The Wedding Over the Mountain

Recently we met a couple who were visiting the church we go to in Chiang Mai, and they invited us to their wedding in Omkoi. We had never been to a Thai wedding so we were excited about the opportunity to go. The Sunday before the wedding, I talked with the pastor about going and how to get there. He was planning on going the night before the wedding with his two pastor friends who were involved in the ceremony and spending the night. After hearing that it was a hard 6 hour drive and a night stay was involved, I decided that Kellee and the kids better stay home and invited the group to ride with me. We left at 6 on Friday night.

Stopping for a bite to eat.

Fish stomach soup anyone?

 After having driven to Nan last month, and Prao, and having taken buses and vans all over Thailand before, I didn't think this trip would be that bad. The roads in Thailand are pretty good for the most part. Little did I know how curvy and in disrepair the road to Omkoi was, and driving at night made it so much worse. There were long stretches of driving 20 km/hour because the road was just so torn up and winding back and forth. When we finally got close to the village, I drove straight through a river and up a steep slope that would have been impossible without 4 wheel drive.

This was on the way out the next day. Another truck came along with a rope and pulled them out.

Very thankful for a good truck. Praise the Lord for His provision!

We were blessed with a meal when we got to the village, after midnight.

This is where I slept. We turned the lights out at 2 and woke up at 6.

Most houses in Thailand have a picture of the king and queen, and a place for offerings to the spirits.

My shower consisted of splashing myself with this cold water.

After two and a half years, I finally had to use a squatty.

This thing above the doorway is supposed to ward off spirits.

Right behind the house we slept in.

Breakfast of champions.

Stocked up for the reception.

I brought my Aeropress coffee maker and our group had a little coffee break before the festivities.

 

Card gifts go in the heart box, the little blue things had the names of the bride and groom and were handed out.

 

 

 This Karen village is where the groom was from. He and one other family are the only Christians. They wanted to have a Christian wedding here to be a testimony to the entire village and to share Christ.

The groom in a traditional Karen shirt for the engagement ceremony.

 

Reception food.

After lunch we headed to another village down the road to pray for a sick man.

Scary bridge.

The view from the top of the mountain.

 

On the way home it rained pretty hard and there were some small mudslides, but the Lord watched over us and the rain let up. We stopped on the mountain top on the way home and admired the beauty of creation. My pastor friend told me a story of a woman who lived down in this valley who prayed every day for her family to know the Lord and one day light shone down into their little house and they all trusted God and revival broke out in the area. Let us pray as this woman did for this Karen village and all of Thailand for open hearts to the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ!