A dear friend of mine is hosting a link-up on her blog about love stories. She has asked friends to share their own love stories. So, here it goes....
In the spring of 1996, I was a junior in college in Louisiana. During my time in college, became involved with the Baptist Student Union on campus. This became my social hub and provided me with friendships and a place to wind down. I was introduced to the summer missionary program the year before while studying at a different college and was eagerly anticipating participating in the upcoming summer. In order to participate, I had to apply and go through an interview process. At some point in this process, I was given a list of possible missionary assignments and was asked to choose my top 3 choices of placement. My top choice was Australia. This particular assignment was looking specifically for a female student. My 2nd choice was New York and my 3rd choice was Southeast Alaska.
During the interview process, the interview panel informed me that the assignment in Australia had changed their request from a female to a male for the summer. I was fine with that and couldn't wait to go to New York, but that assignment was never made. That evening, I received a phone call that told me I would be spending 8 weeks in Southeast Alaska. At first, I was a little disappointed, but that soon disappeared.
I left Louisiana on June 4th and traveled to Memphis where I met my team and then we made the cross country journey to Seattle and eventually Juneau. During the summer, we were planning on teaching Vacation Bible School in the area.
Since we were all college age, we became involved with the college ministry of the local Baptist Church. After spending 4 weeks with this group of people, we had heard lots of stories about Todd and Cheney. These guys were 2 single guys who had left South Carolina with a backpack and one way tickets to Juneau. Somewhere along the way someone showed me a picture of Cheney. He had long hair - shoulder length, glasses, and a full beard. Definitely looking like a true Alaskan.
On July 3rd, I had a meeting with Cheney's roommate about an upcoming Bible school we were hosting in Skagway, Alaska. Cheney had been in South Carolina for the month of June so I had not met him yet. When I walked into the house, Cheney was sitting at the kitchen table. While he was in SC, he had cut his hair, got a tan, and was now wearing contacts. He was pretty hot!
Over the next few weeks, I saw Cheney a handful of times, but we were friends only. I left Juneau on August 4th and went back to Louisiana for school. The semester passed quickly and while I was home for Thanksgiving, I received a phone call out of the blue from Cheney. Somehow, when I was leaving in August, Cheney ended up with my phone number. It had been given collectively to the group that was sending us off, but Cheney ended up with it and found it in his pocket Thanksgiving day.
Over the next few weeks, we began talking on the phone. On April 1 - yes April Fool's Day - I was complaining about never having a date to him on the phone. To make me feel better, he told me that he would take me out if he ever saw me again. Later that month, I booked a trip back to Alaska for a few weeks in the summer to visit with friends. Cheney called and had actually booked a trip back to South Carolina for the same time. He decided to change his return flight to swing by Baton Rouge and fly back with me so I wouldn't have to fly by myself. At this point, we were still friends.
Over the next few weeks, we went from talking on the phone once a week to multiple times a day and finally decided to see where a relationship would take us. On May 16, Cheney flew into Baton Rouge and we had our first date.
The next day, somewhere over Dallas, Texas on a Delta airline, we decided to get married. And the rest is history. After a 2 week visit, I returned home to finish school and plan a wedding. Over the next year, we spent a total of 8 weeks together. And those 8 weeks have led to 12 years of wedded bliss :)
I love you Cheney Looper!!
In the spring of 1996, I was a junior in college in Louisiana. During my time in college, became involved with the Baptist Student Union on campus. This became my social hub and provided me with friendships and a place to wind down. I was introduced to the summer missionary program the year before while studying at a different college and was eagerly anticipating participating in the upcoming summer. In order to participate, I had to apply and go through an interview process. At some point in this process, I was given a list of possible missionary assignments and was asked to choose my top 3 choices of placement. My top choice was Australia. This particular assignment was looking specifically for a female student. My 2nd choice was New York and my 3rd choice was Southeast Alaska.
During the interview process, the interview panel informed me that the assignment in Australia had changed their request from a female to a male for the summer. I was fine with that and couldn't wait to go to New York, but that assignment was never made. That evening, I received a phone call that told me I would be spending 8 weeks in Southeast Alaska. At first, I was a little disappointed, but that soon disappeared.
I left Louisiana on June 4th and traveled to Memphis where I met my team and then we made the cross country journey to Seattle and eventually Juneau. During the summer, we were planning on teaching Vacation Bible School in the area.
Since we were all college age, we became involved with the college ministry of the local Baptist Church. After spending 4 weeks with this group of people, we had heard lots of stories about Todd and Cheney. These guys were 2 single guys who had left South Carolina with a backpack and one way tickets to Juneau. Somewhere along the way someone showed me a picture of Cheney. He had long hair - shoulder length, glasses, and a full beard. Definitely looking like a true Alaskan.
On July 3rd, I had a meeting with Cheney's roommate about an upcoming Bible school we were hosting in Skagway, Alaska. Cheney had been in South Carolina for the month of June so I had not met him yet. When I walked into the house, Cheney was sitting at the kitchen table. While he was in SC, he had cut his hair, got a tan, and was now wearing contacts. He was pretty hot!
Over the next few weeks, I saw Cheney a handful of times, but we were friends only. I left Juneau on August 4th and went back to Louisiana for school. The semester passed quickly and while I was home for Thanksgiving, I received a phone call out of the blue from Cheney. Somehow, when I was leaving in August, Cheney ended up with my phone number. It had been given collectively to the group that was sending us off, but Cheney ended up with it and found it in his pocket Thanksgiving day.
Over the next few weeks, we began talking on the phone. On April 1 - yes April Fool's Day - I was complaining about never having a date to him on the phone. To make me feel better, he told me that he would take me out if he ever saw me again. Later that month, I booked a trip back to Alaska for a few weeks in the summer to visit with friends. Cheney called and had actually booked a trip back to South Carolina for the same time. He decided to change his return flight to swing by Baton Rouge and fly back with me so I wouldn't have to fly by myself. At this point, we were still friends.
Over the next few weeks, we went from talking on the phone once a week to multiple times a day and finally decided to see where a relationship would take us. On May 16, Cheney flew into Baton Rouge and we had our first date.
The next day, somewhere over Dallas, Texas on a Delta airline, we decided to get married. And the rest is history. After a 2 week visit, I returned home to finish school and plan a wedding. Over the next year, we spent a total of 8 weeks together. And those 8 weeks have led to 12 years of wedded bliss :)
I love you Cheney Looper!!
Comments
I look forward to reading more.
Jill