I'm Engaged!!!!!

I am soooooooo excited to be engaged to Jonathan Asbun!!!!!! He is a wonderful gift from God and I am so thankful for God's goodness and faithfulness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonathan is also a missionary with Living Water Teaching and he has committed to serving in Guatemala for the next four years! Isn't that awesome?!!!

Continue reading for my totally girly perspective of how we met and fell in love...

Background & How We Met

I met Jonathan for the first time while leading mission trip to Guatemala in July of 2008. He was assigned to be the translator for one of my team members and myself. That in itself is really cool, because I usually don't ask for a translator, but I was feeling a little rusty on my Spanish and wanted to make sure that I was using the proper words when sharing the Gospel with people so I requested a translator, and that's how we met. I obviously had to spend a good amount of time with him and so I was able to see how he treated people, how much he loved Jesus, and I saw how passionate he was about sharing the love of Jesus with others. Plus, I felt completely comfortable around him. I must admit, I was intrigued, which is a big deal, because I don't think I have ever really been intrigued by a guy before ;-)

I will admit, I did get a little annoyed that I was intrigued by a guy that I would likely never see again. I mean, he was from Bolivia, studying in Guatemala, and would probably be going back to Bolivia in a year or so... Out of all the guys in the world to intrigue me, it had to be someone far away and practically impossible. So, I decided to be thankful that God had sent me a great guy friend to remind me of the type of guy that I was waiting to meet (I seriously wrote about that in my journal that week, how by meeting Jonathan I was encouraged that there was someone still out there for me with the character traits I wanted in a guy, but as much as I thought Jonathan was great, I thought it was impossible, so I tried not to think about him).

During that trip, I spent a lot of time praying and seeking God. I felt as though God was calling me to a new level of surrender. I think that every time we walk through the process of surrender, that we feel as though there is nothing else to lay at the feet of Jesus, but with time we are once again finding the beauty of surrender. And when that happens as hard as it seems to lay down our man-made hopes and dreams, we can look back at the faithfulness of our wonderful Father and know that it doesn't matter how great our plans are, that a life given in full surrender to him, is indeed the best life of all!

It was during the prayer and the Bible reading and the seeking that I sensed great changed coming in my life. I felt as though God was preparing my heart for full-time missions. I started feeling as though God wanted me to move to Guatemala to be a missionary. I didn't mention it to anyone, I wanted to go home and pray some more, I wanted to make sure that I knew it was God and that I wasn't making a decision based on my surroundings.

So, I came back to Charlotte and continued praying, I still felt that it was what I was supposed to do, so I talked about it with some close mentors of mine, and was encouraged to begin the process of applying. By December, my applications had been approved and I was set to go for a month of training in February.

I was so excited, I knew that I was walking on the path that God had for me. Some people would ask me about when I wanted to get married, and I admit the thought was there in my mind, but I knew that God had called me to Guatemala for at least the next four years, so I was prepared to return to the states in my thirties and still single. Seriously, the desire to be married was there, but one of the things you find in surrendering to God's plan, is that your desire to walk in His will is stronger that that, so if it meant that I was going to be single forever, I was going to fulfill his plan!

So, I went to Guatemala in February for my training and guess who I saw? Jonathan! And boy, was I still intrigued! But, I just knew he would be going back to Bolivia and so I determined that I couldn't think about him. So, I stayed focused on my training. One day while in the dining hall on the Mission's Campus, we talked for a little while and he told me that he was actually going through the same application/training process that I was to become a full time missionary to Guatemala and that his four year commitment would start about the same time as mine! What?!!!! What was that beautiful music in my ears? He, Jonathan, the only guy to ever intrigue me, the one that I kept shoving out of my head, was going to be a missionary to Guatemala, at the same place and the same time I was? Well, as excited as I was on the inside, I was very polite on the outside. "Well, that's very nice." is all that I said. Haha! There was no way that I was going to tell him that a choir of angels was singing "The Hallelujah Chorus" around my head. I mean, God was talking to both of us about becoming missionaries and neither of us knew about it.

From there, I still tried to forget about him. I knew I was in Guatemala on a mission. Distractions were not allowed! So, when I realized (with lots of thought and prayer) that maybe this wasn't a distraction, I discussed it with a trusted missionary friend and got the thumbs up. He did the same. So, with time we began a closer friendship and it slowly, but surely began to develop into so much more! And now... we are going to get married!!!!

The Proposal

So, Jonathan came to the states for some training and itineration. While here, he was to come to Charlotte to meet and spend the holidays with my family (I went to Bolivia to meet his family over Thanksgiving). Well, on December 23rd we drove up to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate, which is one of my favorite places. It is the biggest privately owned home in the United States, built by the Vanderbilts. It's beautiful and so full of history. We were going to a fancy dinner at the Biltmore Inn and then we were going on a Candlelight Christmas Tour of the home. I was so excited! Well, in all honesty, I was hoping he would propose because I thought it would be the perfect place and we were so dressed up, but I didn't know if he would, or if he had a ring, or anything. On top of that he was so calm during dinner, and I had always heard that the guys could never eat before proposing, but he didn't seem to have that problem ;-) haha! Well, it was between the entree and dessert that I saw him reach into his pocket... and then suddenly, the server appeared with coffee... so, I tried to read his face, did the sudden coffee appearance throw him off? Was he going to propose? Was my life about to forever be changed? So... he reached into his pocket again, I was hoping... and then he started telling me how wonderful I am (which I could write about for awhile because there are so many wonderful things about me, just kidding) and then he gave me the absolute most beautiful ring, EVER!!! It was so wonderful!!! I was soooooooo happy, I still am, of course!!!! It was a perfect proposal!!!!

I am so thankful for God's amazing goodness and grace! He is so faithful and His plans for our lives are so much better than anything we could ever hope or dream of!!!!

We don't know what all God has in store, but we do know that He is so good and we are so glad that He brought us together to serve Him and to share His amazing love with the world!!!