The Bonus Christmas Gift

In my last letter I introduced you to my boyfriend Paul. I was very excited when he came to visit me and my family right after Christmas. Now I would like to reintroduce Paul as my fiancé! I don’t think it has completely sunk in yet...and to use the word fiancé still seems very bizarre!

Paul did a great job making it a very special moment, perfect for us, and giving nothing away. He had come to Texas with 13 wrapped Christmas presents (from a joke I had made before), and divided them into 3 levels, allowing me to open just a few at a time. I decided to open the last 3 the morning of the 30th...which was conveniently the same day he had breakfast with my parents to get their blessing (while I was still snoozing). The very last gift I opened was a package of pens and a yellow legal pad. (The very first letter I ever sent him was written on a yellow legal pad because I wrote it from my office.) He had written his own note on the first couple of pages about the things he has enjoyed and things he is praying for our relationship. It was very sweet. After I thanked him, he restated how he has enjoyed getting to know me. Then he said “I love you” for the very first time (which I knew was a very big deal!). He quickly followed that up by getting down on one knee and pulling out a ring to ask if I would marry him. I was shocked, but gave him a very quick “yes”. I hadn’t seen it coming at all!

Paul is on staff with Campus Crusade at UCLA, so we are trying to figure out where God would have us. We are excited to be in ministry together, but just aren’t sure where that should be when we start our marriage. There are obviously a lot of things that factor into the decision, and someone is going to move far from home, but we are going to trust God to show us where is best for now. Please join us in praying about where God would have us.

We also have plenty of wedding planning to do, so the next few months will be busy. We haven’t set a date in stone yet, but we are looking at August. We will both be in Colorado for 6 weeks this summer for Bible classes and National Staff Conference (the place we met in 2005).

We are excited and look forward to sharing more of both our lives with you in the future. Thank you for praying for us!

To the Praise of His Glory,

Trina