Special Issue: The Story of the Two Brass Swans

Once upon a time there were two brass swans, a boy swan and a girl swan. The boy swan lived in the United States and the girl swan lived in India. One day the girl swan had the opportunity to fly to the United States, and the boy swan met her and the male swan thought she was nice (February 2007).

As fate would have it the male swan had the opportunity to fly and stay in India (March 2007). Well, as fate would also have it, the girl swan also had the opportunity to fly to where the boy swan was living. The boy swan and girl swan met again and the girl swan thought that the boy swan had a clean nest.

A few weeks later the boy swan received a call from Mother Goose who asked the boy swan if he would consider building a nest with the girl swan.

At the same time Mother Goose asked the girl swan to think about living in the boy swan's nest.

So, both the girl swan and the boy swan began to think about building and living in a nest together, and both the boy swan and the girl swan thought it was a good idea, so the boy swan took a two-day train trip to visit the girl swan(sometimes swans do not fly). The boy swan and girl swan spent a lot of time together with both Mother and Father Goose and IT WAS AWESOME! The boy swan really thought that the girl swan was amazing. When the boy swan was getting ready to leave he really thought that it would be a wonderful idea to build a nest with the girl swan and the girl swan thought that she would like to live in the nest.

So, the boy swan took the two-day train trip back home (sometimes swans do not fly) and both

the swans thought and prayed about it more.

Then, a month later(December 7), the boy swan decided that he should start collecting the straws to build the nest but thought it would be a good idea to ask the girl swan if she was sure about living in his nest. So, he took her to a five-star bird house and asked the girl swan to be his wife.

However, building a nest is not the same in India as in the United States and the boy swan had to be accepted by the girl swan's mom and dad, talk with the girl swan's brothers and cousins, and then have a wonderful celebration (December 15) to celebrate the engagement and exchange rings.

Well, the swans are very happy and they make a delightful couple. They plan to build nests in the United States and India but will perform the traditional wrapping of their necks in the near future.

The end.



Cast
Gregory Byrnes
as the boy swan

Daizy Joseph

as the girl swan

Thom and Linda Wolf
as Mother and Father Goose

Dear Friends,

It is with great joy that I announce to you all my engagement to Daizy. She is a fabulous women who has been ministering in Delhi for twenty years! She has started a church here and serves as its worship leader. She is publishing a Christian comic book, translating Bible stories into Hindi and lending her voice to audible stories as well. She has waited 38 years and turned downed many offers to be wed and I am the most fortunate soul to be the man she has chosen for her spouse!

We are most definitely planning an Indian wedding and American reception and will notify you as of the dates in the near future. Please keep Daizy and I in your thoughts and prayers. I am just ending a week up in Delhi and will be returning to South India on the 17th. We are tentatively looking at March 7 as our wedding date and planning on being in the U.S. in April, so there are many plans to be taken care of in a short period of time, however, this is the custom in India and everything will come together.

Please be praying for Ana and Wilbur as they adjust in being parents in a foreign country. I have been blessed to have them come to Delhi with Wilbur's parents to be present at the engagement ceremony. We have agreed that my marriage will mark the end of my partnership with Team South Asia in Southern India and the beginning of my new life with Daizy in Delhi.

Please pray for Daizy as she cares for her mother and father who are getting along in age and that she is able to balance that responsibility with her ministries as well.

Please pray for me as I reassess my budget and prepare to help fund the wedding (common among Christians in India), provide for a wife and family, learn Hindi and begin to seek ministry opportunities in Delhi.

Finally, let me just give thanks to so many people that I know have been praying about my future wife, recently and over the years. Thanks to the Wolf's, particularly my and Daizy's bicholia (marriage arranger), Linda Wolf. They have quite literally walked beside us the whole time, blessing us with their wisdom and seeing that we have not done anything that may have been the sligtest bit culturally unacceptable. Linda is Daizy's spiritual mother and I am flattered that she has thought me to be a suitable life partner for Daizy.

Daizy and I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you shortly.

Blessings,
Greg and Daizy