Just got back from an extended trip to the US.  Had the honor of officiating Ryan and Barbara (formerly Hales) Ritenour's (REET-NA-WER; no relation to Lee) wonderful wedding.  From there, had a few more missions related meetings then had a memorable family vacation.  Thanks to Northwest WorldPerks' no expiry mileage program, I was able to use miles we had saved from as far back as our Russia days to bring my whole family to the US!  Northwest was at the brink of closing down a couple of years ago so I thought I was going to lose all my miles but thanks to the US government, they were able to salvage the airline as well as my accrued miles!

The wedding was awesome.  The presence of God was all over the ceremony.  Ryan and Barbara look beautiful together.  You can't help but imagine how wonderful for both of them the rest of their lives will be.  Barbara is of course well loved and cherished by all those who have had a chance to get to know and work with her in the Philippines.  Ryan is quite a character and can win anyone over in 5 minutes.  He is passionate about God and intensely sincere.

Ryan and Barbara have known each other from as far back as their high school days and grew up in the same small town in Oregon.  So their families and friends all know each other which lent an atmosphere of a big happy reunion to the wedding.  Everyone was glad to see each other.

The wedding took place at a hundred year old Methodist church in a beautiful area of Seattle.  It is actually where our EN Seattle church meets every Sunday.  Also had the great opportunity of preaching at our EN church the day after the wedding.  The reception was in downtown Seattle next to the newly(?) built Music Museum and close to the Space Needle.  One of the highlights of the reception was a video prepared by the single women from Barbara's small group in Victory Quezon City.  It was a surprise gift that Barbara only found out the moment it was shown.  It was a beutiful expression of how much she is missed and loved and the influence she has had on so many lives back here.  Many were sniffing while the video was showing.

Unfortunately, my camera broke the day before the wedding so I don't have a single photo of the day.  Please click here to link to Amy Burton's site who was the official photographer/organizer/coordinator/manager/administrator of the wedding.

I also attended Mars Hill that Sunday to see Mark Driscoll preach live.  I felt like an 8 year old walking into Disneyland for the first time!  He preached for well over an hour (par for the course for him) on how each of the Old Testament covenants compares with the New Covenant.  True to form, he expounded on each Old Testament covenant including 6 points per covenant.  But the guy attracts lost people!  I don't know how he does it, but thousands of formerly unchurched people pack his church to hear his over-an-hour-better-suited-to-a- seminary-lecture sermons.  I love the guy.

I never realized Seattle is so beautiful.  I always thought it was just another big city, concrete jungle type of place.  Within five minutes of arriving, Pia and I easily fell in love with the city.  Downtown Seattle is quite manageable and the key sights are within walking distance of each other.  Seattle folk have a very artsy and casual character.  Very interesting to note how many revolutionary corporations and trends originated or are based here - Boeing, Microsoft (revolutionary in terms of of propagating the dark side), Starbucks, Amazon, grunge music, Nirvana, Jimmi Hendrix and of course, saving the best for last, the late great Bruce Lee.  Pike's Place (where the original Starbucks store is) is a must see if you are ever in the area.  It is then surrounded by residential areas that are full of trees with plenty of lakes to go around.  Just beautiful.  Meg Ryan said it rains all year in Seattle but it only rained once when we were there.  The weather was perfect (translation: cold).

I'm back in Manila now and eager to jump back into the fray.  Sssoooo MANY things happened while I was away.  I can't believe all that took place in the few weeks I was gone - Myanmar cyclone, arrest of one of our leaders in a restricted nation, realignments, reorganizations, and redeployments.

Home sweet home.

I recently had the wonderful and memorable opportunity to witness and co-officiate the wedding of Kap and Seng Htoi ("Seng-twey").  Kap is one of our pastors in Myanmar who is right now in honeymoon bliss.  Kap met Seng Htoi through older brother Mang when she taught English at Mang's English school.  Seng Htoi was from a Baptist family and then soon joined our church in Yangon.  Over a year ago, Seng Htoi arranged for Kap to meet her friend and acted as chaperone.  Kap and Seng Htoi ended up talking the whole time and soon fell in love.  I had previously blogged about their engagement which was exciting enough, but the year that followed since has been one of the most challenging and exhilirating seasons in Kap's life.  A little background is necessary.

There are eight major tribes that make up the Burmese people.  Each tribe could be as different from each other as they would be to a Filipino.  In terms of culture, it's almost having eight nations in one.  Kap is from the Chin tribe while Seng Htoi is Kachin.  Here is where it gets interesting.  It is not a simple matter for a member of one tribe to marry one from another.  This is a major deal in Myanmar.  Myanmar is an ultra conservative culture as it is, but it so happens that Seng Htoi's parents are extremely strict even for Burmese standards (the father was a schoolmaster whose passion is to preserve ancient Burmese poetry and literature - she was never allowed to wear jeans as long as she lived with her parents).  Seng Htoi's strict parents were even against the union initially for this reason alone.  They finally consented on the condition that Kap observe the following Kachin traditions and rituals (among other things):
• while courting, Kap had to bring representatives from his family and tribe who would vouch for his character and intentions.
• when he asked for Seng Htoi's hand in marriage, he was required to walk to the parents house with 4 kilos of rice, 40 pieces of eggs, 4 whole chickens, clothes and food to present as gifts.  Kachin culture mercifully allows you to bring help to carry the items.  In the Chin tribe, it would have been anywhere from 4 to 10 buffalos.  At least you get to ride it, not carry it.
• a dowry of $1,000 (amount depends on the social standing of the future bride) almost none of which will go to the parents.  This will be distributed to uncles, aunts, even first cousins.
• being from another tribe, Kap was required to find a Kachin family who would legally adopt him.  We are talking about an actual, legal adoption, not a symbolic one.  So much so that Kap received a legal Kachin name and now has two sets of parents.  Well, three actually - biological parents, adoptive parents, in-laws.  The good thing was there was a Kachin family in church who gladly received Kap into their family and were willing to go through the process.

There were times when these cultural hoops became very difficult even for Seng Htoi.  But Kap persevered.  He truly loves Seng Htoi and knows she is the one God has prepared for him.  He was determined to do whatever it took to get her to walk down the aisle with him waiting on the altar.

All of Kap's hard work, determination, and perseverance finally paid off.  It was a beautiful wedding.  It was a Christian/traditional Kachin ceremony.  They are a beautiful couple.  It was also during and after the ceremony that I realized some of the reasons Kap's in laws made him jump through so many cultural hoops. 

It all started making sense to me when right after the ceremony, the Kachin Baptist church community of Seng Htoi's parents gathered around the newly married couple and spoke words of blessing over them and presented Kap with a traditional Kachin sword.  From there, we proceeded to the apartment they were moving to to bless the house.  After that, we went to the house of Seng Htoi's parents where I got a glimpse of the beauty of ancient Asian culture and imagined the Philippines 150 years ago.

The living room was full.  On one side were two Chin pastors who together with Pastor Carlo Ratilla and myself represented Kap.  On the other side of the room were Seng Htoi's parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, pastors, even school teachers.  Then it hit me.  All the Kachin rituals Kap had to endure and observe were meant for one purpose: that Kap would receive the blessing and be received into the Kachin community.  From now on, when Kap walks the streets of that part of town, the Kachin people will say "He's one of us."  What a powerful demonstration of community and belonging.  It's not easy to get in, but once you're in, you're in for life.

For their honeymoon, the newly married couple spent a week in Taunggyi, Kalaw, and Inlay lake areas in Myanmar.  They arrive in Manila on the first week of April for MPD maintenance.  Please congratulate, receive, and bless them.  Help us all get them the best possible start to a marriage.

Pictures from the wedding:



(l to r) Pastor Carlo, Kap, local Chin pastor, Kap’s brother, me. 








Three pastors. 









Dashing (and thinner) Mang is still single, available, and searching...












Seng Htoi's uncle walked her down the aisle because her father felt he would get too emotional when it came time to give her away. 







At the altar.







The sword and bag Kap wears on his side was handed to him by Seng Htoi as part of Kachin tradition symbolizing his responsibility to protect and provide for her now that they are married.  In the courtship and wedding process, Kap received a total of 3 swords and a spear.





Me praying for the couple.








Pastor Carlo shares from the Word. Pastor Carlo and Sandra Ratilla, with children Chloe and Justin were missionaries to Myanmar for 6 years.  Pastor Carlo now serves as the associate pastor in EN Houston.  They are converted Rockets fans.






For the reception, the bride changed into a traditional bridal gown which was a gift from Ms Virgie Llonto of Victory and which I handcarried on the plane.  She only saw it 2 nights before the wedding but it was a perfect fit!










Notice the backdrop.  Kap’s fullname is Thang Lian Kap.  His new adopted Kachin name is Laphai Zau.








Over 300 guests









The three Filipina angels – Rissa, Erma, and Anna.  They are tentmakers in Myanmar and faithfully served the Ratillas during their stay in Myanmar and now serve the local leadership.  Anna will get married in July to Pastor Julius Co of Victory Tarlac.  Rissa and Erma are also getting married…. soon….





Three of our young leaders.  Matthew (2nd from right) was in Manila for EN ’07 and celebrated his birthday in Victory Cabanatuan.  They arranged for the local radio station to greet him on his birthday to his great surprise.





 
Pastor Carlo and myself with Mimi.  Mimi and her late husband Dr. Zam opened the door for Every Nation to plant a church in Myanmar.  Dr. Zam was one of the most respected pastors in Myanmar.



                                           
Nono has been a longtime member of the church and the music group.  He became the hottest rock musician in Myanmar when he was asked by the top rock band (Iron Cross) to be its lead singer.  His videos are now shown on local MTV as well as a giant video screen across the biggest mall.   The church members used to be the only one to listen to his songs when he was just a struggling artist.  Now that he is famous, everyone in the country knows his songs.  The guests erupted in applause when Nono stood up to perform.



EN Myanmar members at the wedding.









The Kachin Baptist community prays for blessing over the couple right after the ceremony.








Blessing the newlyweds apartment.









Kap addresses Seng Htoi’s side of the family during the get together at Seng Htoi’s house right after the wedding.








Chin pastors, representing Kap, computing the dowry to be handed to the bride’s parents and to be distributed to all the relatives.