Asian Wedding March

Is it possible for ONE man to strap a couch on his head and carry it for 2 hours up a steep mountain trail???

The 12 guys (and ladies) who are working on the olive farm are from the Lisu minority group, and they invited us to attend a little sister's wedding in their mountain village. Besides being able to join in with their ethnic dancing all lead by 2 flute players, we had the amazing opportunity to share at one of the 'services'! We were also able to witness the wedding procession!

And a procession it was! The men from the groom's village hiked down the mountain for 2 hours to the bride's village. After eating a big meal, singing some praise songs, and saying a prayer, they strapped the wedding gifts on their heads or backs and started up the mountain again. Each man individually boar an enormous load, like a dresser, a couch, a big TV, huge bags of rice, even an old satellite dish, and many, many various smoked pig parts---legs, heads, rack of ribs, etc. (Yeah, it's weird that their can be a satellite in a place where there isn't even a road!) These men were like a line of ants and are as tough as nails... Soon the bride, with a red veil that covered her whole upper body and blocked her vision, followed. Her male family members carried her up the mountain. When she got to the peak of the mountain, she switched to a horse. She was leaving her family and village to be welcomed with singing and music as she became a part of another family. She was beginning another life.

Her move reminded me of our marriage to Jesus. He asks us to leave behind another life to come and join Him. We are to separate ourselves and join another family. The path will be hard. But, if we get too weary, He will carry us along this steep path. And, He makes sure that we have all the needed things and gifts to live this new life. It wouldn't make sense for Him to ask us to do a certain task without providing us with the tools we will need to complete it.

- Anonymous, Asia

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