Well! Sam has certainly surprised our family. Right after Stephen's graduation, he called us from his station in Selvadorada to give us some incredibly surprising news: he had gotten engaged!
He met Maria Ester (Maite) Flores at an ISCS-organized church event for the soldiers on base. She volunteered, they met over (non-alcoholic!) punch, and the rest was history! And by "history," I mean they began getting to know one another through a chaste, respectful, special friendship. Though not without some effort on Sam’s part, according to him! My boy is so persistent—apparently he had to ask four times before Maite would give him her phone number. He was just so bowled over by her beautiful countenance that he couldn’t give up.
Praise God, Maite's family are proper Christians, so Sam didn't get mixed up in any funny business with those yet to receive His Word or those who are interpreting His Word incorrectly. (Though I have to say, some of the dishes Sam described eating at her family's home sounded pretty strange to me! Definitely not what we Christians over here eat.) Instead, the lovebirds had a whirlwind courtship under the watchful eye of her father. Sam was so caught up in the romance of it all that he forgot to tell his poor Mom and Dad at home until he had already proposed! But I can't blame him for being a little irresponsible. He's a man, and men can lose their heads sometimes when around beautiful young women! I'm just relieved that my son has grown up into a strong, masculine young man, unlike certain other young men in our church family.
"Losing his head" is a pretty apt phrase, I must say! In the same conversation, Sam announced his intent to bring Maite back to Brindleton Bay. He wanted to marry her "as soon as possible." What a romantic! We were already expecting him home within a few weeks for his transition into reserve duty, but we never thought we'd have a wedding as well as a homecoming to plan! Even so, out of all my children, of course it was Sam who stirred up this surprise. Ever since he attended Camp FIGHT he’s been incredibly driven. He knows what he wants, and as he put it during our phone call, what he wanted was “to marry her before someone else snatches her up”! Isn’t he sweet?
Thankfully us Wagners were able to throw together a lovely, intimate ceremony just in time for their arrival. Christians tend to get married fast, but this has got to our chuch's quickest wedding yet! (Although it wasn't held at our church; for ease, we rented out a local restaurant instead.) Seeing another one of my sons united with his helpmeet was such an emotional experience! Of course our family isn't perfect but at least Sam has insisted on a traditional marriage. (With Maite in agreement, of course.) He'll be the leader of the family, having final say on all decisions, and she'll follow his guidance. All accordiong to the way the Lord designed Holy Matrimony for His children!
After the wedding they took a brief honeymoon: camping in Granite Falls! I don't think Maite is much of an outdoors person, but Sam loooooves camping and just had to show her what it's all about.
Now they're settled in Oasis Springs, where Sam already had a job and a rented apartment lined up. He spent his basic training there, and loved it so much he couldn't resist returning! I'm going to miss my baby boy but I'm encouraged by the fact that he found the one God made for him. Maite may not understand our culture, but she's a sweet girl with such a servant's heart so she'll do just fine. Besides, I'm sure she'll learn—hopefully sooner rather than later, because with how in love these two seem to be, I wouldn't be surprised if I was blessed with another grandbaby within the year! A honeymoon baby, if the Lord sees fit.