Dominican Republic Day 1

For those of you who haven't heard I recently have taken a part time job serving as the High School Ministry Assistant for our church here in Tampa called South Tampa Fellowship. One of my first jobs was being in charge of planning this trip to the Dominican Republic for 46 students, which has humbled and stretched me in the best way possible! I wanted to share some of what we experienced while we were there, just to share with people and serve as a reminder to me of how God moved in incredible ways on this trip. Slowly I want to try and  make sure these stories make it to the blog. I figured it would be easiest to break it up day by day! We arrived to the Dominican Republic on Saturday afternoon. After we had made it through the airport and through customs, we had about an hour bus ride to our hotel.  We managed to arrive at our hotel just in time to catch the most incredible sunset over the ocean. DR is truly a beautiful island with crystal clear water, beautiful beaches, and tropical plants. That night we got to meet Kenneth and his wife Valerie, the missionary team we would be partnering with for the next week. They are incredible and have such a heart for the Dominican people. Kenneth cast the vision to us of what the next week would look like and how he wanted us to help partner with him!  Here are a few pictures from the first night! Stay tuned for more :)

Love,

Annabeth

Our Love Story

{Our Love Story}

 So before I write about our proposal, I thought it would be fun to start from the very begining when we met. I always believe there are two versions of every story. I asked Chase to write down our love story from his point of view and then I wrote down mine. These stories are from a few months ago that we both wrote down in our journal. I just love looking back and seeing how much we have changed, grown closer to God, and grown closer to each other. God is incredibly faithful. He truly is writing us the most beautiful story of grace, redemption, and selfless love.

Chase's Version: (Written May 2013)

   It all began my sophmore year. She says we met at the FCA Fall Retreat dance, but don't tell her that I don't remember that :) What I do remember was seeing her at a Clemson football game when it was cold and I realized she had the most beautiful soft, blue eyes. I remember talking to her and accidently telling her that. I let her wear my orange beany because she said her ears were cold. I think she actually stole it from me!

But the sparks started to fly later in the spring semester. I saw her in the library, 3rd floor to the left, middle table, and I walked over to go to sit next to her and study "talk" with her. I remember trying to impress her and make her laugh hard core. I stayed late studying only because she was there. I typically never study at night. Leaving the library I got the chance to drive her back to her freshman dorm. When passing the stadium I made a comment about sneaking in. She challeged my manliness by telling me I wouldn't actually do it. So you know the end to that story... I quickly did a U turn and snuck her into the stadium. I wasn't really concerned about that test in the morning, because I was more worried about getting my wify. Once we got in we ran to the tiger paw on the 50 yd line. We saw lots shooting stars and each made a wish and lets just say that I think my wish is going to come true soon. It ended up being a great night!

I remember after another night of "successful" studying, I walked her back to her dorm and I asked her if she wanted to go on an adventure. I had my bike with pegs and we rode down the huge hill next to the shoeboxes all the way down to the stadium. We could have easily died, probably not the smartest thing we have ever done.

One of our favorite memories is the picnic by the pond. We went to this romantic restaurant called subway and got a delicious sandwich to go. I then drove her to the pond behind tiger town village and watched the sunset. I put a letter in a blue water bottle asking her if she would be my date to the FCA Shag with me. (kinda our first real date). The water bottle was a funny inside joke because she always stole mine so i figured I needed to give her one.

So much more happend and we kept talking a lot. I ended up in Nebraska City and AB was in Washington DC. I flew to DC to spend time with her that summer and to ask her to be my girlfriend at the Jefferson Memorial after we prayed together.

Since then it's history... I told her I loved her 1 year and 4 days of dating. It felt so perfect.

My Version: (Written May 2013)

   The first time I ever met Chase was at the FCA Fall Retreat in October of my freshman year. I laugh now looking back on the whole situation because it was kinda funny. He was wearing cut of jean shorts, a plaid shirt, and was rocking some cowboy boots. See picture below:

  I knew he was going to be trouble from the moment I saw him. I just remember thinking "Wow, he is so handsome." We danced one time that night but then I really didnt even see him again till the next semester. By the way, I don't think Chase remembers meeting me then, even though he tells me that he does.

We ran into each other again on the spring break mission trip in D.C. We took a totally random picture  in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

Then a week after the trip we bumped into each other at the library. I remember him smiling so big and complimenting me on my earrings I was wearing. After a while he came back to my table to "study" with me. What we really ended up doing was talking forever and not studying even though I vaguely remember we both had tests the next morning! He offered to drive me home because it had gotten so late and on the way back he asked me if I had ever snuck into the stadium. I told him I hadn't and pretty much dared him that he wouldn't do that! I learned quickly about Chase that he takes dares seriously...next thing you know we had made an illegal U turn and we successfully had snuck into the stadium and raced down to the paw print on the 50 yd line. He gave me his jacket to lay on and we talked about everything it seemed like. We saw four shooting stars that night.

   After that Chase started to just pop up in my life a little more frequently. We went on a lot of crazy adventures, like biking down ths huge hill (I thought we were going to die), dancing the night away at ADPi's Sweet Southern Comfort Function, and the FCA Spring dance.

I just remember having so much fun with him. By this point I was starting to figure out that he possibly wanted to be more than just my friend...

       That summer he flew from Nebraska to Washington D.C. to ask me to be his girlfriend. He took me to the Jefferson Memorial at sunset, prayed with me, and asked me to be his. It really was one of the sweetest moments. Of course I made someone take a picture right after he asked me haha! We seem so young looking back on it. Time really does fly by.

My sophomore year we learned more about each other, grew closer to God, and closer to each other. He was, and still is, my rock to lean on. He said those "three little words" to me the following summer. Chase was in Africa and God allowed our skype conversation to work perfectly. I just remember my little heart was just about ready to burst. We were literally on cloud nine together thousands of miles apart. He woudln't stop smiling. Not only did I realize how much Chase meant what he said to me, but I also realized how much he meant to me and that it would be really hard to picture my life without him.

    This past year has flown by. I can't believe that Chase has a job in Columbia and is graduating tomorrow. I might just cry because of how proud I am of him and how hard he has worked for that degree. And that's where the story stops for right now. Who knows what the future has in store for us. I'll keep ya updated!!

.......Even looking back from May to now so much has changed! I have a feeling that this is how life will be, constantly changing as we constantly grow. God couldn't have written a more perfect love story for us. His timing truly is perfect and is worth waiting for. We can't wait to become husband and wife next June and we are so thankful for all the love and support from our friends and family in this season of engagement. God is so good!!

Love,