One adjustment (or problem) that missionaries have to face is that of different cultures. It is bad enough adjusting to one new culture, but in a country like Kenya with 42 tribal groups, the problem is compounded because of the cultural differences between tribes. As an example, the Kenyan constitution contains several different laws governing marriages. There is one for civil marriages, another for Christian marriages, and still others for Islamic and Hindu marriages. In addition, the constitution recognizes “Customary” or “Traditional” marriages.
A marriage is considered to be “traditional” if both families have met and agreed upon the “bride price” or dowry to be paid. When this has been satisfactorily arranged, some tribes have a ceremony that takes place recognizing the marriage, while in others the couple simply begin living together as husband and wife. Unfortunately, there are many couples in Kenya today who have begun living together and who call themselves “traditionally married”, even though the requirement of dowry has never been met.
As a missionary, I strive to educate traditionally married couples, who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, to see the value and importance of solemnizing their marriage by having a Christian wedding, which is allowed by the government. In our main work in Nairobi, more than half of the married couples are “traditionally married”. In the past seven seeks, I have had the privilege of seeing seven couples convert their traditional marriages to Christian marriages. One couple had been traditionally married for more than twenty years with three other couples having been together for more than ten years each. One of the grooms was 63 years old!
Bill Coley, Kenya