There are a few things in life that really change things… I mean like the entire direction of your life. One motivational speaker I once heard says that you will be the same person you are now in five years except for the books you read and the people you meet. Well, there is one person I have met here in Ecuador that has changed my life in a significant way. Her name is Maria Augusta Echeverria although she will often introduce herself as Agus.

Agus works as part of La Red Juvenil, roughly translated as The Youth Network, training, networking, and supporting those who work with and pastor youth. Since graduating with a degree in theology she has been part of this ministry which is one of the five branches of Youth World, or Mundo Juvenil, El Refugio being another of those. Obviously we met as a result of that connection. Agus patiently invited me to one event after another for about six months before I accepted an invitation, that just so happened to be her birthday party at her parent’s home last year. Although we did things together here and there it wasn’t until she moved to Quito to live with one of the El Refugio staff members in January of 2009 that we really began to spend time together on a consistent basis.

And then there was the night where things clicked, 14 February. We had gone out with several friends and there I realized that I actually had more than a small interest in this woman. The next day we went to a park to talk things over and there we decided that we were officially a couple.

Just over six months later I asked her parents for permission to marry their daughter and a few weeks later we celebrated that fact with dinner and a carriage ride in the historic district of Quito.

We plan to be married the 16^th of January here on the outskirts of Quito. From there we will continue to serve in our respective ministries, hopefully being people that influence the direction of the lives of others for Christ, both individually and as a couple.