Just Married!!

It has been a while since I have posted and I am so excited to really and truly be getting back into the blogging world.  As I sat and thought about what to write and exactly how to describe the most exciting time during both of our lives, I am humbled to think about how many amazing things have happened over the last several weeks.  Some of those things were trying and difficult but led to moments of miracles and revelations of God's perfect timing and faithfulness.  We are also humbled to look through these pictures and see everyone that came together to support and celebrate with us and to make our day all that it was.  I mean, I know it was our wedding, but it was the best wedding I have ever been to!  Holy cow, we both so felt the Holy Spirit there and even after an hour rain delay had the best day ever.  God is so good and showed His sweet spirit in sending an all out downpour.  I mean, this was no afternoon shower. This monsoon came about 30 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start and did not look like it would let up for about a week.  Thanks to everyone who stood the rain and stayed to celebrate with us!  It was so hard to include everyone in these pictures, but you are all so wonderful and truly made our wedding week more than we could have ever imagined.  

My sweet friends celebrating my last few days as a single woman!

Em and me

Bridesmaid Luncheon

Rehearsal

Ok, can I just stop here for a moment and say this man, Donald Spann was meant to be a wedding coordinator.  Donald and Jonathan totally took care of my love and I have never seen someone take care of so many things at once.  All my mom kept saying the week after the wedding was "that Donald."  That's it!  That sums it up.  From now on, I will just shake my head in awe and say, "that Donald!"  All of his groomsmen were absolutely wonderful and I can't tell you how many times I heard what a great group of guys we had standing up there with us.  You are each so special and it was an honor to have you there with us.

My precious ladies.  Well, except Janet!  Don't worry JanTay, you are represented all over this blog.  Now, I really did try not to be a high maintenance bride.  Really, I tried!  For the most part, I think I was ok, but I could not have made it through the day without my girls taking care of me!  We went back and looked at some of the video and all day, my sweet girls are taking care of things I didn't even know they were taking care of.  

Seeing Sam for the first time

And we are in a rain delay!  Wedding Coordinator (Donald) and Jermile arriving!

Waiting out the rain delay with my beautiful bridesmaids and MOB!

I have always looked at the groom when the bride is walking down the aisle, but to see my groom bawling as I walked toward him was enough to make me want to run to him.  The precious love of my life was so servant hearted that day as he is everyday.  He continued to tell my girls to let me know he would wait as long as I wanted (for the rain to stop).  Thank you Lord for bringing us where you have and blessing me with this incredible Godly man.  

Have you ever seen a minister GET DOWN at a wedding?  When I say "get down" I mean this man was all over the dance floor.  When we watched the video I don't think I have ever seen Jermile laugh so hard.  Kendall, thank you for the mentor you are to so many and for making our process, ceremony and day so special.  

The Mr. and Mrs. Brooks!

My bible study girls from Auburn

My precious little girls.  Well, not technically mine, but I love them like they are.  These are Jermile's cousin Detrick and his wife Lindsay's little girls and they handed out programs for us.  They are adorable and adored!

Arriving at the reception in our orange golf cart!  Go Tigers!  (Auburn and Clemson)

The first dance...

So, Andrea and Adam took time to teach us the shag to Stand By Me!  Thank you so much!   

Of course we had to add a little surprise!  We couldn't just do the same ole boring first dance, now could we?  Jermile and I learned the Superman a few days before the wedding, via Youtube.  I wish this picture gave a better representation of everyone's reaction, because it was priceless!  The video is awesome and we watched it over and over.  

I think we both cried the entire way through this!  

Jermile made his sweet mama cry!  His auntie had to bring out tissues, one to wipe off Jermile's head that was full of sweat and the other to wipe off Mrs. Jerri's tears!  It was so sweet!  

Having fun on the dancefloor!

Detrick was all over the floor (with Kendall) all night!  It was awesome and I had so many people tell me they needed to take dance lessons from him!  Yes, this is father of those two little precious girls, Ava and Layla (and Chloe, not pictured!)

The cake was delicious!  We didn't get any in our to go basket and we were so disappointed!  

My sweet and handsome brothers, Adam, Josh and Ryan

My beautiful sister, Tiffany

I know this was a long blog and really, our entire wedding book, but all these pictures cannot even capture the feeling of that day for us.  It has been such a long road and we have truly learned that what God has joined together, no man can separate (Mark 10:9).  We will leave you with the scripture from the wedding and again want to thank everyone that joined us to make our wedding day so special.  We love you!  

"He has made everything appropriate in its time.  He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end...And I know that whatever God does is final.  Nothing can be added to it or taken from it.  God's purpose in this is that people should fear Him.  Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past.  For God calls each event back in its turn."  Ecclesiastes 3:11; 14-15

Changes coming!

Well, if you are reading this, you know we have gone private!  We are still downloading pictures from the most amazing weekend ever.  We cannot wait to share our pictures and perspectives from such an emotion filled event in our lives!  Thanks to each of you for making it what you did! We are changing the name of our blog too, so if anyone has any suggestions, send them our way!  Love ya'll!

Prayer Shower

Last weekend some of my dear friends hosted a prayer shower for me and it was such a great time to see people I hadn't seen and also just see the faithfulness of our sweet Lord.  He is so faithful to provide the people in our lives at just the right time and He knows exactly what we need way before we even realize it.  As I looked around the room at everyone sitting around me, it was amazing to see people represented from all parts of my life up until now.  I am so grateful for the blessings of friendship and am overwhelmed and humbled by how good God is.  It makes the things we worry over just seem silly when we try to comprehend the fact that the King of the Universe is madly in love with us.  Despite our crap and stain, He comes and offers unrequited grace and wraps His arms around us.  To know that we are covered in prayer and love as we approach our marriage is a tremendous encouragement.  I cannot believe we are inside two months!  The time has flown so quickly and I know the next two months are going to fly!  I am just so ready to be Mrs. Brooks I can hardly stand it!  

  

Mom and me 

My sweet sweet friends and hostesses!

Love ya'll!

It's still snowing!!

So I know everyone has posted their pictures of their homes and families playing in the snow, and my pictures are just not going to compare, but I am just so excited about this white weather!!! Jermile and I went in to the store this afternoon and came out and the ground was covered in white!  We had a time, along with several others, getting back home, but we made it!  Yota (the Tundra) was good to us and got us home safely!  This is all I've got as far as a home right now...but it's white, so it doesn't matter!  

Other good news..classes have been cancelled tomorrow!  Yeah!  Hopefully all you teachers have the day off!  Wedding planning is going well.  One of my sweet athletes from Auburn is going to sing and we are so excited!  She is definitely going to be the next American Idol so we are so honored she is singing at our wedding.  We are just counting down the days until the big day, but also trying to enjoy this time.  One of my dearest friends just left for Cambodia for a cycling tour raising funds for an organization in Africa fighting child sex slavery, so please pray for them and their bodies as they bike over 300 miles!  Her blog is "Taking Hope 2 Africa" if you want to read more about what they are doing.  Also, please just be praying for this time and the we would soak it up and enjoy it!  Thanks to everyone that is helping to make this time so special for us!  

Hello Out there!

Well, I really just found myself to be so hypocritical.  I get so annoyed when my blogger friends don't update their blogs and saw that my last true entry was in August.  I have also lied to so many of you when I tell you that I am really going to sit down and update this thing soon.  So, here I am, the saint that I am, being true to my word.  Since getting back from Mexico, I have to say, my transition has been a challenging one.  There are so many things I miss about Mexico, about Auburn and at the same time appreciate so many things here.  For the most part, I am enjoying school, but ready for the semester to be over.  I am not really enjoying my Spanish teacher nor the subject we are and have been talking about all semester.  If anyone ever wants to chat about global warming, globalization or localization in Spanish, I am your woman.  Really, since August, that is what we have been talking about in my Spanish class.  My professor even drew a picture of the earth, ozone layer, carbon dioxide and the absolute deadly effects it is having on our atmósfera!  Seriously, go hug some trees for me.  Anyways, wedding planning has proven to be a little stressful.  I broke down on the sweet woman in the flower store the other day.  She gave me the look of, "I don't know if I should feel sorry for you and stay away from you."  She proceeded to hug me and quoted me the most fantastic price I have heard since planning this thing.  Weddings cost a fortune.  I think we should just go to the Justice of the Peace and say I do.  Well, that is all for now.  I have posted some pictures of the place we are getting married at.  It is cute (and affordable) little "house" called "The Birdhouse at Mountainview."  

Spanish word for the day:  La Boda (wedding)

"But these things I plan won't happen right away.  Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.  It will not be delayed."  Habakkuk 2:3 

  

Ceremony Option "1"

Ceremony Option "2"

Inside Reception Site

 

Pray, Pray, Pray!

I know I haven't written since returning from Mexico and I promise I am going to start updating again!  One of my friends who is a missionary for YWAM posted this on her blog and I really felt the urgency to share this with as many people as I could.  I am not sure the background of actually who wrote this, but obviously much prayer is needed.  Please just add this to your prayer requests!  I will be back on soon to update you all on what is going on in Greenville, SC!  

In the last week we have received 2 emails calling for urgent prayer for India. I am including both of these emails so that you can read what is going on there. Please join us in prayer for this nation and the Christians there. 

Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India. We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel i s concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage....And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .... Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ. Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor.
The same thing happened in Balasore. All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At anoth er orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living i n great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period f or the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission. What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations.... Prayer works! 

I would just like to share with you a little bit that is going on over here in India. I came a few days ago, but a lot of atrocities are going on in a neighbouring State to where I am. .approxiately 150 miles away. So many believers, especially pastors and key leaders, are being killed at this moment for their faith by miliatant Hindu's. About 100 Pastors are known to have been killed during these last few weeks.. Their homes are being burnt down and a those who have fled, are now living in special camps put aside for them or in the forests. Approx. 50,000 people are now homeless because their homes were burnt down and destroyed. Also the State officials are not allowing outside help for the refugee camps and there have been incidents of bomb blasts and poisoning of water in these camps. The refugees are not getting adequate food, or medical attention, and are greatly traumatised.Forcible reconversions are happening under the threat of their lives. They are being asked to.. shave their heads; put a red mark on their forehead; burn the Bible; to bow to their idols, and to prove that they have reconverted to Hinduism go harm a believer! Please pray that inspite of this persecution that the believers will stand strong in the faith and not deny their Lord. Pray for angels to minister,to them, with signs and wonders to be in their midst as God delivers them. Pray for their safety and rehabilitation. Please pray that the State goverment will be able to do that which is right and bring law and order back to it's people. Please pray for the peace of India!!

Hogar Dulce Hogar!

Home sweet home!  Soon!  I cannot believe I am coming home in less than 48 hours.  I have to admit that I am so torn with different emotions.  I think if I could just bring you all here, I could stay here forever.  There are so many things that I thought I would never get accustomed to and those are probably the things I am going to miss the most (well, some!).  I will not miss walking down the street and being whistled at or called "mamacita" or yelled to, "hey, girl, I love you" in a Spanish accent.  I probably will not miss taking cold showers or sleeping on a rock hard mattress, but those things are so worth being able to have the stuff I will miss so much.  I will so miss all of the great people I have met here.  I will miss just being able to do "whatever."  I have never been anywhere so relaxed with such a lack of plans!  People here just go with it, if you know what I mean!  I will miss the food!  I had the most delicious "lonche" I have ever had in my life.  There is a certain sandwich here called the "lonche" and I am in love!  I feel like I have finally become accustomed to so many things and have finally gotten comfortable here and it is time to come home.  Do you all just want to move here with me?  That would be great!  Bills are so much cheaper because no one here has air conditioning.  Wait, that is probably not talking any of you into coming here, right?  Well, I can't wait to show you all pictures and tell you my countless stories!  Talk to you soon!