Some engaged couples register preferences for china patterns and flatware. David Holme and Ingunn Lyngset decided they wanted something else for a wedding gift — a church.
The Norwegian pair became acquainted with a poor congregation in the Belarus town of Berezino during a visit to the former Soviet republic. “You can never be the same after meeting people who have so little, yet so much,” Lyngset told the Norwegian news agency NTB.
Wedding invitations for the couple urged cash donations to the struggling church rather than gifts. Guests and friends reportedly raised a total of $17,200 — enough to purchase and remodel a building for the church.
— E.P. News
