She was eight years old when she was chosen to be the bride of a man 26 years older than her. On Sunday, it was her wedding day.
All week I had been hearing rumors about an upcoming wedding. This was exciting news, especially to the girls, since weddings are a hot topic in our group. It was exciting until we met the groom a few days before the wedding. When we first approached the man and a few of his friends to share the gospel, he said he was sinless! This really surprised me because I've never heard anyone claim to be perfect. Who's never made a mistake before? Anyways, our group got into a very interesting conversation with this man, and we found out that it was him getting married on Sunday, to his second wife. After we had left the house I kept thinking to myself, "Why are we going to celebrate his wedding if he's a polygamist?" "Isn't that just celebrating sin?" But I pushed these thoughts aside because maybe it would be interesting to experience the raw culture in this Massai wedding. So when Sunday finally came and church ended, we made the trek to the sinless man's house. When we got there, we found out that they had already been married and that we were too late. We were welcomed anyways by smiling, wrinkled eyes of old Massai ladies and told to wait outside to meet the happy couple. Now everyone anticipates that moment when you see the bride for the first time, but this time it was different. It was like the older ladies were forcing her to come out and greet us. So while we were curiously waiting to meet the bride, the groom actually came out to say hello. He is a tall man, and he had on lots of jewelry and bright clothes. In his hand was a warthog brush to whip away flies and to fan himself and on his head, a crown of fluorescent red paint.
It wasn't long after we were discussing the purpose of the red paint that the bride stepped out of the tiny mud hut. Then, my heart sank. This girl looked about my age, and the expression on her face was pure misery. She also was adorned with the red paint, tons of jewelry and bright clothing. She looked beautiful, but everything told me that this was probably the worst day of her life. And as everyone crowded around to get a picture, I saw the sadness in her eyes. She had no hope at all, and was forever bound to a man she did not love.
A little while later, after the bride had retreated into the mud hut again, we learned that she was only sixteen years old. The man was fourty-two and had bought her for about 400 dollars CAD. I felt so terrible for this girl, and as we were led into another hut for some coke and mandazi, I couldn't help but ask God why he allows this? Why doesn't this girl get a say in her life and why doesn't she get to chase her dreams? It made me realize just how blessed we are to have a choice, and freedom. It's so often that we take for granted the rights that we have, and the love that surrounds us. I can only pray that this young girl can understand that being the bride of Christ is the best. I can only pray that she finds comfort and hope through God, and that her new found family prospers. Because, the love of Jesus is not binding, but boundless.
