You never know who you might meet at a wedding

Three years ago, while attending the wedding of a young woman whom we have known since before she was born, Terry and I met a couple with whom we struck up an immediate kinship. For one thing, the woman has the same hair color and similar cut to mine. The gentleman has a seeing-eye dog. They definitely stand out from the crowd. Because of the hair, I immediately gravitated to Debbie and started a conversation. We exchanged references as to how we knew the wedding couple. It was an easy conversation. We all enjoyed one another’s company.

Fast forward a year or so and I run into the woman again at a store in a neighboring small town. It’s a delightful store where I love to shop for unique items and gifts when I visit the small town. She works there. We chat. We catch up. We again enjoy one another’s company, and somehow, through the store’s Facebook site, we connect on Facebook, too.

We had realized when we first met, at the wedding, that we had a connection through the church we attended. Although Terry and I attend the very formal Presbyterian congregation, there is a another worshipping community that meets on the same grounds, less formal, and that is where this couple attended. Because of the Facebook connection, we have been able to stay in touch these past three years, watching the various shifts and changes in our lives.

Debbie contacted me last week, after meeting with the pastor of the her church who suggested me as a way to connect to the larger congregation of which I’m a member. Debbie is planning a major mission trip, or perhaps I should say lifestyle, and will need funding. Our church helps with such mission funding. Could we meet and discuss what she is doing and how I might be able to facilitate the connection?

As they say, the rest is history. Her plan is to live in Thailand for two  years and continue to work with a women’s cooperative she has already visited over the past seven years. She knows the city of Chiang Mai well and is excited to really be “boots on the ground” to work with this cooperative, making more of an impact than previously.

When she told me the city, I laughed. I have a friend who lived there for 20 years or so and directed an organization that got women out of slavery and taught them trades so they could make a living without selling their bodies. My friend is now a world-renown human trafficking consultant. Connection made.

On Sunday I saw the elder in charge of missions and told him about Debbie’s plan. He said it’s a good time to talk as plans are being made as to how to spend money. Then I saw Debbie’s pastor, the one who initially suggested we meet, and told him what the elder had said. Another connection.

My friend will be in Fresno next week and I’m hoping she can meet with Debbie and give her tips. Another connection in the making.

I am always excited when I see how God works in the lives of His servants. From two redheads reaching out to each other at a wedding, to a circle of friends connecting to do God’s work around the world. It makes me laugh.