How God Brought us Together
Hello Partners in Jesus Christ. I wanted to take my monthly update blog to share the story about how God brought Lauren and I together. Lauren and I have loved to talk about how we have seen God work collectively and individually to bring us together.The story is even better when you hear both sides. One thing you will notice, as one of our friends, Sarah, pointed out, our story isn’t normal. As Lauren talks about it, it’s not overly thrilling or even glamorous but it’s the one that God orchestrated. God in his infinite wisdom and goodness moved in our hearts in just the way that each of us needed.
Stephen’s Story:
I had been living in Orlando for ten months and was really involved with my church's young adult Bible study. On one of our monthly game nights I was introduced to Lauren. She was the roommate of a mutual friend. That night Lauren and I sat next to each other and talked. I went home not thinking too much about our interactions. Not long after that night I graduated from ESBS and traveled back home to Michigan to support raise and speak at summer camps. In August I returned to Orlando and started working full time with Emmaus Ministries. After getting back to Orlando I continued attending the young adult group. At the group Lauren and I started to talk more and more. Not long after, a mutual friend called me to tell me that Lauren had a crush on me. I knew that I had some feelings for her, but I was still pretty unsure about dating her. After thinking and praying about it for a little bit I decided to go for it. After each date I felt my heart pulling closer and closer to her. I really feel like I saw the heart of God in Lauren as she pursued me. It wasn't long after we started to date that I knew I wanted to marry her. So I recruited some of our best friends to help me pop the question to Lauren while at St. Simon’s Island. Lauren has done a great job telling the story of the proposal below. I knew it had to be magical yet simple. Lauren told me I could propose to her in anyway as long as I didn't use a flash mob. I knew that I wanted to use her favorite song Clair de Lune and I wanted to tell Lauren how much I care for her. So I recruited some of the greatest love quotes of all time to help me tell the story of how I loved her. Now here we are, engaged and getting ready to be married. I can honestly say that I keep falling more and more in love with Lauren as each day passes. I can’t wait to be married to her and can’t wait to have y’all help us celebrate. [gallery ids="240,243,244,245" type="rectangular"]
Lauren Story:
On the drive home from the game night where I met Stephen my roommate said to me, "What do you think about Stephen?" When we met, I really didn't think too much of it. But, it's because of that conversation that I gave Stephen a second thought.Over the summer while Stephen was away I really felt like the Lord was impressing on my heart to pursue a relationship with this boy that I had met only once. I felt a deep and profound certainty that Stephen was going to be my person. It honestly freaked me out at first. When I sought counsel I prefaced it with "I know that this sounds crazy, but I think I'm supposed to marry Stephen." When Stephen returned after summer, we started spending more time together, then we began going on dates. On November 10 we made things official. And boy am I ever glad that we did.I don't think I've ever seen anyone as nervous as Stephen the day he proposed. We had gone to St. Simon's Island for a weekend trip with some friends for my birthday and Stephen had roped them into helping set up the beach site where Stephen proposed. Stephen used my favorite song, Clair de Lune, and had mixed movie quotes about love over it. He had that playing as we walked to where he would propose. There, in the sand, was a journal that Stephen had written in. It ended with, "I just have one question..." and when I looked up Stephen got down on one knee. Words can't even come close to capturing the depth of my love for Stephen. He is my best friend and such a perfect match for me. He loves me more deeply than I ever knew was possible. He is gentle and kind and he pushes me to become more like Christ everyday. He's also a giant goofball and that makes life with him so much fun! I am so grateful that God chose Stephen to be my companion through life and I can't wait to celebrate with everyone in January!!! [gallery ids="239,238,232,233,234,236" type="rectangular"]Thank you for taking time to read about our story. We are so excited to get married in January and are so blessed to have friends, family and partners in ministry cheering us on as we step into this new phase of life. I can't wait to share with you more as the wedding day approaches and school starts up in a month. As we move forward, our hope is to continue to make connections with people who are excited about what God is doing here at Emmaus through our new family.
Prayer Requests:
Fundraising. I’m still looking for more monthly financial partners. I’m hoping to be fully funded for my own needs by September. Then I'm hoping to continue fundraising so that I can support both Lauren and I by the wedding in January. Please pray for the Lord to set up divine appointments and to move in the hearts of people excited about this ministry! The School: We are starting in under a months time! Please pray for use as we prepare the physical spaces and prepare our lectures. Please also pray for the incoming new and returning students. Pray that God would use this time to really mold and shape them into who he is calling them to be.
Next Update:
We will be starting the school on the week of august 13. That whole week will be all morning classes introducing students to the way that they are going to study the bible for the year. Keep an eye out for a start of the semester update sometime in mid August.