This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to my 5 wedding on this trip. I just never can get away from the wedding scene! ;) This was not your typical wedding. This took place in the villages of Thailand about an hour up the mountain, away from Chaing Mai. Saturday was gloomy and rainy all day which kept the temperature down significantly--- my guess, the high 70's. There was no white dress, wedding rings exchanged, and the father did not walk his daughter down the aisle as one would typically think when the word 'wedding' comes to mind. The young couple that got married are both 17... which is quite normal to get married so young in the villages. They were both from the Karen tribe (pronouced kuh-rin) which is only one of 7 of the hilltribes here in Thailand. As you will see in the pictures, the young girls/ unmarried women will wear traditional Karen dresses which are white. The white symolizes purity/ single/ virginity. And once you are married, you change colors, typically to black and red. I find that hilarious from white to black.. like once you're married, you're tainted or something! So as you will see, the bride will were her new "married woman" dress instead of a typical white dress on her wedding day. She will wear the dress for special occasions and some Sundays at church as well. The men also wear special red shirts. Their colors usually don't change as they get older.
And the adventure begins:
The view on the way up the mountain.
Rice fields on the side of the mountain.
This picture does NOT capture how muddy, steep, and scary the roads became the higher up the mountain we got! The puddles became very deep and I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. I'm still amazed at how the truck never became stuck... wow. We made it safely with all 20 of us in the truck! :)
I thought this little old lady was adorable.
One of the girls from Doi Saket 3.
The mother of the bride and one of the kids from Doi Saket 3 orphanage.
At the brides house.. waiting to walk to the church.
It's tradition for the bridal party and their guests to walk from the brides house to the church (where ever that may be in the village and if they are christians). We didn't have a long walk at all.. some weddings will have to walk a couple kilometers or so.
I love how colorful this lady's outfit was!
Massive woks to cook all of the food for a hundred people.
Lots of plates, bowls, and cups ready for the meal after the wedding!
Gorgeous exotic flowers decorated outside of the church.
The groom gave the bride a gold necklace. I need to ask Tutu what this symbolizes... my guess is the same as rings in the states. They typically don't wear wedding rings here.
Praying for the couple.
The happy couple.
Praying over the bride and groom.
Our girls from the Doi Saket 1 orphanage singing a song for the bride and groom.
The father of the bride reminiscing, giving blessings to his daughter and new husband, and also thanking everyone for coming.
After the wedding, the people of the village dispersed to different houses to eat. The food consisted of sticky rice, and 5 different dishes-- stirfried veggies, a weird red fish soup (I wasn't brave enough to try it), spicy beef, pork soup, and some sort of very sour dish. All of the people in our group (two big truck loads of kids and adults) all ate at this really nice house in the village... not at all what I was expecting. For those of you who know of the church camp I've grown up at (Camp Bethany), this house reminded me of the lodge, even with the wrap around porch on the out side!
After the meal, Ashley and I were spending time with these two girls from the Doi Saket 3 orphanage.
Miss Ashley and me.
It started raining VERY hard!!
And I will leave you with this video. The 3 kids from Doi Saket 3 that came along to the wedding recited 1st Corinthians 13:4-8. Here's what is sounds like in Thai (the written Thai and English are underneath).
1 โครินธ์ 13
13:4 ความรักนั้นก็อดทนนานและกระทำคุณให้ ความรักไม่อิจฉา ความรักไม่อวดตัว ไม่หยิ่งผยอง
13:5 ไม่ทำสิ่งที่ไม่บังควร ไม่คิดเห็นแก่ตนเองฝ่ายเดียว ไม่ฉุนเฉียว ไม่ช่างจดจำความผิด
13:6 ไม่ชื่นชมยินดีในความชั่วช้า แต่ชื่นชมยินดีในความจริง
13:7 ไม่แคะไค้คุ้ยเขี่ยความผิดของเขา และเชื่อในส่วนดีของเขาอยู่เสมอ และมีความหวังอยู่เสมอ และเพียรทนเอาทุกอย่าง
13:8 ความรักไม่มีวันสูญสิ้น แม้คำพยากรณ์ก็จะเสื่อมสูญไป แม้การพูดภาษาต่างๆนั้นก็จะมีเวลาเลิกไป แม้ความรู้ก็จะเสื่อมสูญไป
13:5 ไม่ทำสิ่งที่ไม่บังควร ไม่คิดเห็นแก่ตนเองฝ่ายเดียว ไม่ฉุนเฉียว ไม่ช่างจดจำความผิด
13:6 ไม่ชื่นชมยินดีในความชั่วช้า แต่ชื่นชมยินดีในความจริง
13:7 ไม่แคะไค้คุ้ยเขี่ยความผิดของเขา และเชื่อในส่วนดีของเขาอยู่เสมอ และมีความหวังอยู่เสมอ และเพียรทนเอาทุกอย่าง
13:8 ความรักไม่มีวันสูญสิ้น แม้คำพยากรณ์ก็จะเสื่อมสูญไป แม้การพูดภาษาต่างๆนั้นก็จะมีเวลาเลิกไป แม้ความรู้ก็จะเสื่อมสูญไป
1st Corinthians 13:4-8 (the message version)
"Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies."
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