …not one as I had seen on our first visit. Perhaps some of the family members had arrived by boat. If you look between the logs that are in front of the boat, you can see what it looks like inside the boat. I think that is where the family sleeps. The 4 elders stood waiting for the big moment with the groom/father who was all smiles wearing a tie, white shirt and dress pants, all borrowed from the young Elders.

The 3 daughters, 2 grandchildren and neice of the bride-to-be were all scrubbed clean and wearing beautiful dresses. The little son's hair had been clipped short with a pair of scissors. They were all looking fine!

This day was going to be special… the wedding of the mother and father of a very humble Amerindian/Lamanite family.

It is not uncommon here in Guyana for couples to live together, raise families, grow old together and never get married. When the missionaries find these families, teach them the gospel and the couples decide to be baptized, something must happen first…their wedding.

The elders know a preacher from another church who is authorized to do marriages. He likes the elders very much because they call him frequently to help the families set up their weddings. He travels all over Guyana to perform these marriages and he gets paid well…well for Guyana, that is.

The temperature was rose steadily as the preacher filled out the marriage papers. The littlest son held an umbrella to shield his mom from the hot noonday sun. After the marriage was complete, they wanted a photo with their legal document. After the photo, the family members excitedly yelled, “Kiss the bride!”

The bride never smiled, not even once. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy…rather it was because most of her teeth are missing and she was very aware that I was snapping photos of her like crazy. At the end, she asked me for copies. I’ll get them this week when they return from their trip back into the jungle for more wood.

There were lots of family members in attendance…their kids, grandkids, the bride’s mom and her sister and zillions of cousins. Of course, we were there, too, looking like 2 giants next to these tiny people. The children flocked around me wanting their photo taken with me. I think they liked my camera better than me.

When we turned to leave, they all begged to hold one my hands as we walked back towards our car.

The 3 next photos are the houses we passed by. Notice the guard dog in front of the gate in the photo just below. There was a lady sitting on a chair just inside her doorway. She watched me as we passed by. I wish we could see her!These little kids waved at us as we walked by.

In the car, on the way to the ferry, the preacher, Mr. Kishun, commented that he had never done a wedding quite like that one before! Usually there is no wedding dress and they aren't out camping.

The next time I see the Bride dressed in white will be an even more exciting event. It will be the day that the family will be baptized and many of them will be wearing white. It might even happen this weekend after they’ve attended Conference…if they’ve made it back from the jungle!

During the month of March 2008, our mission baptized 215 people. Their goal was 204…the number Alma baptized in the waters of Mormon in the Book of Mormon. The area around us is where most of the baptisms are occurring. It is exciting for us to be here in Guyana when so many are joining the church.