We had a sneak wedding. We were not supposed to have a wedding on top of Wachusett Mountain in central Massachusetts. But we did. By a sneak wedding, I mean one that was top secret. We decided on it the night before, and we were not supposed to tell anyone. So the only ones who knew were Linnea, her sister Heather, my best man, John, and our pastor, Chuck Oblom (who is taking care of Sequoia for us). Of course, I can not keep a secret and let my groomsmen know about it too, which upset Linnea a little because she did not tell her girls.
That will be two years ago, tomorrow at 5pm, eastern time. I think that is 11pm here. (is it 6 time zones?) We were travelling in the most uncomfortable bus I have ever been on, trying to sleep/pray/think, or whatever I do when my eyes are closed. Resting my forehead on the leather covered tube of steel in front of me, hoping I don’t rub the skin off my forehead when we go over bumps, and thinking about Linnea.
Linnea is a scandinavian name. She is named after some little pink flowers, also known as the ‘twin flower’. Linnea is an incredible gift to me, as I have said before. Grace. Undeserved favor.
I was thinking of our anniversary, wondering about the importance of a celebration. Linnea has been talking about our anniversary for maybe 364 days, so I think it is important to her. I have never really gotten too excited about these kinds of things, but because I love her, I was trying to figure out how to have a nice one.
We are here for debrief, in Manzini, Swaziland. Setup our tent last night. It was a chilly night, I usually sleep in just my shorts (maybe) and had to wake up to put on some clothes. It was wet. I know Linnea loves camping, but I prayed again for God to bless our anniversary. I trusted God would provide, because I sure as heck was stumped, and when all else fails, sometimes it is good to pray.
Some of the guys were talking about doing a guys day today, and I was not sure about it, because I thought we might need to celebrate today due to tomorrow’s schedule. I went into the tent to journal and Linnea came out to tell me to pack my bags.
My initial reaction was laziness, and I was into a fun journal entry. Linnea said that we were headed to a hotel. Ok, guess I am not doing the guy’s thing. Linnea said Seth was going to bring us to a hotel. The idea was actually sinking in, and I packed in a hurry, lets go!
So I sit here, typing from a beautiful hotel. We actually had tears in the room from both of us, as we were reminded how much God loves us.
Thank you supporters for helping us to celebrate our 2 years together here in Swaziland. Thank you, Tim Drew for the gift. Thank you Seth, and the team for your support. It means so much to us.
Thank you, Jesus.
