Our Story Part #2

Our Story Part #2
Joseph’s First Impression:

In the fall of 2006 I was at the youth conference of my church. My younger brother Amos, had invited some friends to come that he had worked with the summer before at Joni and Friends. I was excited to meet them because Amos had told me a lot about them. I was even more excited to meet them when I saw that they were beautiful young ladies. I remember that I had been waiting to meet these girls and finally after what seemed like eternity, Amos came to get me to introduce me to his friends. I was out by the bonfire building the fire for the evening events. My first impression was that Kara was older than Cami and that Cami looked cute and cuddly. She was adorable. I kind of thought that she was younger, so I convinced myself that she was not an available candidate.

I remember Amos introducing me to Cami and Kara. And I wasn’t so good at catching her age. They were both sweet and wonderful, and kind. I knew right then and there that I wanted to get to know them better and be their friends. They were very respectable and there was something that was different about them. They were above average. They were not your normal, typical, run of the mill, American girls. After meeting them I had to go inside for dinner, so I took off my coat and hat. My younger sister was serving drinks, so I helped her and was holding my niece, Kailey (my sister’s daughter). Cami and Kara came up to get their drinks and I introduced my sister to them by name. Cami and Kara stood there looking clueless. They didn’t understand how I knew their names or who they were. I wasn’t sure what I had done wrong…I thought maybe they had short-term memory loss. J About that time, I realized that Kara and Cami didn’t recognize me at all without my hat and coat on. They both stood there and started laughing, saying how dumb they felt. I think the real reason Cami couldn’t remember who I was, was because she was amazed at my incredible good looks. J (Ok, so maybe Cami added a little bit to that paragraph…but anyway. J)

That evening after the service a group of us got to hang out and go to McDonalds. I was really excited to see that Kara and Cami were going too. We had a really wonderful time. I had tried to tell jokes and I remember that I was not impressing Cami very much. I hoped for second chances.

The next day was Saturday and the second day of the youth conference. It was a very important day for me too, because I got to solo fly for the first time. I was walking on cloud 9. I remember going back to the church for lunch and talking to Cami, Kara, and Amos. I showed them pictures and was very thrilled with my accomplishment. Now as I put the pieces together, I realize that two very important things happened that weekend….I met the girl of my dreams, and I got another dream come true, that of flying.


Cami’s First Impression:

The summer of 2006 changed my life. That was the second summer that I went to Joni and Friends to work with families affected by disabilities. God called me to disability ministry there and quickly I found myself more in love with God than ever and in love with people affected by disabilities. I had met a lot of really awesome people with disabilities and one of them was Amos Gross. Some of us stayed in contact at retreat and in the fall Amos asked me to come to their youth conference. I asked Kara, my younger sister, to come along too. We met about a million new people and then Amos said that he wanted us to meet his older brother, Joseph. I had no idea how old Joseph was, or if he was married or single or what. I remember that we were all outside and really cold and Amos wheeled over with his older brother. We all made small talk and I really didn’t think much of it. As I went inside for dinner, the whole embrassing thing happened with forgetting who Joseph was. Yah…talk about a good first impression. J

Actually, I remember being quite impressed with Joseph from the start. He was helping people and working hard and holding his little niece. Who can resist a little cutie being held by her good looking uncle? I didn’t really get a chance to talk to Joseph much till we went outside to play a game where they were chasing around greased pigs. I had never played a game like that before and I kind of thought that it was hick. Kara and I stood there watching these crazy youth chase pigs around and try to pick them up. It was pretty funny. Next thing I know, Joseph comes over and starts to talk to us. He was friendly and funny and I enjoyed talking to him. Poor Joseph was trying to prove to me that he was not really that hick or a hillbilly.

That night we went to McDonalds and had fun. I don’t remember much about his bad jokes. I know that Kara and I were going to get lost on our way back to my grandma’s house for the night, so Joseph had us follow him home. I thought that was real nice of him. The next day was Saturday and we attended the youth conference. I remember asking Amos where Joseph was and he said that he was flying. I didn’t know if I would get to see Joseph again that day, but yeah. At lunch, I saw him again and he was glowing. He was very thrilled to have flown on his own. He showed us pictures and talked all about it. It was great to see him so happy and excited. Kara and I ended up leaving a little early and Amos and Joseph and I had talked about getting together some other time together. We all hoped that would work out…