Going to the Chapel........ (Part 1)

I always knew I would come face to face with this day.  I have prayed about it every day for twenty-one years.  I have both longed for and dreaded it; anticipated it with excitement and looked forward to it with a bit of anxiety.  Now it is here and we are rejoicing with a peace and a thrill that only comes from the Giver of perfect gifts.

It is with great excitement that we announce that our first born daughter is getting married!!!

Last summer, Bryce fulfilled her dream of living in the Big Apple when she accepted a position as an intern with the North American Mission Board and more specifically with Raleigh Sadler who is a city missionary that works specifically in the area of human trafficking.  Bryce spent ten weeks in the city she loves - learning more about the horrific plight of women all over the world and specifically in the cities of our nation and how we can all be a part of helping to break the chains that bind them.  In the midst of digging deep into the tragic world of modern day slavery, she found the one we have prayed for.  The man that she will walk through the rest of her life with.  The one she will love more than any other person on earth.  Jacob was also interning with the mission board and worked closely with Bryce and Raleigh in the area of trafficking.  Together, they learned things that none of us want to know, but that know we must if we want to be used by God to literally set the captives free.  Together, they served the homeless, they prayed with the men and women on the streets of NYC, their hearts broke, they met amazing people - life long friends, pastors in the city that never sleeps, who are working diligently to see lives changed and brokenness redeemed.

Together, in the midst of this - they fell in love.

Before the summer was over, I knew.  Moms just do.  I knew that this was the one we have been praying for.

We are so excited for them to begin their lives together, continuing to serve God as they have since the day they met - together.  Digging deep into the hard places, the places that so many are afraid to go.  I am so proud of them both and I can not wait to see what God is going to do with their lives as they follow Him wherever He leads.

Welcome to the family Jacob -- we are a crazy bunch, but we know you are up for the challenge!!!  We trust that you will love our daughter, care for and protect her, and serve the Lord with reckless abandon for the rest of both of your days!  We are SO excited for all that God is going to do!!!  (And yes, we LOVE young marriage in our family and I can not wait for the grandkids to start arriving!!!)  Nothing will make me happier than having a five year old of my own AND a grand baby!!!  That whole empty nest thing is something I never ever want to think about.