{shutters slide to unveil fingerprints of angels}: June 2008

{we love each other}

As most of you know by now (and if not, sheesh get with the program) Diane & I shared some vows, gave some rings, and did some kissing a little over a week ago. Yet I honestly think that a "wedding" must last much longer than the 20 minutes we shared in the sun; family and friends googling with anticipation; Diane and I recessing quirkishly down the aisle looking at each other in a "that was it?" kind of way. I was actually thinking about how anyone could spend so much time & money investing into such a minutiae-blur of a moment as I floated by all the posh faces...

It's so easy to say I love you, but it's another thing entirely to constantly demonstrate love through humility, selflessness, and grace; to walk a lifetime of patience with another, dying and dying again. It's also another thing entirely to extend the vows shared beyond one another to all of humanity, but so we are called by Christ to love. Last Saturday was not just another physical act, no, it was not just another foot washing. Rather, it shared more in common with baptism; an uprooting of the soul, a public declaration to literally be the hands and feet of Jesus in radical redemptive love to all people. To let the sand beneath our feet be an echo of His grace...

{grace}

All that said, we did have an incredible Wedding. I don't know how in the world it turned out so beautiful on our "missionary budget" (i.e. free) but what an awesome example of God's provision. We are so incredible thankful to everyone who flew across oceans to be apart of it and to everyone who took time to think of us and smile. We love you all, miss you all, and can't wait to see you whenever God brings us back home. There should be pictures and videos floating around soon enough (these things happen when 90% of your guest list comprise of photographers). If you have been praying DON'T STOP we feel them in our bones...

{SO ONWARD - WHAT'S NEXT?}

Well amazingly one week from today we are heading to the field. All the lectures and prep work have been incredible but I must say Diane & I are just aching to leave. July 1st we start the first leg of our ROUND THE WORLD TRACK, as we and the team make our journey to Afghanistan. It will take us three or four days to even get to Kabul (via Japan & India) then we will bus over the mountains to the north of the country where we will primarily be working out of Mazar-e-Sharif. Once in Afghanistan we will have a solid couple weeks of language courses before we start working in the tribal communities doing food drops and capturing the incredible beauty of these people. The famine in Northern Afghanistan is worse today than ever and we long to aid the work being done by capturing their stories and by sharing the hope we have within us!!! I've never been so exited in my whole life. We so need your prayers for travel, safety, cultural sensitivity, reconciliation, and Lord knows the list could go on and on...

...We have no idea how much communication we will have once on the ground but I will try to update the blog as much as physically possible as well as send out e-mails...I will try and call as many of you as possible before we leave in a week. If you want to talk by all means don't hesitate to call, we don't care that we are "on our honeymoon" we just want to be able to share with you and touch base before we leave...

PS - I totally love these people...