"Leaving Fornication Behind"

April 13, 2007

An unseasonable storm had Allen Rainey trapped in remote Puerto Lempira on the north coast of Honduras. He had already postponed his departure three days because of delays in the arrival of the solar panels for the orphanage. Now it was clear he would not make his plane connection to return home.

When a small plane touched down, he quizzed airline personnel, “Where is that plane going?” “To Tegucigalpa,” they said. Allen thought of his friends there and asked if there was room for him. Yes indeed, and an hour later he landed in Teguz.

I was with my ministry partner, Dr. Rafael Maradiaga, buying beds for my apartment. I had said to him two days earlier on my return to Honduras, “We’ve got to buy beds so that we will be ready for guests.” (Part of our vision is to have a guesthouse) We were about to go to the cashier and pay for them when my cell phone rang. It was Allen! “Where are you??” I asked. “At the airport in Teguz!” “Don’t move,” I said, “we’ll be there in half an hour.”

The first guest had already arrived, even before the beds! He was accommodated with a bedroom at Rafael’s house, the family doubling up to make room for him.

I had spoken to Allen and Ann the previous year about our ministry of marrying couples with children who had come to Christ. (See article) He said, “Since I’m here, why don’t I go ahead and give you money for a wedding?” and handed me $40. Rafael immediately called two of our pastors and told each one to bring a couple by in the morning before Allen left for the States. (I figured if more than one couple showed up, our ministry would sponsor the other wedding.) Pastor Miguel Medina was there bright and early with brother Valerio Garcia, father of 6, who earnestly expressed his desire to “salir de la fornicación (leave fornication behind.)” He shook hands with Allen and each went on his way – Valerio to work, and Allen to the airport.

Today we had the pleasure of attending the wedding. Pastor Miguel had taken the couple to the various government offices to get all the necessary paperwork, including the birth certificates of all 6 children! Finally, the big day had arrived. We took a taxi to the bus stop at the central market at 6:30 am, where we met Pastor Miguel and the whole family. Brother Valerio was smiling broadly - a happy bridegroom if ever I saw one! We set off - even the chickens on the bus seemed happy.

In about an hour we arrived in the village of Tatumbla, where it is quicker and cheaper to get married. Kind of a Vegas of Honduras, I guess! The closer you get to the city, the more bureaucratic and costly the process of getting married.

We got to City Hall at 9:00. The ceremony was scheduled for 10:00. Other couples began to arrive, and the proceedings finally got under way about 10:30. Valerio and Mirna were the third couple to get married. (Pastor Miguel told us that when he got married in Tegucigalpa, they arrived at 8:00 am and were the 26th couple in line!)

The town clerk read off the dates of birth, marital status, and identification numbers of the bride and groom, and asked if they wanted to marry each other. Hearing a ´yes´ from both, the mayor pronounced them married, and while the “Wedding March” from “Lohengrin” played on a cassette recorder, the bride, the groom and both witnesses signed a long document in several places. Rafael nudged me with a smile as Pastor Miguel and his wife signed the document. They are now able to write their names for the first time because they are learning to read and write in our literacy program. (They are currently in first grade.)

When the signing was done, the mayor led the spectators in a round of applause for the newlyweds and we stepped out onto the porch for the wedding photos. We celebrated with a wedding lunch of fried chicken and Pepsi.

As we waited in the town market for the return bus, brother Valerio looked at his son and his 5 daughters and said proudly, “Now you are all legitimate!”