10 years ago today...

My first trip to Guatemala was in July 1998, the 18th through the 24th to be exact. I started that very first trip keeping journals of every single day. It is really neat now to go back and read about that little girl who's life was so changed by what she saw.

So, what was my journal entry for July 20, 1998? This guy, Gino, asked me if I wanted to play soccer with him. Honestly, I was smitten from that first moment, and it is apparent in my journal entries from that day on. Of course, I never imagined that God would work so wonderfully in bringing us back together later and now to be engaged!! We've gone through a lot in the 10 years we've known each other and the 5 years we've been together. I just think our story is so amazing. It is so God because it did not seem possible for so many years. But nothing is impossible with God. Here is a picture of that first day after playing soccer.


This second picture is from my last night there on that first trip. My hands are full of stuffed animals and painted blocks of wood from some of the little girls that I had attached to. I remember at that last service, when everyone prayed for our safe return home, some of the kids were asked to lay hands on any team members that were around them. Gino was one of the ones praying for me.