And the Romance Still Rumbles

25 years ago today, my dad went to his best friend's wedding.


25 years ago today, my dad's best friend married him!

The following is a re-post of what I wrote on my brother's blog 1 year ago to commemorate my parent's 24th anniversary (with a few edits to adjust for this anniversary):

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Once upon a time, there was a boy named Pat and a girl named Ganya, and they met each other while in college because they both attended Arlington Chinese Church in... well... Arlington. After a couple of years, he fell in love with her, proposed, she said yes, and *POOF*, what do you know, they were engaged!!! I'm sure you've guessed by now that they were married 25 years ago on July 7th, 1984. Their love story is very humorous and intriguing, and if I had time I'd tell you more, but here are the highlights simply of the wedding:

• My mom wanted to have a Christian wedding in front of her family so they decided to get married in Thailand.
• However, there were no Christian churches in her hometown since most people were Buddhist so they got married in the market place.
• The ceremony was in Thai, and my dad only knows a little Thai, so his Best Man/fiance's brother who spoke broken English would tell him every once in a while what the preacher was saying such as "De preacher say very good words" and "Put de ring on her finger". The best one of all was at the very end when he nonchalantly told my dad, "Okay, you married now".
• The same uncle drove my parents to their honeymoon spot, but on the way they were in a car wreck and my mom was knocked out. When she came to, she looked at my dad, and asked "What are you doing here?" And they had just gotten married a few hours before!
• None of my dad's family was present for the Thailand wedding so in September they had another wedding ceremony in Arlington. Hence, they actually have two wedding anniversaries (but only the first one counted ;-) )
• The best news is that my mom's mother, or "Amah" which is Thai for grandmother, become a Christian largely as a result of my parent's wedding!
  
  
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  Happy 25th Anniversary! Thank you for being the amazing parents that you are. May your coming years of marriage be filled with the peace, joy, and love of Christ. And may the romance still rumble...