Way back over a year ago when I went to RCIA to parallel my mom's learning, there were a few people investigating the church along with me. When you get further into the program, if you decide you do want to become Catholic you get a "sponsor", a confirmed Catholic who attends RCIA with you and is support for you. Well, one of the sponsors there last year was this guy, Rob. I noticed him because he reminded me of Kevin - mainly that he always wore polos, jeans and the same big ol' work boots that Kevin wears. As time went on, I found out he and his wife were expecting their fourth child and he did work very similar to Kevin's.
A couple months after I stopped going to RCIA, I met Karen at a MOPS Christmas party. I was really interested in some of the things she shared about her life travels and attitudes about friendships, etc. Over the next few months, I tried to get to know her better. It was challenging since I still had a less-than-a-year-old baby and she gave birth right around then. We did manage to run a 5K together in Yucaipa in May - and in the 45 minutes we walked together before the race, I heard more really cool stuff about her life.
Not until weeks later did I find out she was Catholic and was going overseas with Catholic Relief Services almost immediately. I got her e-mail address to keep in touch, and she shared her blog address so I could read about her adventures, which I have been enjoying. (She and her family are in Banda Aceh, in Indonesia trying to help rebuild after the tsunami.) Occasionally, she shares pictures, and it was fun to see the faces of her children and husband - I'd only ever met her baby girl.
This past Sunday at RCIA, one of the leaders happened to mention that Kevin and I remind her of Rob, who she indicated I'd have known from RCIA the last time and his wife Karen who are now in Indonesia. In case I'm not doing a good enough job of explaining this - that meant that the Rob I knew and the Karen I knew are married!!! THAT Rob and THAT Karen! Holy cow! I seriously spent the better part of the rest of the day turning that around and around in my brain. I have significant (to me) memories and thoughts about both of them, and now to think they're the ones I've been reading about in Indonesia! I can't believe it! So weird. I e-mailed Karen to tell her and she wrote back (from vacation in Australia - sign me up for CRS!) saying my e-mail gave her chills! Cool, huh?
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