Deanna and her brother Dan, sing in Tuxpan, Mexico



Tomorrow, I have the privilege of marrying a dear friend and his bride. I first met him in the Indianapolis airport.

We lived in Indy for over 20 years and raised our family there. My church at the time was bringing in a young man from Awe Star Ministries to train our students in the method we would use overseas to do ministry.

This young man, was the trainer. His name is David. I held a sign with his name on it and had seen a picture of him...very tan with a shaved head.

The man who came down the escalator looked a bit different. The tan had faded and the hair grown back in...well some of it.

I would take him to his hotel, and follow him to his room...only to find out that the room had not yet been cleaned from a previous occupant. Great! We are really getting off on the right foot here.

Anyway, we changed rooms and headed off to the training, which was to take all weekend. We had a dozen and a half students ready to learn. Among them, was my daughter Whitney, who at the time was finishing her junior year in High School.

David would cast her in the role of the Knightmare (Satan). BJ came to every training. He was very anxious to get to the mission field, and wanted to participate however he could. He knew his sister had to take a college entrance exam the next morning, so he paid particular attention to her role.

He loved watching the sword fight performed between the Christ figure and the Satan figure. He practiced with empty hands and a full heart.

This did not escape David's attention.

The next morning, when Whitney was gone, David asked BJ to stand in. David expected to have to tell him where to go with each scene. He didn't have to...BJ had memorized the part.

On the way home that evening, David would ask BJ to go with him to Peru that same summer.

Beej began weighing the options. He really wanted to go to camp...but more than that, he had wanted to go on this mission trip, but was a year too young. He quickly decided, this was not about what he wanted, and vowed to seek the Lord on the topic.

By morning, the Lord had spoken, and BJ would begin the process of preparing to go to Peru.

He went two years in a row, as most know. David was his leader both summers. David had been there many times before.

BJ and David drew very close to one another. David recognized something in BJ, and he worked to grow and develop him.

When Beej returned and landed in the hospital after the second trip, David flew to Indy to spend a bit of time with us.

When BJ passed, David came with the rest of Awe Star staff, to his Memorial Celebration, and spoke about his friend.

Months later, when I moved to Tulsa 6 weeks before Deanna, David worked hard to welcome me, and make me feel at home. We became close friends.

We would work together over the next two years or so, and often have lunch together to process things in our lives and at work.

When David was called to a Muslim Island nation trip with his church, he did not understand the call, but he went anyway. While there, God called him to return full time!

He came home, came to my house, and we celebrated the calling, together!

David left months later to serve in this land. It was not an easy adjustment, he was lonely as anyone would be, and struggled to stay focused, at times.

This past summer, we sent our first team to that nation to work with David. It was an amazing summer of building relationships with these lost people. We are sending a return team in a couple of months.

Back after the turn of the century, a young woman named Piper would go on an Awe Star trip to Africa. At training, she would meet this man named David. Her first impression was fear. She felt very uncomfortable in his presence.

Years later, the Lord would reconnect them, via the internet. She was serving in Colorado at a Christian Camp. God began to move in their hearts. They would draw very close via skype and other instant chat mechanisms, on-line.

David would ask me to get to know her. I spent a considerable time on the phone with her, as she asked me questions about him. Their love grew.

David returned to the US at the end of his first year, to raise support. God would unite them in heart and purpose, and they became engaged.

Tomorrow, I have the privilege of marrying this couple that have become intertwined in my life and in my heart. I assisted in their pre-marital counseling, and have watched them develop a deep love for one another.

Tomorrow, David and Piper will unite at 1:00PM Central time...and I get to do the uniting...well, the Lord and me!

We serve an amazing God!


dad