Who is Charity Anderson?

Take a look at those eyes, guys. This was the picture that won my heart. Back in Fall '07, when Charity started talking online, I wasn't sure I should even call. I wasn't sure I could keep up with a girl who said "I enjoy going out to sporting events, political rallies, and camping." I mean, sure I enjoyed the Joe Lieberman party, but "I'm very active in politics, so in the fall, I spend most of my time campaigning"??? On top of that, I'm not exactly Mr. Camper (the furthest out I've ever gotten, they still had a restroom!). But those eyes...those eyes...and interesting gems like "For a long time, I believed God was calling me to work with inner city kids." and the intriguing "I've got plenty of personality ;-)" It made me curious.

I'm glad it did, because, my friends, I've found a wonderful thing. Charity's heart for ministry is compassionate and huge. She cares about people, and if you know me, you know how important that is. She's always sweet to be around, even if she isn't always the most graceful (even though her middle name is Grace). She's a perfect ministry partner. And she's good for me. She keeps me laughing, she's fun to be around, and she makes me get out and do stuff. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

We talked on the phone for months about every sort of subject. I found out she wasn't as political as she made herself out to be (close, sometimes) and that her heart for ministry was bigger and better than I thought. We talked about our childhoods and our adulthoods, and how we had become who we are. We talked about theology, where Charity wasn't as "Fundamentalist" I had feared, in fact, we've hardly disagreed (at least about the important stuff). We talked about where we wanted to go in life, what we hoped to do, and realized we shared a lot of the same dreams (big family, ministry, serving God together). After that, and a million other topics, we were beginning to run out of things to talk about. It was time to meet.

I had to fly out to Chicago for my 10 year Moody reunion. The old gang was getting together for Founder's week, and we thought this would be a perfect opportunity. I flew in a few days early and met her family, briefly. I loved them all. They were a fun bunch. Then Charity came down to Chicago with me and met my college friends (and a few current Moody students) and spent the weekend visiting old haunts with us. Said Lisa Kelly after that visit, "Jason, if you don't marry her, I'm divorcing Drew, becoming a lesbian, and taking her for myself." A resounding endorsement.

Over the next few months, we visited each other frequently. She spent Easter Sunday at my church. She came out for my birthday party in Connecticut. I went to her family reunion in Chicago. All the while, everybody loved each other. My family loved Charity, her family loved me. Charity loved my family, and I loved hers. All the while, we were growing closer and closer, so we decided to give it a try and have Charity move out.

In August, she came to Philadelphia. Glenside actually, near school. During the week, she's a working girl and I'm in the library, but the weekends have been amazing. We've been doing a lot of ministry, teaching Sunday School together and running the youth group together. Our church is great. Even though it's not where either of us guessed we'd end up serving, the people here are wonderful. They love God with all their heart. They want to impact a difficult neighborhood. But more than ministry, they've been a family. They've adopted us into their church and have become brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and even grandparents. They've become our friends. It's a great church family to join. On top of that, we've gotten to do fun things like visit Ikea, discover Philly neighborhoods, go to a wedding, watch the city win a World Series as well as more common things like blockbuster nights and going out with friends. It was a good fall.

So I popped the question a few weeks before Thanksgiving, fireside. That'll be it's own post, I'm sure. Ever since we've been thinking wedding. Well...Christmas, and now wedding. We're excited to be getting married, and we hope you'll share in our excitement!