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| Tom & David waving & reading |
Azali is a relatively new friend. He lives mostly on the smallest island and
got to know our colleagues there. He
became a real brother to them, and so when he came to stay on Clove Island for
a few months, he wanted to find a brother here who he could study with. I was honored that he chose me, and for the
last few months have been wonderfully blessed to study our Father’s book
together.
Azali doesn’t speak much French so he tends to send me texts
in the local language. Because the local
language is not usually written it is always a challenge to read his
texts. At first I thought it was just a
text to say hello—something islanders often do.
But then I realized that this was not a normal text. As I worked harder to understand it, I asked
Megan for help, and we slowly pieced it together. This is a rough translation:
Peace be upon you
Hello to the holy
group there.
In a little while I
will not be in the world, because the family of my fiancée has called off the
wedding. There is no other good woman
like her in the islands. My comfort is resurrection. Please tell my parents. Azali”
As we slowly realized what he was saying the gravity of the
situation became clear. This might be a
suicide note. I called him and Megan
immediately got on the computer to get people praying. I could barely hear Azali on the other
line. It was clear that he was deep in
depression. I told him that we were
letting people know and that many people were praying for him. I told him not to do anything bad and asked
if I could pray with him. He accepted
and I prayed. After the phone call we
prayed some more. Later that evening
other friends and colleagues got in touch with him and I sent him some
encouraging text messages with quotes from my Father’s book.
The next morning we checked email. What an encouragement to see so many emails
from our friends back home. Most of you
wrote quick notes saying the one all important thing, “praying.” Later that morning I talked to Azali and he
seemed to be doing better. He was still
very unhappy about his situation, but not despondent. We sent the update and continued to hear
positive, encouraging responses from so many of you.
The following day, I called Azali and had a strange
conversation. He seemed a little better
but now he was trying to explain the situation to me over the phone and I
wasn’t following him very well. It was a
complicated situation and for those of you who know about speaking another
language, understanding something on the phone is MUCH harder than
understanding something in person. I simply didn’t know what to say or if he
wanted me to do anything. I prayed for
him and said goodbye.
The day after that Azali called me and told me he wanted me
to go visit his parents. I agreed and
this morning I went to see them. Though
it’s probably more complicated than what I understand, this is the situation as
far as I can tell:
Azali’s fiancée is from a poor family. Azali is from a poor family too. Recently a rich man came to his fiancée’s
family with a proposition of marriage.
He would marry the girl. He would
pay a dowry. He would buy her the gold
jewelry that is required of a husband for a “respectable” marriage. He would even pay for a large wedding
ceremony, which would raise the respectability of this family within the
community. He made this offer and then left
on a trip with the intention of taking the girl as his wife when he returns. The family has accepted, and the girl (I have
never met her and do not know if she is accepting willingly or under the
pressure of her family) has accepted as well.
But they have given Azali a chance.
If he could match what this rich man has to offer by the time the man
returns, then he could take the girl as his bride. Azali cannot.
His heart is broken.
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| Peter w/ a neighbor |
How do I feel about all this?…My culture tells me if she
will choose money over character than she is not worthy of my friend
Azali. But is she choosing money over
character? Maybe she is choosing her
family’s desires over her own desires.
In which case she is possibly quite noble. But even if she is sacrificing for her
family, the unjustness of it to her and to Azali is heartbreaking. On the other hand, I don’t think she walks in
the Light, and so is it good to see a brother yoked to someone in
darkness? Could it be that there is
someone better for him? Someone who
could be a true partner? A wife of truly
noble character? I don’t know. Who am I to say? What can I do? ...praying…
PRAYERS ANSWERED
We’ve had a lot of cooling rain lately! We’ve been happy to
have one of our colleagues visiting us on her way back to the smallest island.
It has been encouraging to talk to her and learn about the work and challenges
there. Peter turns 4 years old tomorrow (Sunday), we’re very thankful for our
little boy.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for Azali and for his walk. We got the
results from Megan’s MRI. She has a large herniated disk that is exerting
considerable pressure on the nerve. The opinions we have heard so far recommend
surgery. Pray for us as we continue to research and look into our options and decide
how to proceed.
