Surprise! and a Family Wedding

So some of you know that we have returned to the U.S. recently. We had a family retreat in May and really felt that God was calling us home for a visit, to have the baby, to share our stories & miracles about missions and to be sent back into missions after the baby is born. We kept our return a secret because we were going to surprise Donovan's sister Tina for her wedding. I told only a few people (like our parents) and asked that no one post anything about our return (that way Tina wouldn't figure it out before we could surprise her). Thankfully she had no idea and we had such a great time surprising her!

Jacob & Tina

Her wedding was this past Saturday at our home parish St. Jude in Wichita, KS. A few days before the wedding Donovan's sister Melissa told Tina and Jacob that “Mom and Dad have a little wedding present for you and they want you to open it at their house.” So they came over to the house and we hid in the garage behind a work bench. Donovan's Dad hid Felicity in a large tote box and kept the lid open until they were walking up to the garage. As they preceded to open the tote box I expected to hear something, but it was quiet. Tina didn't realize it was Felicity in the box! She was thinking to herself, “Why did they put Maggie (Felicity's cousin) in this box?” Donovan stood up from behind the work bench and we all followed. When Tina saw Donovan it finally clicked and she started screaming. She gave us all huge hugs and was very happy to have us back for the wedding!

At the wedding reception

Even though we showed up two days before the wedding Tina invited Felicity and Grace to be flower girls and Hannah & Catherine to pass out programs. Thankfully I had left one fancy dress for each of the girls and they fit the wedding perfectly! And after a few phone calls to friends they all had pretty shoes too! The wedding was beautiful and you could just see the love that Jacob & Tina have for each other.

Pretty little flower girls

Wedding Programs anyone?

A few days after the wedding we were invited to Tony & Monica's House to have a potluck dinner with six other families involved in missions (long-term, short-term & support of the missions). It was so cool because the Keihl family was there on their way back from California. It was a blessing to see them and share time with all of the families! We were also asked to do a talk about our experience in the Philippines at the Spiritual Life Center next Monday (keep us in your prayers). Our family will represent Full-time missions, some other families will talk about short-term missions, and Jake Seymour (Diocese of Wichita's Family Life Office Director) will talk about how to be a missionary in your own home & community. We are excited about this opportunity to share our stories and blessings and hope for many more opportunities while we are back in the States. If you are in the Wichita area we would love to see you Monday night, July 28th, from 6 to 9 pm at the Spiritual Life Center. Please click here for more information and to register yourself or your family (there is no charge). We will also be at the Mid-west Catholic Family Conference from Aug. 1st - 3rd in Wichita, KS. We will have a Family Missions Company table so please come by and say hello! Click here for more information about the Conference.

Thank you to all of you who are praying for us and for supporting our missions! Thank you to all of you who made special donations towards our traveling expenses to return to the U.S. Please continue to pray for our family’s discernment as we pray about where God wants us to go into missions after the baby. We are praying about returning to Malaybalay or going to another mission post. Please know that all of you are in our prayers!