A cake for my celebration at work!
Me and J at his home church...I am listening to a translator...but am learning Dutch..pray for me...my roomie says I sound like an alien when I read from my Jip and Janneke book...a children's book in Dutch!!
The Happy Couple!
Meeting his family... Jacco is the youngest of 3 boys and has a younger sister.
Jacco and his parents...so sweet!
Love this picture of our hands over God's Word! It is our foundation for Life!
So we have a thing for benches...this is where he asked me to marry him...at sunset..my favorite time of the day I might add!
Looking at our rings together for the first time
Bliss!
Purchasing the rings...we prayed that we could get the ones we wanted in our budget. We got them under budget!!! Thank you Lord!
The rings...in most of Europe, the guy wears his wedding band during the engagement and then switches it to the ring finger after they are married.
Us aboard the Logos Hope
Our first date at sunset!
My first flowers from J-man!
Handsome...doing his thing...I love it!
Yes...I AM ENGAGED to be married! And to the most wonderful man in the world if I do say so myself...and I am! His name is Jacco Oldenkamp. Jacco is pronounced "YACCO"...the J sounds like a Y...but you can call him J for short. He is originally from Holland but lives and works in our international office in England. Many of you have asked...wow...we didn't even know you were dating someone. So I wanted to fill everyone in on the highlights of our story. To start we need to go back to over a year ago...when we first met....
"Um excuse me, I have some pictures I would like to put up on the screen for the OM Ireland presentation...do you think you could help me? I would love to...but we are about to start so you'll just have to go around to the truck and see if they can help you." Wow...I thought to myself...what a jerk...he couldn't help me with something so simple. He was thinking "Oh my goodness...what a beautiful girl...but I've got to follow orders from my boss...we are about to start". Yep...this was our first encounter at our GO conference in Holland last August. He was working with our media division from our International office in England, (OMNIvision) on the cameras...and I was there as a new recruit. Love was not EVEN on my radar...and for him...knowing I was a new recruit...it wasn't on his either. But none the less...he did think I was a cutie...and I thought...hmmm...he's cute...but could have been more helpful. Not the ideal start...right?
Fast forward to February of this past year...where OM Ireland was hosting a conference in which we asked OMNIvision to come and do the media. I was in charge of logistics...one of which was to feed the OMNIvision team as they set up for the event. The bus pulls up and who steps off...you got it...Mr. unhelpful himself. I'm thinking...great...now I have to feed this guy...and he couldn't help me with such a tiny request. Yes...I must admit I was a little bit of a brat in this situation! He was thinking... "YES! This is the girl from the conference...she's so pretty!" So I went about my business as professional as possible...making sure they were all fed and watered! :)
Then one night during in the middle of the event, we had a power outage. It was such a cool evening despite the power loss...everyone was in this big room...just singing praise and worship songs in the pitch black dark. Then someone started to hand out glow sticks and the darkness became broken up by neon red, blues, and greens. As they passed around I took one...that wouldn't glow. Jacco, who couldn't work the camera without electricity had come down off his stand..the same one in which I was leaning against and came to stand next to me. After seeing my glow stick wasn't working...I turned to him in all seriousness and said "This is so not reflective of my personality"...invision lip quivering here. He said something that made my heart skip a beat...the words that would forever be engraved in my memory. He said "You know...you don't need a glow stick...because you are already glowing!" He then got me a new glow stick, which I still have in my memory box...call me a sap for romance! :)
Needless to say that led to us exchanging contact details...which manifested itself to facebook friends...and then skype buddies...and then to phone calls. It was a magical time of building a friendship...finding out about each other...and our passion and love for the Lord. After a few weeks, we realized that this was much more than just friends...we were now romantically interested in each other.
After approaching our leadership, we were asked to cool things down a bit, as I technically had not been on the field for my full year. We were encouraged to write each other everyday in a prayer journal...which we would later exchange. The next time we would be able to speak to each other would not be until June...and it was only the end of March. We were heartbroken to say the least...but the old saying...absence makes the heart grow founder is very true. So we wrote our final goodbye letters and began seeking the Lord for His will for our lives when we met again in June. Boy did the Lord speak!
June 1st rolls around and I get a delivery at my home...a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a note with a simple smiley face on it! I knew exactly who they were from and my heart did overtime. We began back slowly...talking over the phone and exchanging our prayer letters for one another. It was so amazing to see how God would have us both looking at the same scriptures many times...as well as have us praying about the same things without even knowing it. It is so cool to see the process of how God makes two become one.
We met up again face to face at a conference in June in Ireland. It was a great time for us to really get to know each other on another level...and we went on our very first official "date". It was so amazing...and we both knew then and there that we had something very special...a gift from God.
Enter July and the busy summer season...you see during the summer in a missions organization...this is your busiest time..when most programs will be running full force. It is an exciting time, but also a very exhausting. We worked several other events together and were blessed to spend 2 weeks on board our ship the Logos Hope while it was here in Ireland. It was here that we had some good times and some not so good times. Did I ever tell you that I tend to be a brat? Well...I must admit that I gave into my tiredness and almost ended everything...just to be "free" again...but quickly learned from my mistakes and realized...with a little chastising from the Father...that I was making a mistake to end the relationship.
You see I was not willing to give it a chance and was trying to nit pick at anything I could because I was really just scared to death to make another bad decision when it came to a relationship. Can anyone relate? I've had some duzzies in my past...but the Lord gently showed me the past is the past...and what He had planned for me...I couldn't even imagine. Mean while...poor Jacco was patiently waiting. He knew that I would come back around...and I did. After that small hic up...we went full steam ahead and there was no turning back. I realized the errors of my ways (my fear)...and let go and let God take over. Needless to say it has been bliss ever since!
We had several other times of getting to know each other throughout the summer at various conferences...which the highlight came in Germany at our annual TeenStreet conference. It was such a special time that God gave us there...and a time of revealing to both of us that even though it is quick...we both KNEW that we are meant to be together. We both realized that we were to get married! Yeah!
After a busy summer, we were given time off for holidays in August. We went to Holland, where J is from originally to meet his family and home church. It was another great time...and I felt like I had been part of his family for years. It was so good to spend time with the solid sold out for Jesus parents that raised Jacco. And to hear all the stories of when he was a kid. Cool story...his mother told me that at age 12 he told his parents he would be serving God as a missionary one day. About that same time in my own life...I was telling my mom that I would marry a foreign man! How cool is that? So it was on a bench at sunset in Holland that our lives changed as we knew it...when he proposed...and we couldn't be happier.
So what is next? We hope to come Stateside, Lord willing in December for J to meet my family, friends, and home church. Our leadership have been very gracious and have offered for us to take a sort of furlough time while we are there...since I will be coming on the field for a more permanent timeline. Jacco is already a long termer...but we would need to raise more supporters for me to make that transition. After much prayerful consideration and talking things through with leadership from both fields, our home churches, family, and of course the LORD...Jacco and I feel that it would be best for me to transition from OM Ireland to OMNIvision. Again, this is our international office where Jacco works. I will basically be doing my same role in conference services...but on a bigger scale while J will continue to develop his ministry with the media team there. I am sad to be leaving Ireland and they have expressed they are sad to be losing me, but I know that God has used me here...even if for "a time such as this"...and pray that He will continue to let me "get to do what I do for Him" over in England...and even better... with a helpmate by my side...how cool is that??
So we hope to be in the States December-end of March...then traveling for a couple of weeks to Holland to meet with Jacco's home church and supporters...then finally to our new home in England...Lord willing...to round out the month of April. During that time we will be meeting with everyone to share about our future ministry together as well get married of course!!! Our wedding date will be February 20, 2010 at FBCW. Cool thing is...it will be one year to the date that we both realized that we were interested in one another...remember the night the lights went out at that conference...that was the date! It will be a busy time...but an exciting one. I am so thankful for this opportunity to come "home"...especially to spend that time with my family before moving more permanently over seas!
PLEASE PRAY FOR US!!!
We sure could use your prayers. One...we need to have a special visa for J to come to the states to get married and stay more than the regular 90 days. We pray that we will be able to decipher how to exactly apply for it and that it will be approved and come very soon! Anyone who could help with that...please let me know!
Second, please pray that we will really be able to soak up what God wants to show us as we are going through our pre marital counseling together and with my home church. Our prayer is that we will truly see God's glory in how two become one!
Third, we pray that God will provide financially. We are in need of purchasing round trip tickets to come to the States as well as costs for visas...moving me from Ireland to England...and not to mention wedding expenses and a honeymoon. Anybody got any good ideas for a cheap but relaxing honeymoon in February? But we are not worried...we know that our Heavenly Father knows our needs!!!
As always...PLEASE pray for the Father's hand to be on us and that we will truly be able to hear His voice over all areas of our lives as we walk through this busy but exciting time. The verse we have both been given and cling to is from Isa 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Thank you all so much for your prayers and continued support and I can't wait for you to meet the man God has given to me!!!! See you soon...Lord willing!!!
PS...we have been given a nickname: MOJO...stands for Mary Oldenkamp and Jacco Oldenkamp! Kind of catchy huh???
