The Courtship of Audrey and Christopher

It isn’t often that a Sowers4Pastors blog post feels like it should begin with “Once upon a time,” but this post is all about the whirlwind courtship of Christopher (Gus) Sowers and Audrey Cook. This has got to be one of the cutest “meet cutes” you’ve ever heard, so without further ado...

Once upon a time, there lived an honorable young man named Christopher and a fair maiden named Audrey. Though they lived as far as the Eastern U.S. is from the Western U.S. and had never met, they had one very important thing in common. They both had mothers. And their mothers happened to be friends from distant days shared in an online homeschooling forum. So, actually, that gives the honorable young man and the fair maiden another thing in common. They were both homeschooled.

Trish, mother of Christopher, first met Heidi, mother of Audrey in 2017, at what members of the homeschooling forum referred to as a Big Fat Meet-Up (BFM). That particular BFM was held in Nashville and that was where Heidi first expressed interest in becoming more involved in the Sowers4Pastors ministry.

That was about the same time that Kelsea joined the ministry. The fact that Kelsea is from Washington State and Heidi and her family are from Seattle seemed providential. And so Seattle 4 Lempira was born.

In the spring of 2018, Christopher’s parental unit (also known as Allen & Trish) went to Seattle for a “get-to-know-you trip.” Allen and Trish stayed with the Cook family, which consists of a parental unit and three offspring, one of whom is a fair maiden. While there, Trish discovered that fair Audrey was also friendly and most personable. Trish found her to be quite agreeable. Trish was intrigued by Audrey’s interest in things like art & culture and her almost complete lack of interest in pop-culture. That reminded Trish of her son, Christopher. That lack of pop-cultural knowledge had been an issue in Christopher’s dating life. (Being raised on the mission field limits one’s exposure to such things.) Add this to their list of commonalities, which now includes: 1) mothers, 2) homeschooled, 3) not about to win any pop-culture categories on Jeopardy.

Whilst gathered around a table supping on pizza, Trish mentioned that she would love to introduce fair Audrey to Gus, er, Christopher. She later mentioned it to Christopher, but he was just getting started in nursing school in Florida and wasn’t looking for a relationship.

In the spring of 2020, Trish was perusing Facebook Marketplace in her quest for a new bed. She located one in the vicinity of Christopher’s abode. Though he was busy completing nursing school and working at a hospital, the honorable young man cleared time in his schedule to pick up the bed. His coach wasn’t large enough, so he even rented a larger coach from Home Depot to transport it. Seeing that he had gone to a lot of trouble for this errand, Trish told Christopher, “I owe you a big Christmas present.” Upon hearing that, Christopher made his wishes known.

The honorable young man said, “Mother, since I have almost completed my training to become a healthcare professional, I am seeking an honorable girl strong in her Christian faith and fair of face.” (Okay, he didn’t actually say it in so many words, but close enough.)

Trish said, “But, Son, I have already told you of such a fair maiden. Her name is Audrey. She has a mother. She was homeschooled. She is friendly and most personable with no discernable interest in pop-culture.” (Okay, she didn’t actually say it in so many words, but close enough.)

Christopher sent an introductory correspondence to Audrey and the two began chatting on Facebook. They also shared video calls. Both were intrigued by the possibilities. It was then that Christopher purchased tickets to fly to Seattle for a face-to-face meeting. The two met at a park, chaperoned by Heidi because we have already established that fair Audrey has a mother. And any mother knows that even in fairy tales you don’t meet strangers off the internet alone. Even ones you know through missionary homeschooling moms.

When he revealed himself to be the charming young man he was believed to be, there was no looking back. At this point, the honorable young man is 26 and the fair maiden is 22, both at a stage where they are ready to take the next step. And so...

On Christmas 2020, Christopher had planned to travel to Honduras, but he was unable to because of his inability to get some passport issues resolved. Then the hospital where he worked was loath to give people time off, due to a worldwide pandemic. For those reasons, Christopher was never expected to fly to Seattle for Christmas. He didn’t just fly to Seattle for Christmas; he flew to Seattle on Christmas Day.

His arrival was anticipated by Audrey’s parental unit. Christopher’s family was also aware of the event. The only one who was completely in the dark was the fair maiden herself.

Christopher arrived outside of the Cook family’s home and promptly began to set the scene in true fairy-tale fashion. He was busily scattering rose petals and lighting candles in the rain when Audrey happened by a window and caught a glimpse of what was happening. And that is how Christopher came to propose to Audrey in a wet backyard, with only one candle lit, which stayed lit despite the rain. He offered her not one ring, but two. The first was one he carved by himself from a piece of walnut because Audrey loves handmade things. The second ring is a more traditional piece. 

The handmade ring in progress

The wedding is expected to take place in September of 2021, which coincides with Allen and Trish’s planned trip to collect backpacks. There are plans to make, an allergy-friendly reception to coordinate (since Audrey has extreme food allergies), and a worldwide pandemic to hopefully conquer.

Following their nuptials, Audrey will join Christopher in Florida. He has a several-year contract with the hospital where he is working. What they will do after that remains to be seen, but one thing is certain. This is far from...

The END


- posted by Christi