While I'm on the topic of my older brother's wedding, I'll include a few songs that were played at the church ceremony.
The bridal procession walked to "Mercy said no" by Cece Winans. There's a clip below that I found on YouTube. I hadn't heard this song before, but I guess it's an older song that was redone recently by Cece Winans.
I thought "Mercy said no" was an unusual choice for a wedding. I first heard it at the rehearsal, and several of us were moved to tears. It was strange hearing "I'm not going to let you go" as the bride walked with her father! However, it's a beautiful description of a person's walk with the Lord. He will not let us go; He will hold onto us until the very end, when we become His bride!
I was just a child, when I felt the Savior leading
I was drawn to what I could not understand
And for the cause of Christ, I have spent my days believing
That what He'd have me be, is who I am
As I've come to see the weaker side of me
I realize His grace is what I'll need
When sin demanded justice for my soul
Mercy said no
I'm not going to let you go
I'm not going to let you slip away
You don't have to be afraid
Mercy said no
Sin will never take control
Life and death stood face to face
Darkness tried to steal my heart away
Thank You Jesus, Mercy said no
For God so loved the world, that He sent His son to save us
From the cross He built a bridge to set us free
Oh, but deep within our hearts, there is still a war that rages
And makes a sacrifice so hard to see
As midnight fell upon the crucifixion day
The light of hope seemed oh so far away
As evil tried to stop redemption's flow
And now when heaven looks at me
It's through the blood of Jesus
Reminding me of one day long ago
Mercy said no...
After everyone had entered, we began to sing "I Surrender All" in French, English, and Lingala. This too was a poignant choice of a song, which gave the sense of giving all to God, not just dedicating this one event. It was one moment in the service when all three languages were utilized, and each person in the room was able to understand and think about the meaning of the words.
In English:
All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
Refrain
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!
Here's an interesting note about the lyrics from the author, Judson W. Van DeVenter, in 1896:
"The song was written while I was conducting a meeting at East Palestine, Ohio, in the home of George Sebring (founder of the Sebring Campmeeting Bible Conference in Sebring, Ohio, and later developer of the town of Sebring, Florida). For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing." (source: cyberhymnal.org)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Ouch
I just have to pause and recognize this feat of my brother, who managed to shoot a nail into his hand at a construction site.
Way to go, bro! (You have my sympathy)
Kinshasa: Arrival
I never thought that the Pulkovo airport would seem like a breath of fresh air, or that I would want to hug the inspector at passport control. But after the airport situation in Kinshasa, my feelings changed!
My arrival in Kinshasa was an event in itself and deserves an individual post.
Here are the instructions that I received before leaving:
"[The Protocol] is being paid to get you through the formalities of entering DRC. There are really 6 steps to the formalities:
1. Get off the plane and cross the tarmac (on foot);
2. Enter the building (often a passport control is done by uniformed officials);
3. Pass through immigration (there are several lines including one for expatriates);
4. Vaccination card control;
5. Entry into baggage claim and collection of baggage (aka, chaos);
6. Customs.
BECAUSE I AM PAYING SERAPHIN, YOU SHOULD NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE STEPS ABOVE. Seraphin just told me he'll be meeting you out on the tarmac. He will not have a uniform and others without uniforms may ask you for your passport. Make sure he has a sign with "H_____" on it before giving up your passports. He should take everyone's passport and then he'll take you immediately into a VIP lounge where you can purchase drinks, etc in dollars while you wait. It could take a little while, but don't get nervous! It's all a big game and we're paying to win. You'll wait anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or so, and then Seraphin will come get you. Your bags will already be collected.
If you get to the building from the plane and no one has greeted you with a sign with "H______" on it, just follow the steps above. I don't see any way that this could happen, but i wanted you to know the process just in case. You also shouldn't have to do anything regarding customs. But if someone asks, you're tourists and everything you're carrying is personal items (effets personnels in French). "
Here’s what REALLY happened:
After two non-eventful flights, I got off the plane looking for my guy with the gold glasses. I tried to walk slowly so he wouldn’t miss me. There were a lot of people waiting along the tarmac: some in uniform, some not. I got to the entrance to the building, and no one had approached me. I backtracked a little and tried to attract attention to myself without attracting attention to myself, if you know what I mean. No one came over. So I employed Plan B and got in the passport line, hoping that it wouldn’t go too fast and Seraphin would find me before I got too deeply involved in the process.
Then I heard someone saying my name softly with a French accent. I looked to my right and a man was calling me. He asked if I was American and showed me a sheet of paper with my first and last names handwritten on it. Well, that sort of matched the instructions, except that he hadn’t been on the tarmac and he wasn’t the same man who was supposed to meet me. I was ready to hand him my passport and let him take over, but he told me to take my place in line. Why? I thought the point of him meeting me was to not wait in line.
After the officer checked my passport, the guy (Mika) took the passport and introduced me to another guy. They tried speaking to me in French and then English and I couldn’t really understand either coming from them, but they took my passport and told me to wait. So I waited while the other people went through the lines, and Mika and his friend came over periodically to check on me. At one point Mika said “we have a leetle problem, but I’m just going to tell them that you’re here for a wedding.” Well, that WAS why I was there. I had a valid visa, so I didn’t see where they had come up with a “problem.” But they were being paid to fix that sort of thing. I still didn’t understand why I was out there and not in the VIP room.
Finally I got my passport back and was told to stand in the immigration line. The officer asked me for an address in Kinshasa, and other contact information, which I produced. Then I got my yellow fever card checked, and they seemed to stall on that too, as if they were trying to think of a reason to not let me by. One of the men met me on the other side and ushered me out an exit into the baggage claim. Once there, a man stepped forward and introduced himself as Seraphin. He didn’t have gold glasses, but said that he knew my brother. I had no choice but to trust him. I couldn’t really do anything myself.
I gave Seraphin my baggage tag and he took me outside, then inside to a lounge-perhaps, the lounge where I should have been all along. On the way there, Seraphin called my brother and had me talk to him for confirmation. Then he brought my brother into the lounge so that we could sit together while he went back for my luggage and the rest of my family, whose flight was due to arrive.
My brother was accompanied by Hortense, his bride-to-be. Meeting her was the easiest part of the whole trip! She spoke more English than I spoke French, which was good. My brother laughed at me for wearing a scarf. It was my only way to decorate my wrinkled travel outfit, but it was a little hot for scarves. I wasn't in Russia anymore.
Meanwhile, the rest of my family members were having adventures. Seraphin hadn’t been able to get out to meet them either (apparently he couldn’t get past the guards, but had friends on the other side), so they had to go through immigration as well. They had all arrived together, but somehow ended up divided into different rooms for questioning. They didn’t pay any bribes, though. Eventually, they all ended up out in the parking lot, where I met up with them. It was already dark out and we stood around discussing the confusion of who had been in what room and what had been said. I heard others rumors of a nose-bleed (before arrival in Africa), a lost money-belt, and a lost suitcase.
Some boys hovered around the car, asking for money or trying to sell us things. Finally we divided up among the cars and drove off. It was pitch-black, though it was only 8 pm, whereas in St.Petersburg the White Nights were already beginning. The electricity was out along the main road, so the lights of candles were flickering and illuminating the shops and the people who were emerging from every direction.
Later we reached the hotel where we would be staying during our trip.
To be continued...
My arrival in Kinshasa was an event in itself and deserves an individual post.
Here are the instructions that I received before leaving:
"[The Protocol] is being paid to get you through the formalities of entering DRC. There are really 6 steps to the formalities:
1. Get off the plane and cross the tarmac (on foot);
2. Enter the building (often a passport control is done by uniformed officials);
3. Pass through immigration (there are several lines including one for expatriates);
4. Vaccination card control;
5. Entry into baggage claim and collection of baggage (aka, chaos);
6. Customs.
BECAUSE I AM PAYING SERAPHIN, YOU SHOULD NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE STEPS ABOVE. Seraphin just told me he'll be meeting you out on the tarmac. He will not have a uniform and others without uniforms may ask you for your passport. Make sure he has a sign with "H_____" on it before giving up your passports. He should take everyone's passport and then he'll take you immediately into a VIP lounge where you can purchase drinks, etc in dollars while you wait. It could take a little while, but don't get nervous! It's all a big game and we're paying to win. You'll wait anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or so, and then Seraphin will come get you. Your bags will already be collected.
If you get to the building from the plane and no one has greeted you with a sign with "H______" on it, just follow the steps above. I don't see any way that this could happen, but i wanted you to know the process just in case. You also shouldn't have to do anything regarding customs. But if someone asks, you're tourists and everything you're carrying is personal items (effets personnels in French). "
Here’s what REALLY happened:
After two non-eventful flights, I got off the plane looking for my guy with the gold glasses. I tried to walk slowly so he wouldn’t miss me. There were a lot of people waiting along the tarmac: some in uniform, some not. I got to the entrance to the building, and no one had approached me. I backtracked a little and tried to attract attention to myself without attracting attention to myself, if you know what I mean. No one came over. So I employed Plan B and got in the passport line, hoping that it wouldn’t go too fast and Seraphin would find me before I got too deeply involved in the process.
Then I heard someone saying my name softly with a French accent. I looked to my right and a man was calling me. He asked if I was American and showed me a sheet of paper with my first and last names handwritten on it. Well, that sort of matched the instructions, except that he hadn’t been on the tarmac and he wasn’t the same man who was supposed to meet me. I was ready to hand him my passport and let him take over, but he told me to take my place in line. Why? I thought the point of him meeting me was to not wait in line.
After the officer checked my passport, the guy (Mika) took the passport and introduced me to another guy. They tried speaking to me in French and then English and I couldn’t really understand either coming from them, but they took my passport and told me to wait. So I waited while the other people went through the lines, and Mika and his friend came over periodically to check on me. At one point Mika said “we have a leetle problem, but I’m just going to tell them that you’re here for a wedding.” Well, that WAS why I was there. I had a valid visa, so I didn’t see where they had come up with a “problem.” But they were being paid to fix that sort of thing. I still didn’t understand why I was out there and not in the VIP room.
Finally I got my passport back and was told to stand in the immigration line. The officer asked me for an address in Kinshasa, and other contact information, which I produced. Then I got my yellow fever card checked, and they seemed to stall on that too, as if they were trying to think of a reason to not let me by. One of the men met me on the other side and ushered me out an exit into the baggage claim. Once there, a man stepped forward and introduced himself as Seraphin. He didn’t have gold glasses, but said that he knew my brother. I had no choice but to trust him. I couldn’t really do anything myself.
I gave Seraphin my baggage tag and he took me outside, then inside to a lounge-perhaps, the lounge where I should have been all along. On the way there, Seraphin called my brother and had me talk to him for confirmation. Then he brought my brother into the lounge so that we could sit together while he went back for my luggage and the rest of my family, whose flight was due to arrive.
My brother was accompanied by Hortense, his bride-to-be. Meeting her was the easiest part of the whole trip! She spoke more English than I spoke French, which was good. My brother laughed at me for wearing a scarf. It was my only way to decorate my wrinkled travel outfit, but it was a little hot for scarves. I wasn't in Russia anymore.
Meanwhile, the rest of my family members were having adventures. Seraphin hadn’t been able to get out to meet them either (apparently he couldn’t get past the guards, but had friends on the other side), so they had to go through immigration as well. They had all arrived together, but somehow ended up divided into different rooms for questioning. They didn’t pay any bribes, though. Eventually, they all ended up out in the parking lot, where I met up with them. It was already dark out and we stood around discussing the confusion of who had been in what room and what had been said. I heard others rumors of a nose-bleed (before arrival in Africa), a lost money-belt, and a lost suitcase.
Some boys hovered around the car, asking for money or trying to sell us things. Finally we divided up among the cars and drove off. It was pitch-black, though it was only 8 pm, whereas in St.Petersburg the White Nights were already beginning. The electricity was out along the main road, so the lights of candles were flickering and illuminating the shops and the people who were emerging from every direction.
Later we reached the hotel where we would be staying during our trip.
To be continued...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Back in Mother Russia
For those of you waiting for Africa details, here's a teaser while I'm recovering from various travel ailments. This little guy was part of the bride price that my brother had to deliver to the family.
A couple people have already posted some nice descriptions of the wedding(s), so I encourage you to visit their sites.
http://melandjel.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=1
http://weblog.xanga.com/McArtsy/660130315/congo-wedding-1.html
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