“Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.”
Gaute and Jennifer’s story officially began on the night of January 4th, 2013, though it was being crafted by a loving God a long time before then. Gaute is from Seljord, Norway and Jennifer is from Sharpsburg, Georgia. They had both been volunteers at the Passion 2013 conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jennifer and her sister, Kara, had stuck around to help with load out after the conference and so had Gaute. Kara ended up meeting Gaute first, and she invited him to join her and Jennifer, and some other volunteers at Taco Mac for dinner. Gaute said yes, thinking it was a good chance to make new friends. Jennifer and Gaute ended up sitting next to each other at dinner. They had said hello to each other when they sat down, but mostly being occupied talking to other persons around the table.
After a while Gaute thought he should be polite and talk to the girl beside him. Gaute says that he was in love within the first minute of talking to Jennifer. She had just returned from living in Cambodia for ten months as a missionary. Someone at the table asked her about it, and Gaute said he had been to Cambodia on a two week missions trip a couple of years before. This continued their conversation which carried on through much of the rest of dinner.
Jennifer was attracted, but still not really understanding what God was whispering to her heart about Gaute, and not quite sure yet if he liked her. After dinner everyone gathered together to pray. Jennifer says it was when Gaute prayed in Norwegian that she was struck by the “thunder bolt” too. Even though she couldn’t understand what was being prayed, she still felt the power of God behind it. She and Gaute exchanged numbers and said they would all meet up on Sunday at Passion City Church.
Over the rest of the weekend until church on Sunday, Jennifer thought about Gaute, and Gaute thought about Jennifer. Neither one really knowing how the other felt. They met up again at Passion City Church, and that evening Kara and Jennifer hung out with Gaute at Starbucks and Waffle House. Somewhere along the way, Jennifer began to pick up on signs that Gaute was interested and she definitely knew in her heart that she was interested in him too. By the time they said goodbye that night, Jennifer knew that she would see Gaute again, and had a whisper in her heart that he would be her husband one day. For Gaute it was difficult to leave. He had just meet an wonderful girl, and wanted to get to know her much more. At the same time he felt a peace in his heart that he would meet Jennifer again.
When Gaute got back to Norway he wrote Jennifer a note on Facebook. They wrote back and forth for about a week before Gaute sent her a beautiful note telling her how he felt and his intentions to get to know her better in hopes of it leading to more than friendship. They began talking on Skype. They made their relationship “official” on February 1st, 2013. Gaute visited Jennifer and her family for a week in April. He knew by the second day they were together that he was going to ask Jennifer to marry him.
Jennifer went to Norway for two weeks in May. On the 16th, the night before Norway’s National holiday, Gaute took Jennifer out to her chosen Thai restaurant for dinner, and afterward to a small cafe for tea and chocolate. After that, they got in the car, and instead of going home Gaute began to drive for some time. Jennifer knew something was up. They arrived at a beautiful ocean view after the sun had gone down, the lights of Stavanger twinkling in the distance. However, right when they got there, it started raining. The rain didn’t let up, so Gaute got out of the car, came around to Jennifer’s door and got down on one knee. He asked Jennifer to marry him and she said yes with all her heart. They went to the National Day parades and parties the next day, ate lots of ice cream, and quietly rejoiced in their hearts at the beautiful little ring Jennifer was wearing on her finger.
Gaute and Jennifer got married on October 12th, 2013 in Georgia, and Jennifer moved to Stavanger. They will have another celebration in Norway the following summer so that those who could not make the journey to the wedding can share in their joy also.
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
- Philippians 2:1-2