18 days!!!!!!!!!

It's getting really close! Keep the prayers coming....and if you're coming RSVP ASAP (except mom, dad, Carl and Aunt Toni, I've got you)! Weddings are definitely not for the faint of heart; neither is marriage from what I've heard. So, pray that God teaches me to be "strong and courageous"!

Bridezilla

I'm getting married in just 41 days!!! Currently I am 3 parts excited, 1 part terrified, and about 4 parts freaking out.

I've never really appreciated the term "living in fast forward" until recently. It seems like only 2 days ago that I was in Boracay with Charles asking me to marry him. But suddenly I'm only 41 days away from the wedding...and there's a lot to do. Praise God we have signed the lease on an apartment! So, at least we won't be sleeping on the street :)

Fortunately, as I start to hyperventilate I usually remember that the most important thing is not that the event itself is beautiful but that the marriage following it be all that God wants for us. I'm also blessed with a fiance who doesn't mind helping out a lot. If he left me on my own it would probably all fly apart. I'm definitely not the bride who's had a plan in mind since she was seven...as I type the colors of the wedding are still only tentatively settled as an amorphous blue and green (dark blue, light green, aquamarine, navy, sage, indigo...who knows what it'll end up!).

So, far I think we're both holding up pretty well under the pressure...mostly because Charles is so patient with me. It's been fun, but it will be nice to have the wedding planning all finished and know that everything is ready.

Well, as time ticks down please remember to pray for me. And please also pray that our wedding day would point to the Author of all romance and the Writer of the greatest love story.

A Little Romance

So, here’s the engagement story. Let me warn you it’s a looooong one. A couple weeks ago Charles told me he had Friday morning off from school and that he’d like to have breakfast with me. He’d like to watch the sunrise and eat breakfast with me to be precise. I (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to meet him outside my apt at 5:30am Friday August 22^nd 2008 to go watch the sunrise, then come back home and commence with a normal Friday. Little did I know what I was in for that day.

5:00 rolled around and I got up, dressed and fussed about my “stupid tennis shoes” that I couldn’t find for the life of me. I settled for my purple crocs in the end. When I was ready to head out I knocked on Kim’s door (she’s my fantastic roommate) and woke her up like I promised I would so she could go running. Then I ran downstairs because I promised I wouldn’t be late. When I got to the door I started smiling and waving to Charles and then stopped dumbstruck by a limo parked in front of my apartment where I thought there’d be a motorcycle. While my brain struggled to process the fact, two camera’s held by two of Charles’ bible study members clicked away. I’m not sure I want to see those pictures. I got into the limo (I think I hugged Charles first, I’m not sure now) and called Kim. I stuttered something about sitting in a limo and she excitedly asked if she could come see. I recovered my senses enough to ask her to bring my camera down. At this point I figured I was taking a limosine ride to breakfast and back to the apartment and eventually my day would normalize; probably once I got to work. Wrong.

When Kim appeared she brought more than my camera. She had my backpack and an extremely overstuffed duffle bag (which contained the stupid tennis shoes that I couldn’t find). “Here, you’ll need these too.” Again, my poor 5:40am brain struggled to comprehend the meaning of two pieces of luggage. Clearly I wasn’t going to work today. I asked Charles (rather pointlessly) if he had called Bridget (my boss). To which he answered yes and that I apparently had the day off. And as we began to drive, I began to tic off possible weekend destinations in my head. I tentatively settled on Taipei as the most likely answer, and was rewarded by our arrival at the High Speed Rail, the fastest way to get to Taipei from Kaohsiung. Wrong again!

My next in a very long series of surprises was that we got off the train one stop earlier than I anticipated, at the airport rather than downtown Taipei. Here I began to panic mildly. I was clearly about to leave the country when I hadn’t even planned on leaving Kaohsiung! What’s more Charles wouldn’t tell me where we were actually going. He was compassionate and sweet, but very firm on the fact that he wanted this to be a surprise for as long as he could keep it that way. I was torn between the pressing, anxious desire to know (and therefore have some semblance of control) and the desire to enjoy the element of surprise for his sake. Eventually it became clear at the gate that we were headed to the Philippines! So much for Taipei.

When we got off the plane we were met by the Hotel Resort’s pick up service. I knew at this point that he was going to ask me to marry him some time over the course of the weekend. You might think that most of the surprises were over by this point in time, but that would be a wrong assumption. A van ride, a boat ride, and a truck ride later found us at the Nami Resort Hotel. Rio and Toni showed me around a beautiful room/living room, balcony, and jacuzzi. Then I turned around to discover the next surprise, my friend Katie!! Charles had sent ahead our own private chaperone (aka “lightbulb” in Chinese slang)! Katie brought me up to speed on all the planning and scheming that had been going on for 2 weeks behind my back. I got a quick shower, but then Katie and I had to go off to our 6:30pm massage appointment! There are no words to describe how relaxing my first full massage left me. Limp noodle is close, but it doesn’t quite convey the full force of the feeling. So, relaxed but still in a strange state of shock and euphoria, I made my way back to the room to change for dinner. The kind suggestion was made that I wear the one and only dress I own, which had made its sneaky way into my duffle bag.

So, in my dress I found my way to my flower strewn and candle bedecked balcony. Music was playing from a CD player inside the sliding door. The hotel staff brought up delicious food, but I don’t remember what it was. I also don’t remember much of what we talked about to be honest, except that there was a pretty wood box about four inches long and two wide that I couldn’t open until after dessert. It seemed like a long time until dessert! It finally came though, and I was told I could open the box. I discovered two rows of little bottles inside with corks in the tops numbered one to eight. Charles smiled and told me that they were eight of the reasons he loved me, so go ahead and start at number one. I read one through seven before he stopped me and told me that there was something he wanted to do.

He pushed his chair back and pulled over a bowl of water and a small towel…some of you know what’s coming next, but some of you need explanation. The night before Jesus gave up his life for us on the cross he washed the feet of his twelve followers to demonstrate how we are supposed to love and serve each other. Charles gently washed and dried my feet…at which point I started crying. When he finished he tapped the glass lightly and the song on the CD player switched to “The Book of Love” (Peter Gabriel for those of you who want to know) and he told me I could read the last reason he loved me. It said “You’re not perfect, but you’re the perfect one for me.” Tied to the bottle was a tiny object wrapped in paper. He untied and unwrapped my great-grandmother’s diamond ring and knelt to say that he loved me, wanted to serve and take care of me…and asked me if I would marry him. He got a tearful, but firm “yes!” in answer!

Firsts

Hello Everyone!

I’ve been in Taiwan 11 months, 15 days, 14 hours, and some odd minutes. Life in this country has brought with it all manner of “firsts”. Many of them are unique to Taiwan. Some of them could have happened elsewhere, but happened to take place while I’ve been here. I thought I’d share some of these new things with all of you.

- First time eating chicken hearts and butts

- First time riding a scooter

- First traffic accident (I’m fine praise God!)

- First modeling gig (probably the last too)

-First experience living illiterate

-First hermit crab pet

-First massage/haircut combo

-First full time job!!

-First time snorkeling

-First time at a night market

-First time eating a squid on a stick

-First time living as a racial minority

-First time living as an “Alien Resident”

-First kiss (Oct 28^th 2007)

-First time coordinating Sunday School

-First time living in a big city

Time here in Kaohsiung has been lots of fun, a little stressful at times, and very stretching. As I learn to walk with my Jesus in a completely new context it is increasingly comforting to know that He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He is the same God here in Taiwan that He is in the US. He is the Almighty Creator of the Universe, the only true God!