I attended one of the most special weddings I'll probably ever witness last weekend. One of my elders, David, who I think is in his eighties, married a Vietnamese lady, Mae, whom he has been seeing for a year or so. Prior to the wedding, they spent a number of weeks together in pre-marital counseling in joint sessions with our pastor and hers.
The ceremony was held in the Vietnamese church where she is a member. The sermon, an exhortation about love, was given by her pastor, mostly in English, but at points, he seemed to translate for her, including the vows. Mae's English still needs much work, let alone my elder's Vietnamese, but the pastor emphasized the triumphant universal language of Christ's love. Our pastor pronounced their marriage and permission to "kiss the bride".
David has outlived both of his two previous wives. Mae also used to be married. Apparently it is not customary for Vietnamese in their second marriage to have a marriage ceremony. Her pastor had to "coach" the congregation to come to the wedding. It must not have been too controversial. Our congregation was probably outnumbered 7:1.
It was interesting watching Mae's face during the wedding. She doesn't seem to express much emotion. Perhaps she was a little nervous? The next morning at church, however, she seemed to be all smiles. :)
Well, I have a number of other friends getting married in the next few weeks. My friend Jonathan Brack, a friend from church camp, is marrying his beloved next Saturday in Dallas. This weekend I'm planning to attend my friend Phil Bassett's wedding in Jackson, MS. He's a brother I've also grown to know from church camp over the years. Also this Saturday, my former roommate Wayne Lin will marry some sweetheart. Apparently Wayne cited me as someone who helped him to become more assertive and marriage oriented in his potential relationships. Now if it would only work for me! :-)
Posted by Eric Pyle at May 25, 2006 9:23 PM
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Passing Thoughts
Eric,
You are being too hard on yourself :-)
What did you think of the "reinterpretation" on the Psych final?
Posted by: luke | May 26, 2006 6:02 PM
Wayne's real scheme involved roses, a ring, and copious amounts of chardonnay. Your Miller Lite won't cut it, Eric.
Posted by: andy | May 29, 2006 10:57 PM
Miller Lite? That's not even a beer. The only beer I ever had in your fridge was a Heineken. And either you or Wayne drank it!
Posted by: Eric | May 30, 2006 11:19 PM