Thursday, April 7th was Kia's wedding. It was held in her home village of Chaang Khiang on Doi Sutep, a famous mountain in Chiang Mai. The last 5 or so kilomters of road leading to this village is a steep, winding one way road that has 2 way traffic on it. There are many signs along the way in both English and Thai to inform drivers that there is a steep S curve ahead and to honk one's horn to let anyone coming the other direction know you are there so they can pull over a little to let you pass. Parts of the road get washed out in the rain, so it's a little treacherous in the rain. I prayed for no rain, and I was confident that the Lord would answer my prayer. It was, therefore, much to my surprise to see that as we were ascending those last few kilometers, it started to rain. Not just normal rain mind you, but cats and dogs raining. I started to freak out. I had 8 girls in the truck with me and I was the only adult. I prayed and asked God why He didn't keep it from raining. His reply to me in that still, small voice, was "my grace is sufficient for you". I said ok, and started singing praise songs in my heart to God. I know the girls were praying also. At one point, it was raining so hard that I couldn't see 1 foot in front of us, even with the headlights on. I started to get freaked out again, but God reassured me that since He had caused it to rain, He would also get us safely to our destination. We were almost at the village when right in front of the road was a downed tree from the storm. We couldn't go over it, couldn't go around it, and it was too heavy to lift. I just stopped, not knowing what to do. Then Nee gets out of the car with this long knife that is kept in the truck for emergencies and starts cutting the tree branches away. Three of the other girls went to help, and then another truck with 3 men came up behind us and they helped clear the tree away. They then went on ahead of us and led the way. I was so grateful to the Lord when we finally arrived. What did God say to me? "Oh ye of little faith!" I just want to say that when it looks the bleakest and there doesn't appear to be a way out, God will make a way out where there is no way. Our God is a great God!!!
This wedding was the first Christian wedding in this village. When the marriage vows were said, there was a gaggle of laughter from many of the people there as vows aren't said at a Hmong wedding. But it was a huge testimony to God's love and saving grace. There were 3 flower girls all dressed in traditional Hmong clothes. A Kodak moment that slipped away from me! What was so interesting about the ceremony is that it was such a great blend of traditional Hmong culture (bowing and receiving blessing from both sets of parents, clothes, etc.) and western Christian traditions (exchanging vows, candle lighting ceremony, teaching from the Word, etc). After the ceremony, the pastor in charge of the service invited the happy couple to stay up front and anyone and everyone who wanted to take pictures with the couple could. After that, he had Kia and Song (her husband) in different poses and anyone could take photos. It was hysterical because the pastor had them pose like they were kissing, and Kia was so embarrassed she kept laughing! FYI: Hmong couples NEVER show affection in public.
