More than one person warned me and Ann not to do anything too stressful right after we got married. A few of our friends mentioned that they thought going on the summer tour was a liability to our marriage. Criss-crossing the US in a van with seven other 20 year olds, sleeping in a different bed every four days, and running festivals from dawn to dusk is pretty rough just a month after you get married, I admit it. It certainly isn’t for everyone. I feel as though we have grown together this summer. The two of us have made it our mission to speak into the lives of the seven young adults traveling with us. And God has done amazing things via our little ministry this summer.
It’s funny to think about it this way but it’s like we just got married and now have a car full of grown up children to tend after. We have to be there for them when they crash our van, set it on fire, almost cut their thumb off with a razor blade, or take their first rock climbing lead fall. We also get to be there for them and direct them on how to get and manage a bank account and a credit card or live on a budget. We love them when they are sick, or offer them an early birthday party when their lame boyfriend breaks up with them over the phone. We are their main source for words of kindness and validation. It’s like we get to be parents already. Bryan, Nathan, Torie, Daryl, Dave, Stephanie and Luke will forever be our closest friends. They are all grown ups who could live on their own (barely) but for the summer we are in authority over them. Ann and I get to give them all sorts of new experiences like jumping off of a waterfall, rock climbing behind Mount Rushmore, or throwing snowballs in the summer while driving through Mount Rainer National Park.
These experiences have grown the two of us together. We both have to sacrifice daily, not only for each other but also for our team whom we love.
We just left Colorado Springs after showing our Stork Bus to Focus on the Family. Then Ann and I are taking our second honeymoon to go canyoneering in Zion National Park and then wall climbing in Yosemite National Park. We need this time for our hearts. Pray that God would continue to bond us together and that we would make Him the center of our marriage.
