My Journey | Pastor Kevin Sanders

2015: The Year in Review

There are only about 12 hours left in 2015 and I’ve decided to write a few reflections. It feels like the past year has flown by, but this isn’t really easy for me to explain. This year hasn’t been especially eventful for us. It has been more like stopping by a tiny town at midnight to gas up your car as you head to another destination. Regardless, I like to keep a record of what God has done in our lives. Here are a few things that come to mind when I think about 2015:

New Orleans:

I think the highlight of this year was our vacation to New Orleans, a place I had not seen in 14 years (I lived there in 2000-2001). Mare Cris and I enjoyed visiting this historic city together. It brought back many memories from my time as a student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. And we had the opportunity to build new memories in a place that’s near and dear to my heart.

New Friendships:

Mare Cris and I have met quite a few new Filipino-American couples over the past year. This actually started not long after we arrived here, but the number and depth of these friendships grew significantly in 2015. The interesting thing is this has all happened “coincidentally”–we’ve just met people who know other people. It’s always a blessing to make new friends and to stay in touch with the Filipino community.

Ministry:

God has continued to give me opportunities to preach at different churches here in the Birmingham area. Needless to say, we are hoping and praying for a permanent place of ministry in 2016. Until then we are doing our best to be faithful with every chance He gives us to minister.

Grateful and Hopeful:

Mare Cris and I would like to thank all our friends, family and prayer partners for the many ways you have blessed us in 2015. More importantly, we are thankful to God and look forward to seeing what He has in store for us in 2016. Hopefully I will have some exciting updates to share with you soon.

The First Hello

One important tip I’ve learned for strengthening a marriage is to celebrate your story. It makes sense to remind each other of how you met and the infant stages of the relationship. That wasn’t too long ago for Mare Cris and me, but we enjoy talking about it nonetheless. It brings back really great memories and emotions that we want to preserve.

Meeting your spouse on Facebook has one distinct advantage: you can go back and look at some of your first “conversations.” I decided to do this a couple of weeks ago. It took a while to scroll up through hundreds of messages, but I eventually reached those first few paragraphs that marked the beginning of our relationship. I copied and pasted them to a word document so we’d have easy access to them.

That very first message from Mare Cris happened on this day back in 2011.

I had just moved to Angeles City the evening of All Saint’s Day. I chose to move during this holiday because I knew there would be minimal traffic to interfere with my exodus from Manila (virtually all schools/businesses are closed on November 1st). Everything went smoothly: I had somehow managed to downsize just enough to allow all my possessions to fit in the moving truck. The trip to Angeles City took a little over an hour, and unloading everything took about the same amount of time.

The apartment (things still in disarray). — The first floor of my apartment on November 2nd (still in disarray).

My new apartment was half the cost of my place in Manila. It was located in a really nice subdivision near every imaginable amenity (grocery stores, coffee shops, etc.). Erwin, a dear friend and ministry partner, lived just a short walk away. Everything just came together beautifully.

My life could not have been better . . . or so I thought.

The very next day would bring a blessing in my life that I had not planned or even hoped for: a message from the beautiful woman I would marry just a few months later.

Life has never been exactly the same since that first “hello.” For this I’m extremely grateful.