So I wrote the majority of this months ago, but for what will quickly become obvious reasons I couldn’t post it until today. Congrats to the newly wed couple Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Johnson.
3/7/2016
To Shelby and Daniel,
By the time you guys read this, by the time this blog sees the light of day, I will have pulled off the most epic surprise of all surprises, I will be at your wedding. Just so you know this blog has been in works since early March/ late February. I wanted to surprise you guys, because I didn’t want you to know it was a possibility that I could come home to your wedding, but disappoint you guys in case something comes up and I can’t make it.
So here we are, you guys are married, but I just wanted to let you know just what’s been going through my mind. You guys rock my world, and I couldn’t be happier spend this day with you.
Shelby you are not only my best friend in the world but you are my sister, and I will forever love you. Something I’ve realized over the last few months as I’ve been on this crazy journey called the World Race is just how lucky we are to be a family, to be sisters, and how lucky we are to have a God who allowed us to be in each other’s lives.
Daniel, you have become an amazing friend over the last year, and I have enjoyed working with you in youth group, and getting to know you better as you’ve dated Shelby. I am so excited that I can now call you my brother. I can’t wait to see where life takes you and Shelby, and to be aunt to all your children.
I can remember the day you guys first met, it was an awkward meeting to say the least, and yet even then, deep down, I think I knew, that you and Shelby were meant to be. I didn’t want to admit it then or ever say it aloud because I thought I’d be losing my best friend and sister, but now I know I’m not, I’m not losing a sister but instead gaining another brother.
To Shelby and Daniel, the Bride and Groom, I hope you guys have an amazing life together. That God gives you everything you ever need, and that you live life to the fullest and for His Glory and His Kingdom.
By now you know that I wrote you each a letter before the race in case I couldn’t make it back in time. Truth is when I left for the WR I had no intention, no plans to come back for the wedding, but when the opportunity arose for me to come home for it I had to take it. After all, how could I miss my Sister’s wedding. Missing your wedding Shubbs was the only thing that made me want to not come, that made me consider changing routes (and thank God I didn’t because this squad has been amazing and I wouldn’t want to change anything about it). But know his, that everything I said in those letters is just as true today as it was the day I wrote it. I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH! I am so excited and blessed that God has given me both of you in my life, you Shelby as my sister and you Daniel as my new brother.
So here’s to the Bride and Groom. Here’s to Shelby and Daniel. May life bring you everything you ever wanted and more. May you be blessed by the Lord. May your dreams come true and may you never take life for granted. May we always be friends as well as family, and may you never live life in a box or keep God in a box but always expect him to blow your mind and grow you in ways you never expected.
You guys are so awesome, and I’m so glad I got to spend this day with you. By the way please don’t be mad at Maddison or Caleb (and so many more that I didn’t plan on to begin with) for keeping the secret I needed someone in the states to help me pull this off.
I love you,
Dee Dee
6/19/16
Update:
It’s Sunday night at 8pm on Father’s day here in Cambodia. In less than a week I’m going to be able to hug you both and I’m so excited. I’ve avoided reading this blog up until now because I didn’t want to do a bunch of edits to this post. But here I am a week away, I can’t believe I get to see you on Friday and you don’t even know it yet. Shubs I know it was rough thinking I wasn’t going to be there. To be honest I’ve wanted to tell you so many times that I was coming, but I knew the surprise would be worth in in the end. To those who helped keep this a secret, Caleb and Maddison from the begging, then adding Landen, Pops, Kevin and lastly adding Daniel to the mix: Thank You. Thank you for helping me pull off this Epic Surprise for our Girl. She deserves it, and I can’t wait to see her face in a few days to realize what we pulled off.
I gave my testimony tonight to a bunch of teens and young adults at the ministry site I’m at, and I mostly talked about our family, and what you guys mean to me and how you guys have played a large part in where I’m at today. It’s because of that, that I’m coming home to see you, it’s because of that love that you have for me, that I love you enough to travel and do a whirl wind of a trip, a roughly 86-hour layover in La Grande, to be there for your big day. As not excited as I am for the jet lag that will come with this, I know it’s worth it and I’m so excited to be able to do it.
Daniel and Shelby,
As your day comes closer all I want to do is to hug you and to tell you I’m so proud of you guys and just how much I love you. You guys have got this and I can’t wait to see you and to see what the future holds for you. I love you guys.
To the Bride and Groom, I hope this weekend is amazing and I hope your day is everything you ever imagined.
I love you,
Dee Dee
Above: Me and Shelby at her rehearsal dinner about 5 minutes after I surprised her.
