accept it. Now a non-believer could be happy, absolutely. But with Christians the joy is sustaining. Long term peace and joy beat moments of happiness hands down. OK..on with the list.
#7 Squash with Darren No this is not a singular event. This was actually spread over the course of my entire Bahrain experience. Darren turned out to be one of my closest friends in Bahrain. We played squash once or twice a week at the British Club. The games were absolutely intense and an incredible workout for the both of us. He beat me more often than not. What was the most special things about the matches was our conversations between. Each of us hated to lose and played like we were in the 9th inning of the 7th game of the World Series. But between the matches we just had these great uplifting conversations about each other’s lives. Darren and I had a lot in common so he could offer a point of view that was unique. Really we had mini therapy sessions. After the game we would unwind by the British Club pool and have a meal or a soda.
They were really l “Ah…this is the life” moments. Not only were we great competitors, Darren also was an avid sportsfan. We never ran out of things to talk about. One thing I miss the most about Bahrain are the squash matches, but I know I have a life long friend.
#6 Leaving Bahrain My 20 months at my company in Bahrain was a fabulous experience for me. I loved being a General Manager. My management style, Im afraid to admit, was a bit like Michael from the Office. But less dorky. I established lifelong friendships with every single employee there. I have memories working and socializing with them that will last a lifetime. God really incredibly blessed me there. I remember specifically while I was praying in Jan. of 2010 that God told me that my time in Bahrain would soon be coming to an end. This was before my relationship with Jennifer heated up, and before I met Reg and OneTVO. I kept waiting for the end to happen. That is why I moved in with Coach Pat thinking it would only be a month or two. Well that month turned into six months. It was so great to have Jennifer behind me and believing in me during this time. That empowered me to make bold decisions. The owner’s son was now running the company and it was clear to see that you don’t have two head coaches. What was amazing is that they wanted me to stay, but I had such a clear peace about leaving. I do miss certain parts of Bahrain very much. It was like Bahrain was the training ground for my professional maturity. Now I feel as if I am reaping the experiential benefits.
#5 Surprising/meeting Jennifer at the Airport Jennifer and my romance is such a fairtytale.
I know how to write drama and I can easily recognize it when its happening even in my own life. Jennifer and I knew that we would marry each other from our second phone conversation. It was such a surreal feeling. Its not like we ever said “if” we get married. It was just an accepted inevitability. Both of us knew it. It was just instant cohesion. But of course I had to meet her face to face first. We webcammed before so there is not much hiding if you have something to hide. We were both attracted to each other. But would there be chemistry on her part when we met? That was the first unknown. Since I have a flair for the dramatic and my life will be made into a movie, I wanted to have a climactic ending or beginning depending on your point of view. So I arranged to have my photographer and videographer record our first meeting. Since I had a huge bouquet of flowers with me, there was a curiosity amongst the crowd. I was extremely nervous, I rarely get that nervous. So when Jennifer passed through customs I was face to face with her for the first time ever. She was a little awkward. Without saying anything, I dropped to a knee. The international crowd of about 100-150 people all collectively gasped. So my first words to her face to face were “Will you marry me?” Fortunately she said yes and the crowd applauded. It was a pretty spectacular almost life defining moment as I had not anticipated the crowd’s involvement. I then broke the law and kissed her. Jennifer and I will both agree and we thought the other was a lousy kissers. Fortunately, with lots of practice, we have gotten much much better at that. The next day, we went our first date which was a Ball, literally and figuratively. Jennifer had a gorgeous red gown and I was dressed in a custom fit tuxedo. It was a fundraising ball and my video was one of the featured attractions. Wow…what a way to show off for my new fiancée. Jennifer got to meet most of my friends, including my friend Stan. I told Stan about our story, and since he was the Editor in Chief of the newspaper he wanted to write about it. So there on Page 3 the next week, there Jennifer and my story was. It was a fitting and romantic end to an amazing amazing week. Here is the link if you care to read about it: http://www.gulfweekly.com/article.asp?Sn=7232&Article=24238
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