Sweet friend. Beautiful Wedding. God is SO Good.

Friends and family,

I come to you with some unfortunate news but also a huge reason to rejoice! My friend, Sarah, that I mentioned back in February as having been diagnosed with and eventually overcome cancer, went in for her 3 month check up this week and the cancer has spread. She now has stage 4 cancer (sarcoma) with 6 tumors in her lungs, 3 on each side. Results from her full body PET scan will be in next week to reveal any other tumors (we pray there are none). While we are all immensely saddened by this news, we believe in a God that is SO much bigger than cancer--a God that can heal and most of all, a gracious and merciful God that can bring us peace in the most desperate circumstances. Sarah has shared with me and others that she feels a peace that surpasses her wildest understanding, and that can only come from God. She has been so bright and positive; though she has a long road ahead of very intense chemo treatments and illness, she is not letting this news bring her down.

That being said, she and her fiance, Eric, were to be married in November. However, because of this recent news, they decided to get married yesterday at 3:00 at our church. She called me on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. and said, "Hannah, I have some news.... Eric and I just decided that we are getting married tomorrow!" I could not have been more overjoyed! Having Eric by her side during these first 4 months of chemo will be such a great thing for the both of them. Her November wedding is still on, but yesterday was a celebration of life and hope and love that I will remember forever. The wedding was beautiful. The Church (and I use a big "C" because what happened yesterday was nothing short of God's goodness exemplified through his people, the Church) came together and made everything perfect for her in just about 22 hours. A team of individuals from our church decorated the sanctuary at midnight on Saturday and it was stunning! Their were twinkle lights strung from the ceiling with white paper lanterns suspended in between strands of glowing bulbs, flowers were donated and carefully placed throughout. Hundreds of candles, wire figurines, more flowers, a wedding cake, and food came together beautifully on long tables covered in satin table cloths. The church catered the food and bought her a wedding cake that was a mini version of the one she will be having in November. The photographer that Eric and Sarah were going to use, but opted out because of her price, donated her services for the big day, taking stunning photographs all afternoon. A professional makeup artist and hair stylist came and did Sarah's hair and makeup free of charge. A DJ from the church played music for the dance party. Close friends made it all happen in just a matter of hours. It was a beautiful wedding both in appearance and emotion. I cannot express in words the way God blessed Eric and Sarah yesterday; I can only hope that my pictures will say more than I can.

Be praying for these two. They are beautiful people :-)

Blessings,

HK