 | They met at their former organization's (TeachOverseas) Summer Training in Pasadena, California. Lauren was a first-year, while Jeffrey was a veteran teacher and Program Director. She thought she had signed up for 1-2 years of straight singleness, and he did NOT want to date within the organization. Both of them were about to be caught off guard by a lot of unexpected beauty:
Lauren noticed Jeffrey right away. How could she not? An Arkansan with unruly red hair, flaming goatee and a larger-than-life presence... and, as if that wasn't enough to get her attention, he picked up a guitar and started singing Phil Wickham. Thus, their very first shared experience was coming before the Throne in worship, and it was to be the first of many times to come.
They fell in love over swing dancing, cheesecake, on beaches after sunset, at California coffee shops, while washing laundry, singing along to their favorite artists, talking by star-light and holding hands in bookshops. . . If you want to know the rest of the story, just ask Lauren what the super nova on her finger is about. ; - )
The above photo was taken after a night of swing dancing - two days before they shared their hopes and feelings with each other. Which, lovely enough, happened on Lauren's 24th Birthday, the 12th of August. |