Month 12: MARRIAGE
On December 28th, Jan and I will be getting married
In my last blog, I promised to tell you what was next and for me, it’s marriage. Yes, this is not a typical thing to do after an 11 month mission trip around the world, but with God, nothing is typical.
Back in July, God showed Jan and I a way we could get married sooner than we anticipated. We had been praying God would put us together soon after the race, but we didn’t anticipate this was the way He was going to do it. We started telling our close friends and family the plan and were soon faced with every kind of reaction. This became the beginning of a five month journey of trust.
Month 1: Vietnam and Swaziland
– God told us not to talk to one another
– Jan focused on leading his male team in Swaziland
– I focused on the unplanned counseling sessions I had with amazing women in Vietnam
– God gave us both signs and words for our future marriage
Month 2: Malaysia and Thailand
– God brought me to Thailand with my dad for a parent Vision trip when I was supposed to be in Malaysia.
– God brought Jan to Thailand to the same city for ministry for four of the same days my dad and I were there.
– Jan asked my dad for my hand in marriage. He said yes.
– Jan and I had four days together and then were apart again for 3 months.
– One week later, we were reminded of a contract we signed before the race stating that we could not advance our relationship on the race and plan a wedding.
– We learned how to trust God in His plan while respecting and submitting to our authorities.
– God told us to stay on the race, get married on December 28th , but to give up the plans of the wedding so we could stay present with our teams and ministry.
– We asked my mom to plan the wedding. She said yes.
Month 3: Moldova and Cambodia
– I lived in a village in Moldova with limited internet access.
– God taught me to trust in Jan to communicate our wedding thoughts to others while I didn’t have internet.
– God taught us how to honor our family with the guest list.
Month 4: Romania and Malaysia
– God continued showing us how to work through the guest list, communicate with our families, but to simply enjoy our last months of ministry.
– I had one of my best months in Romania.
– Jan had one of his best months in Malaysia.
Month 5: America and Germany
– I flew back to America for a week to see my family and see the planning my mom had done.
– Jan flew back to Germany for a week to see his family and tie up loose ends there.
– Last Saturday, Jan flew here.
– On Monday night, Jan proposed. I said yes. J
– We are engaged and will marry in 11 days.
We will be getting married and then traveling back and forth from the states and Germany to finish up the Visa process of getting Jan to stay in the states permanently. We don’t really know much more than that. We don’t know what ministry God is calling us to. We don’t know where we are supposed to live past the next few months. We just know God is leading us and guiding us and that we will get to do it together.
I do want to be honest with you all and tell you that it is a struggle for me to share this with some of you whom I know have not been invited. We are having a small wedding and not everyone in my life could be invited. Please trust that God has lead us to invite those that He needs to be there and that we are still greatly appreciative of all of your love and support who have been apart of our journey.
Please pray for us in this next season as we finish up our month 12.
