To say they met at church would be a half truth. But they did. Meet in church, that is. That’s only one layer of their story . . . it’s a story full of cross country adventure, closed doors, open windows and off-the-hook Young Life clubs. Dana and Jonn are proof that God really listens to prayer, and that He has a plan better than we can ever ask or imagine. It happened months after Dana left Chicago to take a job in rural Carroll County, teaching Spanish at Century High School. She had gone to her college’s recruiting fair, and the Carroll County scouts knew to scoop her up before some other school district nabbed her. Smart move. Completely on her own, she moved cross country, started her school year, and chose to get involved with Young Life–you know, to fill up all that extra time a first year teacher has! Jonn was working hard in his landscaping business, leading worship at our church and working through a tough patch, personally. He wanted to fill up his evenings with something worthwhile, and chose Young Life. They worked sided by side, investing in others’ lives. Step in the amazing power of God, who began to orchestrate, and before they knew it, they were sitting across the table from one another one early spring night at Chili’s. Jonn looked at Dana and saw “this sparkle in her eye,” and it was all over.
We went back to the place that it all began for Dana and Jonn, the Belinko home, and the Leppo Barn. That’s Young Life Central in these parts. And God put the icing on the cake when he gave us the most beautiful day of the fall season. Dana and Jonn will be married in May at the Linganore Wine Cellars, and it will be a marriage of three. These guys are doing it the right way . . . they have set their sights on Jesus, and while they are in the midst of planning a kicking wedding, they are also working through a devotional in order to prepare themselves for the other. They’ve let God write their romance. Sweet. love.
