She Said YES!

We have had one of the very best Christmases and 2013 is certainly going to be a very fantastic new year!!

It's official... Daneen & I are engaged!

It happened on the evening of Dec 27th.

We had originally talked of not getting officially engaged until Daneen came to visit me in Kenya in March, but then we started planning a wedding, setting dates and making arrangements.  Our Story is already an incredible one so there was no need to make a big producation out of the engagement, and the actual act of asking someone to be my wife was enough to make it a special moment.  With cold weather, no vehicle and not knowing the much about York, PA, it wasn’t the easiest task to figure out a way to propose, but like God has done so many times in our relationship, he provided a way... On the plane ride to Baltimore a guy from York (Daneen’s hometown) sat next to me and gave me some ideas.  
 

We managed to borrow her dad's truck and go out to dinner by ourselves. Before going to dinner, I drove us up to a lovely spot in York; on top of a large hill with a view of the city down below. There I  told her I had another Christmas gift. It was a poem. A 4-page poem which talked about our story and courtship, the fun we've had together, and the beauty of God bringing us together.  Daneen cried and laughed. And then... I popped the question. Like every other part of our time together; we both knew it felt right and was more real than anything we had ever dreamed! With no hesitation, she said YES!

We later went to one of the nicest restaurants in York County and enjoyed a romantic and delicious meal together. Constantly just smiling and gazing at each other! There were a number of other small and thoughtful surprises throughout the evening; like returning home to find a copy of the poem on stationary for her...and her very own Cinderella doll dressed in her wedding dress waiting on her bed.

Fairytales do really come true!

We are beyond grateful for God's love and for how He's brought us together. We are also both very thankful for so many friends and family in our lives who have prayed for us and been such a great support full of love and encouragement over the years. We have already been immensely blessed through sharing our relationship with others. We can't imagine how God is going to use us TOGETHER to be a great Light and example; but we are certain it's going to be incredible!

Happy New Year!

Joe Peterson and Daneen Leidig.... for a few more months :-)

For the story of us meeting and how God has been bringing us to this point check out: http://joekenya.blogspot.com/p/love-story.html