Hello friends and family!
Welcome to a LOOOONG overdue update! Usually we do a little story here with what we are learning and hopefully encourage all you guys. That will have to wait a little bit unfortunately because there is just so much to update you all about!
WE FINALLY GOT MARRIED!! WOOOOOHOOOO!! On September 20th, 2020 we said “I do” and put rings on it! It was such a beautiful and perfect day, we both said after that we could not picture a more perfect day for our wedding.
That being said, here are the 3 easy steps to get married in a foreign country during a viral outbreak (+ wildfires!)
Step 1: Friends & Family that have your back.
This wouldn't have been possible without all of you. All of our friends and family that had our backs through it all. All the hours spent in prayer for our day to be perfect. All the hours spent running errands for us, putting decorations together, and everything in between. And even having friends and family that got on the computer across the world no matter the time zone to watch our big day!
Step 2: Pray, Pray, Pray.
Spend all of your spare time praying. Pray that the overwhelming smoke goes away for just one freaking day. And it did! It was the only clear day since the fires and it was the perfect weather! It was the first breathable day as well so we didn't even have to risk anyone's lungs!
Step 3: Just Freaking Do It!
Amy and I decided after having to postpone our first wedding that no matter what happened we WERE GETTING MARRIED SEPTEMBER 20TH. We learned to let go of the expectations that we did have for our wedding (with lots of disappointments) but we just did it and it was amazing! In the end you just have to learn that you are really not in control and there is only so much you can do. And that most important thing is that we were getting married to each other! So just freaking do it!
It was literally the only day with clear skies that entire week and the week after! God was really looking out for us. We wanted to thank all of you that were able to make it there and for all of you who watched it online. It meant the world to us to have you there even if you weren’t physically ‘there’. It was just incredible considering all that has conspired this year through virus outbreaks, shut down borders, and wildfires, that we were able to have an incredible wedding and a honeymoon!
Pre - wedding:
Since our last update a lot has been happening. We came to Oregon, USA this summer to prepare for our wedding here. During that time Amy has also gotten a job to help support us in this change and I have been helping on occasion at Amy’s church here as well as working on immigrations things. At this time Amy and I can not enter into New Zealand and it is looking like that will be the case for a little while. So we have decided to start the process of immigration for me to the USA. We figured now is a good a time as any as we are kind of stuck here! We got advice from some good friends and mentors of ours that it would be really good to commit to getting at least permanent residency as soon as we can just to make the rest of our lives that much easier and without fear of deportation!
Then came the wedding where we got to see so many of our friends and family! It was very stressful as well but having everyone come together and help out and made it the best day ever!
So since the wedding Amy has been working, I have been working on immigration paperwork, and we have both been getting our home in order and figuring this whole thing out! We are currently living in Salem in Amy’s parents basement (right where we always pictured we would be when we got married! Just joking!) We have been blessed with a place to stay, and God has provided so much for us in this time. It is amazing to see and count all the blessings we have received! I (Ben) am also in the process of looking for local ministry opportunities in Salem and seeing where I can volunteer at the moment including the local YWAM base but Covid is complicating this process, which we expected, so prayers for creative ministry opportunities would be greatly appreciated.
As things are looking we should be able to submit our visa fairly soon! Please be praying for us, for our lawyer, and for every step of our application, that it gets accepted quickly and without delay! The quicker it gets accepted the quicker we can visit Canada! As part of applying means that we cannot leave the country until it is accepted. It is also quite expensive as you can imagine to apply, and for lawyer fees and everything, and that is why Amy has been working to help pay off those fees so please be praying for that!
So that is where we are at right now, trying to make a house (and a country) into a home. Trying to navigate life in times like these the best we can, and seeking the Lord through it all.
Please let us know how we can be praying for all of you as well! And we will be trying to do better at updates now that we have most of the more stressful things out of the way. Thank you for your patience and support of us!
Love,
Benjamin & Amy Ens
P.S. Hopefully wedding pictures will come soon! Still waiting on our photographer.
