Many Mighty Miracles

Jorge’s sister, Ilse, had announced to us that she was to be married, in the Salt Lake Temple, on May 1, 2010. She is part of the reason that Jorge moved to the United States, and she has been here for 20 years from Colombia. Another motivating factor for attending the wedding was the fact that Jorge’s brother, Harold, and his sister, Angela, were both going to be there. They both live in Canada – on either ends of the continent, but I had not ever met either of them.

Jorge was going to Utah, for the wedding. He asked me if I wanted to go. Of course I WANTED to go, but since I have been unemployed for most of the past year, I didn’t know if I could get off of work, at the US Census Bureau to go. Also, HOW were we going to get there??? I don’t have a vehicle, and his BMW, while a “nice” car ***cough, cough, ya right! Cough, cough*** is NOT in prime working condition.

We looked into plane tickets – NOPE, too much money! We tried the car rental option, but we don’t have any major credit cards (for obvious reasons! No job to keep up payments being one of them!!) and nobody will rent with just a debit card anymore . . . well, not without promising your first-born and any functioning limbs as collateral!

So, after I had asked and been granted the time off, we climbed in Jorge’s Beemer and prayed A LOT! We both prefer to travel at night, and in the warmer months, it is a no-brainer. So, we left on Wednesday, April 28. We didn’t have any “extra” money, and were praying that we would not have any extra expenses, other than gas and food, along the way!

We arrived in Salt Lake around 3 pm on Thursday afternoon, in one piece and without ANY problems with the car! Another tender mercy of the Lord! We felt truly blessed.

And, upon arrival, we discovered that there was to be a SURPRISE Bridal shower for Ilse that evening. I had arranged for us to stay at my aunt’s home, but she lives 40 miles from Salt Lake, and I did NOT want to meet Ilse’s friends without showering first!! Especially after 18 hours in the car! (We stopped to rest a few times, along the way!)

Anyway, the shower was fun! She was so surprised and it was great to see her sooooooooooo happy! It is exciting to see people so happy in love.

It was great to meet Angela, one of Jorge’s other sisters. She made some delicious food for the shower, and had actually been working on things for the shower ALL DAY on Thursday. (She arrived on Wednesday evening)

Some friends of the Zapata family live there, in Sandy. They have known Alejandro Hernandez and his family since they were children. Anyway, they invited us to sleep at their home. It was a LOT closer, and we were so tired! So, we slept in their son’s queen size bed, and I, for one, slept like a LOG!!!

Friday morning, Angela called and let us know what the plan was for the day. Ilse and Ted had some errands to run, and then we were all to meet for lunch. Then Ilse had an appointment to get her nails done, and have a pedicure. Lucky Jorge got to hang out with the girls for the day!

It was a treat to get to know Angela and talk to her. And Ilse was just giddy and excited all day. I have never seen her smile so much! (Of course, I have never spent more than an hour at a time with her, and have spent more time on the phone with her than anything else!)

The plan for the evening was a little vague – the only thing that we knew for sure was that Harold’s flight arrived a little after 9pm and we would all be going to the airport. This truly was another of the miracles that weekend – these 4 siblings have not all been in the same country for YEARS!! 20 to be exact!! (I will mention, here, that there are 7 children in the Zapata family. I have met one other sister, Martha, when she visited from Colombia, in 2006. His sister, Judita, and his brother, Gonzalo, live in Colombia, too.)

Ilse had not seen Harold for 20 years, since she left Colombia, in 1990; Jorge had not seen Harold since 1999, when he left Colombia. So, everyone was excited, but I don’t think anyone was more excited than Ilse!! I personally was just excited to get to know one more sibling of Jorge’s. And, it is always interesting to watch one’s spouse interact with his siblings! ;)

Thank goodness Ilse had scheduled her sealing ceremony for the afternoon, on Saturday! The weather, all week, had been cloudy, cold and snowy or rainy! Ilse told me that she had been planning, for a long time, to have a party on May 1, 2010, because it was her 20 year anniversary of being in the United States. When Ted proposed, she said, “Okay! May 1 is the day!” She got her party, but now it was a double whammy!!

So, she rented a gown with SHORT sleeves, because May is usually so beautiful and springy! The next miracle was the weather . . . although at 8:30 am it was snowing, by 2 pm the sun was shining through the clouds and there was not a drop of precipitation to be felt or seen!

One thing that happened that was NOT so miraculous: I had forgotten, in AZ, my shoes that were NOT sandals or flip flops. So, Jorge and I had gone to Wal Mart to pick up some shoes that would work with my outfit and would be presentable. Anyway, after we bought them, I purposely left them in the car, so that I would not forget them for the wedding. Well, when it came time to put them on . . . my ever so helpful husband had taken them OUT of the car, at Alejo’s house! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!! So, I was the most casually-dressed wedding guest, because I had flip flops on. At least they were something other than the cheapy rubber ones. They have some bling on them . . . and I just focused on who and what was more important!

Anyway, as we were waiting, in the temple, for the ceremony to start, the officiator walked into the room. I was seated right next to Harold. I heard Harold gasp, and then he said, “That is my mission president!” The man stopped, and asked us to excuse him for a minute, he needed to greet one of his sons. He and Harold exchanged a hug, and brushed their eyes. It was so cool. Ilse told us later that the man had asked her, as he got to know she and Ted before the ceremony, if she was related to Harold, so he knew that he would find Harold there. That was a tender mercy too.

After the ceremony was the proverbial photography session! It was a great way to meet a lot of new family and old friends of both Ted and Ilse. The weather was still holding out and beautiful! A little chilly, but sun shining and bright!

The reception was really dinner at the Lion House. Wow, that was some YUMMY food! Who could say no to those rolls??? Jorge took my camera and played candid shot photographer, while the paid professional took pictures of the bride and groom and whomever they wanted to pose with. (that is one of the things that I love about Jorge – he thinks photos are just as important as I do!!)