Daniel & Katelyn's Wedding
Well, it’s happened again! Another member of the John Forster household has moved
on to start his own household! On June 28, 2008, Daniel and Katelyn Joy committed
their lives to each other and established the Daniel Forster household! Daniel,
our oldest, is the manager of Doorposts. He is the man who helps get your orders
out the door, along with wrestling computer problems, ordering print jobs, overseeing
our crew of young workers, making plans for our future projects, managing the finances,
and much more. We’re glad God has given him a helper!
John & Pam with Daniel, 1984
Since childhood, Daniel has been committed to saving himself for just one lady,
the one God had chosen for him. Over the years, we have prayed along with him for
God’s perfect timing, and for God’s sanctifying work in his life as well as in the
life of his bride-to-be, wherever she might be.
 Part of Daniel’s
"college" training after "graduating" from his homeschooling
(Isn’t all of life part of homeschooling?) was the writing of a book, Prepare Thy Work, a volume for young men who are
looking toward courtship and marriage. As Daniel interviewed the godly older men
in his life and as he read books, studied the Bible, researched insurance and financial
matters, and continued to run our business while also serving in many roles in our
church, God made it obvious that he was truly ready for a helper. He was ready for
a wife to come alongside him to encourage and aid him in the God-given tasks he
was pursuing. He had reached a point in life when he needed a helper. But
where was the lady God had for him?
We encouraged him to make a list of the traits that he felt would equip his future
wife to best help him serve the Lord. His list focused on character, but also included
some specific practical skills that would complement his own.
Now flash back to 2003, when we first met Katelyn and her mother. They had come
to look at one of our goats. (Katelyn remembers our daughter Bethany in her dress
and rubber boots.) We shared some brief conversation about churches, along with
goats, and they were gone.
Bill Forster, with son John and grandsons, Daniel, Joseph, and Benjamin,
Spring 2001.
But we met up with some of the family again while we were selling flowers and cards
at a local farmers’ market. Our last name drew the attention of Katelyn’s mother.
"You aren’t related to Bill Forster, are you?" she asked.
Yes, as a matter of fact, we were. We discovered that Daniel’s Grandpa Forster and
Katelyn’s Grandpa Ford had been good friends in their younger years. Soon a reunion
of these old friends was arranged, and our two families got together. During that
visit, Katelyn and Bethany found that they had much in common, and over the next
few years they corresponded with each other, and our families occasionally shared
some time together.
Daniel, Katelyn, and her Grandpa Ambrose Ford, July 2008
Now fast forward back to winter 2007 and the day when we recognized that Katelyn,
Daniel’s little sister’s friend, was the embodiment of his list! But Daniel had
hardly even talked to her. She was Bethany’s friend, and the two girls were usually
off with the other ladies when we visited.
At a breakfast-out one morning, Daniel and I decided we should pray for more opportunities
to get to know the family, and especially to get to know Katelyn better. As we came
through the door, returning home after that breakfast, one of the girls handed me
the phone, and Katelyn’s mother was on the line. She and Katelyn were offering to
help us make Johanna’s wedding dress! (Katelyn had gone with us just a day or two
before, when we took Johanna, another of Daniel’s sisters, to try on wedding dresses.
Katelyn had seen our despair over ever finding a ready-made wedding dress.)
That was a fast answer to prayer! The wedding dress would give us many hours together
with Katelyn and members of her family!
Before the wedding dress was even finished (several months later), Daniel was convinced
that he should approach Katelyn’s father about courting her. He nervously arranged
a meeting, and we all waited on pins and needles on the day he drove away to that
meeting!
Katelyn's father officiated at the wedding.
Daniel survived and came home with a glimmer of hope. Katelyn’s father was going
to discuss the possibility with her mother.
Johanna’s bridal shower was just a couple days later, and Katelyn and her sisters
and mother were at the shower. I recognized the stunned look in Barbara’s eyes.
Something happens to your entire world when a young man comes asking to court your
baby! How can it be? She was just born! It was difficult to carry on a normal conversation
when the biggest thing on both of our minds was something that neither of us could
bring up!
Daniel met with Katelyn’s father several times after that, and one quiet Sunday
evening suddenly erupted into chaos when Daniel hung up the phone with the news
that Katelyn’s father had told her about Daniel’s request.
Katelyn later told us that her first thought was, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and
then she realized that she should say it out loud! "Yes!" If her trusted
daddy gave his approval to Daniel, she knew it was what God wanted. And so the courtship
began!
Horseback riding at Grandpa Ford's
Daniel is a true romantic. The courtship began with a simple bouquet he picked and
handed to Katelyn at their first meeting after the news. "These are for you,"
he told her. The days that followed were filled with conversations, chicken butchering,
lots more bouquets, bucking hay at Katelyn’s grandpa’s, five long weeks apart when
Katelyn and her family traveled in Germany and Israel, lots of letters and journal
writing (both Daniel and Katelyn like to write), and many family gatherings.
Engaged! September 2007
On Daniel’s 24th birthday, Katelyn gave him his best present – an enthusiastic
"yes" to his request for her to become his wife. What a happy young man
he was (and is)!
The first glimpse of each other on the wedding day
The wedding was beautiful, even though it was the hottest day on record for June
28 in this area! Daniel and Katelyn’s first glimpse of each other was accompanied
by Daniel’s words as he once more said, "These are for you," while handing
her the bride’s bouquet that he had made for their wedding day.
Guests and family gathered in the Pontiers' back yard for the celebration
Katelyn's parents walk her down the aisle
Katelyn had always wanted her wedding to be in her family’s yard, so with the back
drop of fields and farmland, they stood before her father and covenanted to become
husband and wife. A surprise for me (It’s amazing how much less you know about a
wedding when it’s your son’s wedding instead of your daughter’s!) was the inclusion
of a Jewish tradition – the groom stomping on a wine glass after he and his bride
drank from it. The glass would never be the same. And neither would life for Daniel
and Katelyn. They were one. Our son, in that energetic stomp followed by his solemn
vows, left his father and mother, and cleaved to his wife. A new household was born,
and we rejoiced with our son and his new bride!
The exchange of rings
Their first dance as husband and wife!
Daniel & Katelyn became parents to little Ruby Patience on April 26, 2009.
Click here to see pictures!
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