Where I Talk About Myself in 3rd Person...

Funny little story: Ben and Sarah meet and date in high school. Ben is a Junior, Sarah is a Freshman. Two years go by, Ben graduates and goes four hours away to college. Bethel College (now University) in Minnesota. The cities. He plays football. He gets injured during a game. On the way to the hospital they pass a small church, he decides to check out that church the next Sunday.

Ben ends up loving this church. This church loves Ben. The pastor of little church graduated from Central Seminary, Plymouth MN.

Two more years go by, and although Ben loves Bethel...it is pricey and Sarah is graduating high school...here comes Iowa State University (Go Cyclones!)

Fast forward two more years. Ben graduates Iowa State, Ben and Sarah get married, move to MN and Ben starts seminary...Central Seminary.

Guess where we go to church? Yep. Same place. Sarah wasn't so sure she'd love it like Ben did...she wasn't so sure they'd ever find a church that fit them both. Sarah was wrong.

The End...sort of.

God used that church, the people and the youth to change us, mold us, and prepare us for the ministry here in tiny town. Going back to visit this past weekend was so sweet...I have no words for it.

Because I knew we'd only be in MN while Ben was in seminary, I did a really great job of not making many close friends (outside of our youth ministry.) I would not recommend this, by the way. Until one Sunday morning...Noah was about 6 months old and I had to take him out to the foyer because he was crabby. Standing out there was a visitor with a little boy just a few months older than Noah. They were sporting the same diaper bag as us. And if you're me, you take that

as a sign from God that you are to be friends with these people...because they have excellent taste, of course ;)

And we were, indeed, meant to be friends. Noah was almost 2 years old when we left MN. Eli was just 7 months...they only remember our life there from pictures and stories we tell them.

Here is a picture of the boys together about five years ago:

And Sunday, when we saw them again for the first time, it was as if no time had passed for those boys. They knew they had been friends when they were little. They knew they didn't really remember it...but it didn't matter to them. Once friends, always friends for these guys. It was absolutely precious.

We feel the same way. Jeff and Sarah are the kind of friends you can go years without seeing, and then pick right back up as if no time has passed. It is a priceless gift, and we are so thankful for friends like that!

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