on the weekend

this weekend was the culmination of

a lot my time and energy recently.

i was a maid of honor.

and honoured i was,

to stand next to my dear friend, estela, 

on her wedding day.

...

estela and her man, marvin

came to bc, a couple of years ago.

we met them through kathleen.

for the last couple of years 

they have been working to make this their home.

they have learned the language,

they have established a rich community, 

acquired employment and 

a carpet-less apartment for their family.

they even have their son in swimming and ice skating.

they have also grown in their faith in jesus.  

they love jesus so much, you can see it in their eyes.

just over a month ago, they received word 

that their applications have been denied

and they must return to guatemala. 

...

the wedding, which was scheduled to happen some time in may,

had to come together in a couple of weeks. 

and it did, beautifully.

our people are amazing!

my girlfriends (and their girlfriends) coordinated, floral-ated, beach-correlated,

 decorated, photographed, and babysat.

my momma sewed the bridesmaids dresses 

and was the voice in my head, giving me the confidence to sew the table squares  

(squares are kind of a big deal. they are way harder than they look). 

everyone gave of their time, their talents and their money.

was it perfect?

is it ever?

but it was beautiful, 

which is as close to perfect as we can get here.

...

i talked to my friend, estela, this morning.  

(whenever i talk to her, her accent gets stuck in my head

and i start to think my thoughts with it)

on the phone i told her that 

i cried more in her wedding then she did.

and that

i trust jesus

and i still don't want her to go.

she said she feel the same way.  

 then she told me that last night marvin was reading jonah in the bible.

we both laughed before she said,

"marvin say, if god wants us to go back to guatemala, we better go!"

then she said, she knows god's plan for her may be different than the dream in her heart. 

and that he will always take care of them.

...

 be encouraged today by her words.  

they are wise and true. 

*here are a couple photos from the dress fitting.  

i have been putting off posting them until after the wedding.