We are Married! (not clickbait, gone faithful)

That's right, I now have a beautiful wife! I know that is likely why you clicked on this link. So, let's just get right into that.

Me and Anna got married last Friday, February 7th 2025. We had our dear friend David officiate the ceremony. I mentioned it in my previous post, but it is kinda funny how David has been my boss, he has been my bro in Christ at church, and now he is the man that officiated the wedding of Ethan and Anna Hilmo. It was a very intimate ceremony. It was just Anna's parents, her sister, her ouma, her friend Leah, my father, my grandma, my friend Jesse, and the pianist Ela and the photographer Mia. It was honestly so stress free thanks to Anna's mom. She decorated that place and had it looking so good. Of course, she had help from Anna, her sister, Ela, Mia, and another friend from our church family, Laurie. I am thankful for how smooth everything went and how beautiful it was. It is incredible that me and Anna are now a pair in the eyes of God, not so much in the eyes of the government haha.

I had the privilege of joining Olympia Bible Baptist Church for the first Omni Night, hosted by Bellingham Baptist Church on January 31st, Friday before last. The Omni Night was a teen event where you do activities all night long. It was a total blast. We got to hear preaching from Pastor Pyle. He preached a sermon out of Judges about Samson. To summarize, God can give us the means to do His work. But, we can neglect to use them for His purposes. So, what abilities do you have and are you using them in your full ability to glorify Christ? Something good to ponder on. Pastor Pyle is always preaching some great sermons, at least everything I have heard him preach the word. Anyway, the night was much more crazy than I initially understood.

The preaching was from 7pm-9:30pm approximately. After that, we went to play mini golf and go karts. It was a lot of fun. Besides the great tacos and beans and rice, me and my bro Pablo watched the teens repeatedly attempt to beat this game called "Shoot the Moon". Google describes it as the following: "a tabletop game that involves moving metal rods to propel a ball up a ramp and score points. The goal is to land the ball in the highest-scoring slot". It was quite fun! I must say, during the go kart racing, Pastor Wilder kept bumping into me. He gave me a real run for my money. He beat me due to my pride. I thought I was beating him hard. So, I decided to attempt to brake check him to mess with him. However, this ended up being my downfall because he used that opportunity to pass me. I was unable to catch up with him and he beat me. Good game, Pastor W.

After that, it was around 11:30pm. We went bowling, and it was alright! I usually love bowling. But, this time I was pretty beat. I had never gone bowling at midnight. My team consisted of myself, Pablo, and a couple other cool kids. Pablo got some good scores, but the kids kept kicking our butts. It was one of my worst games. I have no more to say on the matter of bowling except to pout and wallow in my own humiliation and shame.

By the time the bowling ended it was 2:30am. We went from bowling to a trampoline park. Let me add that at the bowling alley, they served us desserts such as ice cream, cookies, and brownies. Pablo was smart. Pablo was conservative with what he got and he drank water to stay hydrated. Myself, being gluttonous, went all in on that ice cream. However, I did not suffer the consequences. I never got nauseous while hopping. I had felt just fine. It was a ton of fun pushing our friends off of the ledge, having battles in hamster balls, and doing flips off the ledge.

By the time we were done at the trampoline park, I was so exhausted. It was 4:30am. We were off to our final stop for the day. We went to an indoor sports court thing? It had ice skating, a soccer field, and a volleyball court. I watched some people skate for a while, I also watched some kids play soccer. But, by about 5:30am, I was cooked. I was so tired. I rested my head, at times briefly observing the soccer game. I was about ready to call it quits and just leave. But, I really wanted to be around for every second of this event. I had it on my mind that after this, I would be married and likely much more busy. So, I pushed through and made it to 7am. By that time, we were all ready to get home. I was so so so tired. It was about 1.5hrs back to Redmond.

So, I called Anna and we talked my entire drive down to ensure I did not fall asleep. And, praise the Lord that I made it home without crashing or anything like that. It was a crazy time but I am so grateful that I got to be a part of that event. I hadn't seen Pablo in months and outside of Bible counseling, I did not get to see Pastor Wilder much. So, it was absolutely worth it to me. Not sure if I would do it again though.

There is a Nether portal

Anna and I have been looking for a good spot to host our Wedding Reception, a bigger event for all of our family to be able to come to. Have some preaching, fellowship, swimming if some want, just some good ol' fashioned fun. Me and Jesse were conversing and he recommended a spot not too far from me. So, I took a day off and me and Anna went to check it out. It was a big blessing, and planning as far as that event goes has been pretty smooth since!

Gotta praise the Lord again, I have so many praises. My mom graduated from rehab a bit over a week ago, and she asked to go to church! Naturally, I took that Wednesday off. Me and Anna went down to Raymond and brought her to Olympia Bible Baptist Church that evening. That wasn't before we took her out to a cat cafe in Lacey. It was so cute, there was maybe 15-20 cats there. The beverages were nice. The cats were especially affectionate of my mother. I know my mom has had to face so many challenges. But, I believe that she is making sincere change and wants to move on from who she was and wants to be someone much better. I am grateful for a God who redeems, and who wants to love us at our worst. All this to say, having the means to bless my mom is a real big blessing. After that cat cafe, me and Anna took her out to a nice lunch. We then watched the sunset before going to get some noodles my aunt asked us to get her, and went to church with my mom. Olympia Bible Baptist had been praying for my mom since I had left Heartland. So, for them to see her in person was a display of God's power. Just months ago I had reported her missing, for all I had known she could've been dead. But, by God's amazing grace, there she was in the very church I had asked for prayer for her to be found. God is so good. I can say it a million times. For those who are followers of Christ reading this, please pray my mom understands the gospel and comes to know the Lord as her savior, and that she would join a church and use her testimony and life to glorify God. Because that is what we all should do. We all oughta use our lives to glorify the cause of Christ.

I think this is everything for now. It has been a wild last few weeks. But, I am grateful for everything. I am grateful for something as simple as knowing where me and Anna's wedding reception will be held. And, I am grateful to be married to the love of my life. I am grateful my mom is recovering and is safe. I am grateful for parents like my dad, Pastor Joel and Christelle. I am very blessed for the people I have in my life. I pray consistently to glorify God through me and Anna's marriage and to live a way that accomplishes His will.

I am going to attach some images that have made me happy recently. I hope that this blog post was a blessing to you. Till I post again!

Psalm 43