Today is a special day. I have been married to DeNiel N. Gillen for thirteen years. It has most definitely been a journey to behold and one to anticipate as our lives continue to unfold. I can promise you that thirteen years ago at South Gate Baptist Church in Springfield, MO I was scared to death and yet filled with excitement.
As we left the church, our first adventure was Florida for our honeymoon. Being a young rural Missouri boy I thought Al-Qaida was all around us before Al-Qaida was a house hold name; everyone one was suspect. I walked around Sea World in fear of being abducted and was in need of a psychiatric evaluation during the whole trip. It was at that time that I promised to myself that I would never leave the USA or MO.
A year went by and we felt ourselves being called to Seminary. We spent three days in Texas looking at the Seminary and the night of our one year anniversary (our return from visiting Southwestern) we discovered we were with CHILD! Kylie was born and what a surprise being a parent was. DeNiel in her infinite wisdom got herself pregnant again within three months of Kylie’s arrival with Brooklin. Wow! I was excited, depressed, and nervous and in need of yet another psychiatric evaluation! It was during this news that we were in the process of transferring to FBC St. James, MO. The Lord certainly blessed us in our move to St. James. It was a little nerve racking at first because we were so close to St. Louis a “Big City!”
We made St. James our home. It was during our time in St. James that the Lord would provide us with the man child, Jacob. What a difference between boys and girls! No EMOTIONS! Seven years into our ministry there we felt the Lord leading us to serve overseas! Oh how the Lord has a way of changing people and their perspectives. I was never going to leave neither the USA nor Missouri and here we were contemplating being foreign missionaries. Eventually, we would join the IMB and find ourselves in Costa Rica learning Spanish. What a treat this was. DeNiel excelled and I struggled because of my roots in Southern Missouri. The accent was just a little much and the lack of grammar where I am from would come back to haunt me. Nonetheless, we made it through and once again, DeNiel would be pregnant with our fourth and final child, Adelyn. What a journey she was and is! She is a hoot!
It’s incredible where the Lord has taken us and what he has taught us. In just thirteen years we have been to Arizona, California, Chicago, Florida, Hawaii (twice), Kansas, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Las Vegas, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, Costa Rica (for 1 year), Columbia (Bogotá), Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico City, Niagara Falls (Canada), Nicaragua, Panama, Peru (Lima), and we now live in the Dominican Republic.
Besides our wonderful kids, travels, and life as missionaries, that which I truly treasure the most is DeNiel. She is not the same girl that said, “Yes,” thirteen years ago. She inspires me to be a godly man. She is truly my better half. I must close with thank you DeNiel for saying, “I do” and thank you for putting Christ first. The times have not always been easy but the trials have always been welcomed for they themselves have developed within each of us a deeper understanding of our sinful, selfish nature and allowed us to grow in maturity in our walk with the Lord. Thank you DeNiel for growing in godliness and making our home a refuge, sanctuary, and a median for growing future disciples of Christ!
I will sign off the way, in which we started thirteen years ago today,
I DO!
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