Our Story Part Four: Twin Time

      Now that Serve is over and Raymond is back in Edmonton, let's get back to Jacob and I. All of a sudden, our time together was over. We still had our Friday night youth group together, but we no longer had to spend almost every free moment together.

     That did not, however, stop us from hanging out and getting even closer. Because after Serve came a time we now call Twin Time.

     On a Monday evening shortly after Serve, Jacob and I got together to plan for a final service for our worship team. We somehow had it all planned and ready in twenty minutes -which, trust me, is not the norm!- and then he turned to me and said "So.... want to talk?"

     He started. He talked about how he really really liked our friend, mutual Young Adults leader (oh yeah, did I mention that Jacob, Victoria, and our friend Ericka had started a young adults group, and Jacob and I thus had that together, as well), Ericka. The thing was, the past May, Jacob had made a promise to God that he would not date for one year. Now, though, he was at the point where he liked Ericka so very much, and it was getting harder and harder not to say anything.

     Then it was my turn. I talked about how drawn I was to Raymond, and how I so enjoyed talking to him and I definitely liked him. And this happened to be during "Ghost Week" (I'll talk more about that later, but basically I was currently on day 3 of not communicating with Raymond for a week), so I also talked about how hard it was to not message Raymond, and how I was constantly wanting to tell him things, but how weird it was because we had JUST MET! 

     This conversation was the launch pad for Twin Time. For the next month and a half, both Jacob and I experienced deep, hardcore lessons from God, and delightfully, God was teaching us the same things. Probably weekly, Jacob and I would get together just to talk about all that God was doing in our lives, and through that He taught us even more. It got to the point where we would be listening to a lesson at youth group, or just sitting in church listening to a sermon when we would hear something, look at each other, and start laughing because of what was said -something that inevitably related to the lessons we were personally learning. I remember one specific time, we had a weekend young adult retreat at a cottage up north. On the last morning, I pulled out my Jesus Storybook Bible and started reading to everyone, out loud, from the beginning. I started the story of Abraham and Isaac, when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an alter, and there was a line about trusting God (very much a theme for both Jacob and I during this time- and, I mean, always, but especially then!). Jacob was in the kitchen, washing the dishes (with Ericka, surprise surprise, she clearly liked him, too), and I read the line, looked towards him, and we both laughed uncontrollably while everyone else looked on in confusion. Jacob and I, by this point, could read each other's minds. 

     I know this is the story of me and Raymond, but during this really key point in my life, God really provided an important friend in Jacob. Because we were experiencing similar life experiences -liking someone, and not being able to act on it- and God lessons, it was a blessing to have him to talk to and trust with some of my deepest thoughts and emotions. This might sound like a strange kind of cousin relationship, but Jacob has always been more of a brother to me, and we were both incredibly blessed by each other during this time. Enough that I felt the need to write a whole post about it!

     As a quick side note, this was not the only time that Jacob, Ericka, Raymond, and I relationships were parallel. Jacob and Ericka started dating in June of that year (Raymond and I in July, spoilers), and got engaged this past March (a few months after Raymond and I did), after being in a long-distance relationship from September on. And to wrap it up, on August 8, three weeks before us, Jacob and Ericka got married, followed by a move across the country (to Nova Scotia, sadly, not Alberta like we did). So it's been pretty cool. We like to joke that we alternate in our life events- they started dating first, we got engaged first, and they got married first. So that means that Raymes and I have to have a baby first, to stick with the pattern (but that's actually probably likely, since Jacob is in his second year of law school). Jacob and Raymond also have a bro-mance that makes Ericka and I laugh and facepalm at the same time. 

     Blessings,

          Katie

Our Story Part Three: SERVE

      Serve was quite the week. For the longest time, Jacob and I referred to it as "Last week". I'm so glad that it was not just last week, though, because that would mean I would still be in this place of limbo and confusion and honestly a really good place. It just is now in the past and I can't be mad about that!

     Even though I was on the Serve Host Team, I still had to work that week. Every day, I would get up at 6am as usually, and head to work. I'd spend my day working at my physical labour job in the greenhouse. By lunchtime, Jacob would have sent me his ideas for that night's worship session, which I would read and then spend the afternoon thinking about and praying over as I worked. After work, I would run out the back door to my boss's parent's house, where I would shower before dashing to my car and driving straight to church. Once at church, Jacob and I would meet in the sanctuary where his youngest sister, Arabella, would bring me a much-needed coffee. Jacob and I would talk and pray about the session that night, and make our final plans on the songs, readings, and such. My job after this was always to write out and photocopy the order of worship for each member of our team, so I would head down to the office.

     Monday was the Serve team's first day of working, and they all started to trickle back as I was photocopying the order of worship. The door they entered was right by the office, so I greeted them as they entered. Just as I finished, Raymond and his van-full of students arrived back, and I stopped to chat with some of the girls about their day. Raymond was there, as well, and we ended up chatting for awhile before I went back upstairs. 

     We ate dinner shortly afterwards, followed of course by the second worship session. The official evening ended with the worship team gathering as our small group to debrief and pray together. We did this every night, and it was such a precious time during the week. It's still a cherished memory of the Serve week!

     After small group, a few of us inevitably ended up gathered in the fellowship hall, chatting. And Raymond came upstairs. That first evening of talking, there was a group of us. Me, Jacob, a few members of the worship team, and a couple other members of the host team. We all talked and laughed and finally split to go home and to bed.

     And that became the routine of the week. Work, planning, talking to Raymond as he arrived back at church. Dinner, worship, and small group. And then, after the official part of the day was over, talking with Raymond, Jacob, and occasionally one or two others. It seemed that every evening, it was one less person and we talked longer and longer, until Thursday night it was just Jacob, Raymond and I talking. until one in the morning. Jacob fell asleep at one point, and when we woke him up to tell him to go to bed (he was sleeping at church all week), he insisted that we all head downstairs. Little did I know that all week, Jacob could sense a spark between the two of us, and he was intentionally chaperoning us. 

     Until Friday night.

     Friday was the last night of Serve. The Edmonton team was leaving for the airport at 3:30 in the morning. So after one final evening of worship, the whole worship team was invited to stay and play games and hang out with the Edmonton team. None of them were planning on going to bed that night, so it was an all-nighter of fun. 

     I'm not a game person. So although I participated in the first one, when everyone went upstairs to play "Battleship" in the sanctuary, I dipped out, heading to the prayer chairs, located in a dim corner of the fellowship hall. I walked, hoping that Raymond would follow so we could talk, and he did not disappoint. 

     We spent the rest of the night upstairs, talking. About everything and everything. Until 3 in the morning, when he had to go and pack up, we talked. Long after everyone else went back downstairs to play other games, we talked. Alone for the first time.

     At one point, Raymond asked me for my number, and he texted me so we could stay in contact. At the end of the night, he asked if we could hug. And we did, my head fitting perfectly under his chin. We went downstairs, had an awkward public goodbye with everyone, and we all went outside to our cars. Raymond and the rest of the Edmonton team piled into their vans and drove away.

     And just like that, the longest, most exhausting, thrilling, and amazing week of my life was over. And Raymond, the most intriguing, kind, sensitive guy I'd ever met, the man I was drawn to the entire week, was gone.

     Blessings,

          Katie

Our Story Part Two: Breakfast

      So, where was I? Hawaii, Serve opportunity, Jacob.... crazy times.... business..... and Serve. Alright. Got it.

     So January and February were a crazy time for both Jacob and I, and it was all leading up to the week of March 9- 16. March Break 2019. 

     It all started on Saturday, March 9, 2019. It was my first work Saturday of the year, so I was unable to meet at the church to set up and do the final preparations for the team arriving that evening. After work, however, for the first time, I raced straight to the church. About an hour later, the Serve team -a group of students from a high school in Edmonton, along with their teacher and 2 chaperones- arrived. They got set up, we ate dinner, and then Jacob and I gathered our worship team, named PP, to kick off our first worship session. I introduced everyone, we had our time of worship, and then we all split into small group time. The Edmonton team went downstairs, and Jacob and I gathered our worship team to have our own small group. We debriefed the session, during which a lot of us pointed out the mistakes which we made, but we followed that up with prayer and everyone went home. Saturday night was the first of two nights that I had to sleep at the church, so I retired to my room and went to bed.

     Sunday, March 10 dawned a sunny, warm day. Just kidding, I don't remember what the weather was like. What I DO remember, quite vividly, is standing upstairs before breakfast, talking to a fellow Host Team member and the female chaperone from the Edmonton team. As we chatted, a bearded man walked up and handed the female chaperone some papers. "Here are your shower passes," he told her, and immediately I thought "Ohhhhh, he's NOT a student!"

     The man then turned to me, holding out a hand (oh the days when we could shake hands!), "Hi, I'm Ray," he introduced himself. And just like that, without having any inkling of an idea, I had met my future husband.

     The four of us continued chatting until it was time for breakfast, and I ended up seated beside Raymond. As we ate, we talked about out mutual love of travelling, and were delighted to discover that each of us loved Venice in particular. I kept trying to make sure I was talking to the teen girls also at our table, but somehow would find myself back to talking to this Ray guy.

     It wasn't long into breakfast that Raymond casually, during the discussion about travelling Europe, said "We -my ex and I. I'm divorced- were...." I don't remember the whole sentence anymore, obviously, but I do remember immediately thinking "Divorced? Stay away from this one!" To be clear, I in no way was interested in him romantically, nor did it EVER enter my mind, while preparing for Serve and during Serve, that I would meet that Someone. It was just an automatic step back when he mentioned that he had an ex-wife.

     And that's how I met Raymond, my future husband. He introduced himself as Ray -which confused me for the longest time, cause I called him Ray but he didn't seem to respond to it very well, and all of his social media said Raymond. He was trying a thing. He figured he'd never see any of us again, so why not. :P

     After that breakfast, for the rest of the day and week, I was inexplicitly drawn to Raymond. I always took note of where he was. I would pay attention to him. I was always aware of him. It was weird. I was genuinely weirded out by it, at least at first. By the end of the week, we had talked to much that it wasn't so strange, but at the beginning, I didn't understand it. On Sunday, I noticed where he was during church. I watched him in the afternoon, when we played games in the school gym. I noticed when he entered the worship session. I always was aware of where this divorced man from Edmonton was.

     Raymond's first memory of me is from the night before, but I didn't see him until Sunday. And that was just the beginning of an amazing relationship that I am so thankful for. 

     Blessings,

          Katie

Our Story Part One: Hawaii, Serve, and Jacob

     As I sit here, in my new house, unemployed, I realize that I still have not told you the story. The one where God was clearly at work. The one where I met my husband.

     I've got time. Want to hear a God-story?

     Looking back, it all started way back in August of 2018, although I didn't know it then. Out of the blue, I got an email. The man said he was from YWAM in Hawaii, and he asked if I would consider joining their team there. I was floored. This was not on my radar at all. I was comfortable where I was -working at the greenhouse, and volunteering at the church- and returning to YWAM, at a completely different base where I knew exactly zero people, had never entered my mind. So this email really threw me for a loop. I agonized over the decision -I had never felt called back to YWAM, nor to Hawaii. I had felt called to the greenhouse and Georgetown. But was THIS God calling me there? I would feel peace when I thought about staying put, but then I'd get anxious that it wasn't God's peace, but rather a feeling of comfortability where I was. After constantly wavering back and forth for about a week, I ran into a friend's mother after church, and it all came out. She didn't give me any answers, but I felt a lot better after speaking to her. And by the next day, I felt certain that I was to stick to my commitments here in Georgetown -my job, youth group, worship team, mentoring one of the teens- and decided that after I returned from my week long trip out East, I would respond with a no.

     Well, as it turns out, I spontaneously responded before my cousins and I ever started driving across the country. Which, as I said to my cousin Jacob on the drive home, turned out to be a major blessing. If I hadn't declined the offer before we left, I would have spent the entire trip second guessing myself, and trying to confirm and reconfirm over and over again that I had made the right choice. Instead, I was able to truly relax and rest and enjoy the trip. Which turned out to be quite necessary, with the year that was coming.

     Because while all this was going on, my church had been approached with an offer- would we want to host a Serve team during March break of 2019? When this proposal was put forward to the congregation, I -and many others- wondered why on earth a serve team would want to come to Georgetown, Ontario. We're hardly a poor area. But as strange as it seemed, we had been asked and we did feel the call to accept the offer. 

     I feel like this is a good time to introduce Jacob to you. He's my cousin, my best friend's little brother (though not so little anymore!). He's been around for as long as I remember, being just 3 years younger than me, and we got along, but were never close. That East Coast trip that I took in August of 2018 was with Jacob and his younger sister, because Jacob and I were dropping Victoria off at her school in Nova Scotia. Jacob and I got along and enjoyed the trip -apart from the times on the drive home when people assumed that we were a couple... gross!- but we weren't super close or anything. Since he had just graduated from university that summer, he was taking a gap year before going to law school. So he was living at home, going to church, and got involved with youth group. Together, we were leading worship at youth starting in September.

     So one day in October, I went over to Jacob's house. That Serve team was on my mind, and I said "Jacob.... I think you should be the worship leader for Serve." He nodded, "My dad just said the same thing. And I agree.... but only if you do it with me."

     And that was the beginning of The Twins. 

     The entire winter of 2019 was a time of Jacob and I working very closely together. We spent a lot of time together. We were assembling a worship team for Serve, running practices twice a week, and spending the other evenings planning the set up, song selections, as well as simultaneously planning a 4 week long youth series on the Holy Spirit that we had agreed to teach. I'm not kidding when I say that I spent almost every evening at least in part with Jacob during January-March Break that winter. It was an insane amount of work and time together, and I am so glad I got to do it with Jacob.

     Jacob, during the fall, had been studying for and then took his LSAT to apply to law school. With that done, he was temporarily laid off from his job, and so during this time when we were insanely busy, he was not working. Which means he could spend his days continuing the work we needed to get down. Honestly, if he had been working, I don't think we could have done it. We simply wouldn't have had enough time to actually get everything done. God was so, so good. Jacob's boss texted him the week before March break, asking Jacob if he would be able to start working again.... the Monday following March break. Literally the first day that Jacob and I were finished all the crazy amount of work we needed to do.

    I feel like this is a good place to stop for now. This post started as a retelling of my love story, and it still is that. I haven't even met Raymond yet, and most of this post talks about my male cousin -who I can assure you is not the love interest here! Yet it is a very important piece of this story, and one I am incredibly thankful for! 

     Blessings,

          Katie

Relocation

     Tomorrow, Raymond and I will have been married for 7 weeks. Seven weeks! Already! 

     It has been a crazy, wonderful, and comfortable seven weeks. Comfortable. It's a strange word to use, considering how much change has happened, and how little I like change. Yet that's exactly what it has been!

     After our relaxing honeymoon at a rented cottage, Raymond and I spent a week saying goodbye and packing up before we headed out for the long drive across the country. I've never driven through northern Ontario, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan before, but it was an incredible drive. Northern Ontario is beautiful! Ontario is huge -the halfway point of our drive was STILL in Ontario- but beautiful!

     We arrived in Edmonton after four long days of driving, and after a week of settling in, Raymond went back to work and I officially went on the job hunt. My days are spent at home, unpacking, reorganizing, and applying for jobs.

     And then, my Opa died. It didn't come from out of the blue -he's been going downhill for the last year and a half- but it was still sad. I flew home for the funeral, and spent Thanksgiving with my family in Ontario. 

     But not with Raymond. He stayed here in Edmonton while I was in Ontario. We were only apart for nine days -which, considering we were a long distance couple, is nothing!- but it was so so hard. I missed him so much. He struggled with some "phantom limbs" from his divorce. We talked briefly on the phone most days, but it was a strange week. Good, because I got to spend time with my family and my cat, but hard because I missed my husband.

     Ultimately, that week back in Ontario was really a blessing when it came to my adjustment to moving to Edmonton. Being back at my parent's house, I realized that it really isn't home anymore. Home is Edmonton, because that is where Raymond is. And as cheesy as it sounds, home is where Raymond is. 

     I love that man so much. 

     God is very good.

     Blessings,

          Katie

New Normal

     Today is the first day of all the change in my life. I mean, obviously not really, since I've been engaged for 7 and a half months, and you could point out numerous other changes along the pathway of my life. BUT today is the day it really gets real. 

     Yesterday was my final day working at the greenhouse. I have been working there, in various capacities, for more than 13 years. I've been full time there since I came back from YWAM in 2016. It's my second home, a place where the people are like family. I've experienced a lot of frustrations and annoyances there, but I have also had a lot of laughter, fun, and friendships. That place has produced friends that will, God willing, be in my life forever. I've learned a lot, from the practical things about growing plants to the strategies of leadership and supervising. I've learned how to have fun while doing crappy jobs, and I've learned how to multitask like crazy. It has been a fantastic ride, and one that I am sad to see end. I had a lot of emotions over the past 8 months, processing the end of this era, and it's been quite the pendulum. Ultimately, it was a bittersweet goodbye. 

     However, it's ending means a tremendous new beginning. Today, Raymond arrives in Ontario and our time as a long distance couple officially comes to an end! A week from tomorrow, we will be getting married! 

     This is the beginning of our new normal. To which Raymond would say "There's no such thing as normal, it's just a social construct!" 

     Our wedding is going to look drastically different than we first imagined it would. Back when we got engaged in late 2019, we had no idea what was about to unfold in our world. Covid-19 was something no one had ever heard of, cause it hadn't even been named yet! Instead of a church wedding with everyone we love, we will be having a smaller, outdoor ceremony. Wedding planning has been a crazy ride, one that changes constantly, but honestly, I'm so happy with how the plans are turning out. I'm okay with a smaller ceremony and even smaller reception. I'm completely happy with it.

     Because ultimately, all the matters is our marriage. Saying the vows and committing to each other. Entrusting our lives to God. If Covid has taught us anything, it is that God is in control and He is what truly matters.

     Blessings,

          Katie

Re-Boot

     Hey! It's been so long, but my life is changing yet again and I feel like this is a good platform to process it on.

     For the last few years, since 2016 and coming home from YWAM (wow, has it really been 4 years already?!), I've been living at home with my parents, attending the same church, and working at the same job. It's been normal. Rooted. I'm home. I'm flourishing, I'd say, in some areas. I've been working at my high school job, a greenhouse, but in a very different capacity, and it's a place I've very much felt called to. And I love it! I've also become very involved at my church, even becoming the youth director this year, along with my friend and a girl I mentored, a now twenty year old sweetheart. It was super hard and super challenging, but God was so faithful and good.

     Here's the thing, though: in December, I got engaged to my amazing fiance, Raymond. How we met is a complete God story in and of itself, one that I will definitely be telling another time, simply for my own reflection! Every time I look back on how God brought us together, I can't help but laugh and be in complete awe of Him!

     Raymond, however, lives not in the Toronto, Ontario, area where I live, but in Edmonton, Alberta. So after we get married on August 29 of this year, I will be moving out west to Alberta! Which is equally scary and exciting. I have to say goodbye to my job, which I love, and my church, which I also love, and to some extent my family. It's not going to be an easy thing, but it is where God is calling us to begin our marriage, and so there we will be. I'm excited to enter this new adventure with Raymond, and to get to know his family and friends better. I'm also very very VERY thankful that my cousin and best friend, Rachel, already has lived in Edmonton for several years for work. God is good!

     So, with that being said, here is my life. We'll see how often I write, but this is really just for me, anyway. And if others get enjoyment out of it, I'm glad!

     Blessings,

          Katie