This weekend was our first trip as a married couple! And it was so sweet. The Lord totally overwhelmed us with his grace, as well as encouraged us by the youth and youth leaders over in Minnesota.
To be honest, I’ve never had a desire to visit Minnesota. When I think about the state, I think farms, Bobby’s World and extremely cold. However, this weekend was such a blessing and my heart fell in love with Minnesota. Well, maybe not so much Minnesota- there was a ton of farms, lots of accents, and it was EXTREMELY COLD. But the people there totally captured my heart. It’s rare to be so welcomed and included somewhere you have never been, nor where you know no one.
Friday morning we woke up at 5am to a voicemail from Delta saying our flight was delayed until 2pm. Jeff and I fell back to sleep with a smile; we love sleeping in! When we got to the airport that afternoon, we not only received $50 delta dollars to spend that day in the airport, we also got upgraded to first class! (AWESOME first trip with my husband if you ask me!) So I of course went to Starbucks and got my first holiday drink of the season (in a red cup!), and Jeff bought a book- of course! First class was amazing- although we admit we’d never spend the money to sit up there, we were so blessed to be able to upgrade, and ate with linens and real silverware.
Arriving in Minnesota, the cold in the air took our breath away! We drove to the church where Jeff spoke at a high school retreat all weekend. 3 youth pastors in the area got together and decided to combine their youth groups together, along with 7 other high school ministries, to spend the weekend studying God’s word, and having a blast with their kids. Jeff and I were amazed at their unity and how these kids really love and pursue Jesus. They also flocked around Jeff. I love seeing my husband at work!
Saturday morning Jeff talked about relationships, sex and dating and then called me up for Q & A. We LOVED being able to talk together!
Then on Sunday after church, we got to “kick it” (Jeff lingo) with Mark and Crystal Katzenberger, the youth pastor and his wife at New Hope Community Church in Cambridge, MN. We were incredibly blessed by our time with them- genuine, humble couple that really love Jesus and deeply desire high schoolers to follow after Him. They took us to Mall of America, which was amazing! HUGE. EPIC. Legoland blew our minds, and I saw from afar Pioneer Woman (what’s her real name!?) doing a signing from her new book.
This weekend if finally hit me. I get to travel with my husband to love, learn from, and meet high schoolers and young adults all over the world, sharing Jesus with them. I remember a couple of years ago praying that I’d be able to travel with my husband one day. And I’ve always wanted to serve in ministry with my husband. The Lord has completely floored me. His ways are so much better than ours, and go way beyond what we could ever imagine. FOR HIS GLORY. I am so humbled and in awe of His plan.
If you’re wondering what’s next for you, keep surrendering and trusting Jesus. He’s got it. And He will amaze you. It’s not easy- to wait, and probably won’t be easy what he calls you to. But it’s beautiful and so full of joy because He is with you, and using you how you are gifted.
Here’s some photos of our time in Minnesota. We both hope to come back (maybe more in the summer time). We loved our time there. You guys rock!
Us with Mark & Krystal Katzenberger! They were the ones who brought us out!
Worship with the 125+ youth right before Jeff went up to speak!
And lastly we found out quickly it was hunting season when we came! People looked like this everywhere!
