Wulff Where Abouts: As I'm waiting...

My friend Amanda Wulff is preparing to serve as a full time missionary teacher in Papua New Guinea starting in January. She is in need of financial support so she can begin her training on January 26th. Please take a minute to read her blog (link below) and pray about how you can support her as she seeks to spread the Gospel in PNG. Thanks so much!

Wulff Where Abouts: As I'm waiting...: "As I wait for things to come together I continue to press on. Have you heard that song by John Waller called 'While I waiting' It says 'I'..."

Quarter of a Century!

This past Saturday was my 25th birthday and what a day it was! I have the most amazing fiancée in the world who finds new ways to make me happy every day! Over the summer she told me she already had a surprise planned for my birthday. I was thoroughly impressed and somewhat intrigued. My mind was wrapped around the whole engagement thing for the month of September so I didn't give my birthday much thought. All of the sudden October was here and I realized that the 23rd would be here before I knew it. I started getting excited for whatever Val had in store for me as she kept stringing me along with promises of a fun and exciting day.

On October 20th I received the following message on facebook:

BOB BOBBERSON SAID THIS IS URGENT!!!

These instructions are to be followed on Friday night!

Bobby has a birthday surprise!
It won't come easy-- you must use your mind.
Piece together every clue,
and soon you'll know what to do.
After a long day at work,
meet me where the duckies lurk!
I'll tell you what to do from there.
It doesn't matter what you wear.

Good luck :)

I almost met her at the wrong place on Friday, thinking she wanted me to meet her at the duck pond in Salem instead of the duck pond at Virginia Tech. Thankfully, I realized my error after reading the message a few more times. Unfortunately due to time constraints we were unable to take a walk around campus like Val had planned. We still met at the pond and she gave me the clues she had made for each destination we were going to visit. On each of these clues was a top five list pertaining to reasons she loves me and wants to spend the rest of her life with me. After reading the beautiful card she gave me I opened a small gift bag containing a new iPod! My old one had literally died a month earlier and I was desperately in need of a replacement to help keep me company on my commute each day. I was blown away by this generous gift. I love Val so much!!!

A shot of the beautiful scenery at the duck pond

When we got back to my apartment, my sisters and brothers-in-law were waiting for us and we had cake and played cornhole. It was so good to have my family there to celebrate the special occasion. Apparently the Texas Rangers knew it was my birthday as well. They took care of the Yankees and advanced to the world series. Yes, it is a bit sad that I take so much satisfaction in the Yankees losing (sorry Gram!!!) but what else do us Mets fans have left to root for??? As if all this wasn't already enough to make this the best birthday ever, Val's surprise was still ahead!

Val showing off her cornhole skill!

Rachel and Craig were the champs!

The beautiful cake Val made for me! Sadly a silly long-boarder collided with her and smashed the top of the cake. My sweetheart nursed it back to health and it tasted wonderful!

She made my birthday truly special :)

Earlier in the evening Val had given me four "puzzle pieces" which essentially made up the border of a picture. She laughed to herself and told me there was no way I could guess what the surprise was based off of such a vague clue. Val clearly underestimated my ability to figure things out as well as my stubborn mentality! It took me until 4:21 AM but I finally matched the border with a picture from Google. Our destination was Busch Gardens! I had told Val many times how special that place is to me. My parents would take us there almost every summer for vacation. Busch Gardens holds a special place in all of our hearts. Needless to say, I was excited!! Unfortunately for me, it was 5AM and we were leaving three hours later! Val was kind enough to drive most of the way while I took a snooze in the backseat. My friend Allyson came along with us. It was really neat to see how well her and Val got along. I think Val can be an awesome influence for Allyson as she grows in her faith.

At around 2:00 we parked our car in the Scotland lot and boarded the tram to the main entrance. Childhood memories instantly flooded into my head as I smiled from ear to ear. I knew we had a fun day ahead of us but I didn't ever think it could be as amazing as it turned out to be!

At the entrance to the park

Busch Gardens separates itself from other theme parks with its incredible atmosphere. Each section of the park is represented by a different country featuring rides, food, and entertainment to match. What made it even better on this particular day was Howl-O-Scream. Every October, Busch Gardens has a Halloween theme and decorates the park. They also have haunted houses, Halloween themed shows, and costumed park workers scaring people in the park. I don't typically like being scared, but this was a lot of fun. Nothing was overly scary and the atmosphere was amazing. My favorite part of the park was Ireland. The scene can be described as a night in an Irish city surrounded by traditional pubs and great music. I loved it!

"Downtown Ireland"

Hanging out with our goblin friend. We named him Griphook

That is one huge nose on that tree!

Sadly, we did not get to see this superstar in action for his "Frankenrock" performance. We did enjoy some amazing German food in the Oktoberfest building which is behind us in the picture.

Val is telling that horse who the boss is!

I also had a blast riding the roller coasters. It had been way too long! The Loch Ness Monster has always been one of my favorites and it didn't disappoint. While I had a great time on that ride, the new Griffin roller coaster stole the show! Though we waited in line for close to 45 minutes, the thrill of the ride was worth every second! This coaster brings you to the top of its main drop, holds you there for a few seconds, and then drops you 90 degrees downward, never letting up the rest of the way. Though we were physically exhausted at this point of the day, Val and I left that ride exhilarated and rejuvenated. I have never experienced such an adrenalin rush in my life. I am so happy Val loves roller coasters!!!

In front of the Loch Ness Monster

This coaster is not only fun to ride but is beautifully lit up at night

This may have taken the top spot on my list of roller coasters!

It was so great to have Allyson come along with us. Val's original intent was for a big group of people to go but I am glad it worked out this way! I am so proud of how far Allyson has come in her walk with Christ. It was only 1 1/2 years ago that she was saved and she is really starting to learn what it means to be a sold out follower of Jesus! Val and Allyson are great for each other. Val did not form any real strong bonds with the girls from VT over the summer but she has immediately clicked with Allyson. They both love the English language, sports, and Jesus. What else do you need to have in common?

Waiting in line for the Leonardo da Vinci Flying Machine

This is the sign that was in the picture Val gave me the borders to. I eventually found it on Google images to figure out where we were going!

I am so blessed to have such great friends and an amazing fiancée who goes out of her way to make me happy. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us and hope this trip to Busch Gardens was the first of many more to come!

These are some nice shots of us from the day

Engagement!

I am going to marry the most beautiful, faithful, selfless, sporty, goofy, encouraging, compassionate, creative, resilient, Christ-like woman in the world! I love Valerie Nicole Elizabeth McGinnis and this past weekend I told her this much and asked her to marry me. Well, in case you were wondering, she said yes! This is how it all went down.

I always knew I wanted to propose to Val on top of a mountain. We are both adventurous people and we love seeing God's beautiful creation around us. I also knew how I was going to propose after reading the novel Val wrote (I will explain later). What I did not know were the rest of the details and how the occasion would play out. I picked out September 18th because it was a Hokie football weekend and the weekend before we were heading north to see our parents. I wanted to be able to celebrate this wonderful moment with those closest to us. As the 18th drew closer, I began to brainstorm how the proposal would come together. I decided to take her on a scavenger hunt of epic proportions. The theme was to be "Weekend Impossible" and Bob Bobberson himself had a very important mission for Agent McGinnis as you will see in the video below.

Val was extremely excited for our mystery date. For some reason, Val kept mentioning that I looked strangely similar to Mr. Bobberson. I assured her that I did not know any details of the plan and that Bob was in complete control. I could hardly contain myself during the week leading up to the big day. I created cards out of oak tag which had three clues each. Each clue gave a hint as to where we would head next after meeting at Rachel's apartment at 5:00. These cards were each placed in separate manila folders labeled "confidential."

The idea was for us to continue an adventure all night, going from place to place, until finally coming to the top of McAfee's Knob. The proposal would happen at sunrise. I prayed all week for nice weather and God's hand of protection upon us and boy did He come through!!!

We met at Rachel's apartment at 5:00 and I gave Val the first set of clues. The first clue was "Every Hokie's favorite." Val was perplexed but correctly guessed that it had something to do with either food or football haha. I guess us Hokies have a reputation for enjoying these two things more than we probably should! She incorrectly guessed that we were headed to Mike's Grill so I had her read the next clue. This clue read "These biscuits just don't taste the same with that stuff on it." This was referring to apple butter which Val and I both don't care for. She guessed correctly after this clue that we were headed to The Homeplace!!!


We were treated to some of the best food you will ever have, while enjoying quality conversation. I devoured the chicken while Val mostly ate the roast beef. If you have never eaten there before you are missing out!






From there I gave Val the next set of clues. The first clue was a quote from The Honeymooners: "Oh is that what you were playing? I thought it was football the way your backfield was in motion!" Val of course thought it had something to do with football which made the next clue even funnier! It read, "Excruciating look on Phil's face." Val assumed I meant my roommate Phil Cumbia so she asked, "Are we going to play a touch football game with Phil?" couldn't contain my laughter after that comment! The final clue referred to a mulligan and she finally guessed that we were headed to play some mini golf.


We went to Thunder Valley and Val beat me pretty good! My excuse was that I had other things on my mind. I did dominate her in air hockey after she bragged about it being an expertise of hers haha.



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We were supposed to head to the Roanoke Star next, but time did not permit us to. Val did guess this one on the first clue though! It read, "Not Brandon's favorite memory." You see, the last time Val tried to go to the Roanoke Star it ended up being closed and Brandon got a speeding ticket on the way back to Lynchburg.



Our next destination was one I had been looking forward to for a while. The first clue read "Val's night life." I was surprised to hear her get on the right track by guessing it had something to do with crazy dreams. The second clue was "the heartthrob of the 90s turned serious." This was in reference to Leonardo DiCaprio but all Val could think of were pop stars. The final clue was "I'm dreaming of a grreeeaaattt movie, just like the one we are about to see!" She finally guessed that we were headed to see Inception and was extremely excited. She thanked me for the best night of her life and I just smiled; if she only knew what was to come! Anyways, if you haven't seen the movie, you need to! I would place it in my top 5 movies of all time easily.





Val was still trying to wrap her mind around the movie when I gave her the next set of clues. The first clue was "The white triangle." This one baffled her so I gave her the next one: "The power of GENE!" Val knew too well that this referred to the bowling ball I inherited from my Uncle Gene but was confused because she didn't think any bowling alleys would be open at 1AM. The last clue read "This is much easier on the Wii," and Val figured out against her logic that bowling was next on the list of activities. We drove to Lee-Hi Lanes in Salem and played one game of Moonlight Bowling. We both posted terrible scores but once again my built in excuse was that I had other things on my mind. Her excuse was she was bowling in a skirt. Fair enough! Anyways, I won 76-73 and we departed for our next destination.






We were about to go hiking up a mountain, so I figured we better grab some food beforehand. The first clue was "A place I don't visit as often anymore" (Since my car has much better gas mileage now). The second clue was "Belly Washers!" which only Val, Me, Kelsey, and Ethan understand haha. She guessed correctly that we were headed to Sheetz on this clue.




While we were at Sheetz I hinted that the main event was still to come and that Bob Bobberson had some big plans in store! She couldn't even imagine what could possibly still be planned. Before revealing the clues for the main even, we drove by the Roanoke Star to see if it was still open. Sadly it was not so we moved on in our journey.

The time I had been waiting for was almost upon us! I gave Val the clues for the next destination and she actually guessed it on the first clue! The clue read "Part of a door," referring to McAfee's Knob. The great part of it all was earlier in the night when I was asking her what she thought would be next, she said half-jokingly, "Let's go climb that mountain over there!" I laughed on the inside at her prophecy that would eventually come true. We had always talked about a night hike over the summer but never got around to it. We equipped ourselves with headlamps and backpacks and began the trek up. Unfortunately, I initially forgot a very important item: the ring! About a half mile into the hike I realized this and had to go back to the car, making an excuse that I forgotten my Bible. At this point I was completely exhausted, having hiked up the mountain and back down that morning with a guitar and a backpack. I couldn't wait to get to the top and see God's beautiful creation. When we finally made it, we sat down in awe of God's majesty. The sky was crystal clear and the stars were beautiful. Within ten minutes of lying down on the rocks to watch the stars, we were sound asleep. Thankfully, I woke up before Val and had time to set everything up for the proposal. What transpired after this was the greatest moment of my life thus far and a testament to God's grace and provision!






I told you I would explain how Val's novel came into play regarding the proposal. Val wrote a book that I read this summer and in the book one of the male characters proposes to one of the female characters. He does so by constructing a model house, based off the house she always wanted to have, and placing the ring inside. He also had two plastic figurines sitting on top of the house, representing the two of them. From the moment I read this chapter, I knew this would be part of my proposal to Val. I went to Walmart and bought some oven-bake clay and molded mini-Val and mini-Matt to the best of my ability. I then painted the models and placed them on top of a house made from Popsicle sticks.

While Val was still sleeping, I arranged the model house in the middle of a group of flowers shaped like a heart. I also placed three purple carnations in vases, each representing a different phase of our relationship. The final arrangement looked like this:

I went back over to where Val was sleeping and nudged her awake with a kiss on the forehead. I couldn't wait to profess my love to this beautiful girl before me! I told her to close her eyes and I guided her over to the heart. I set the camera up on my tripod and started capturing video. I then walked over to unsuspecting Val, grasped her hands, and dropped to one knee. I told her she could open her eyes and looked straight into them. The look on her face was one I will never forget for the rest of my life! She finally knew what was coming and was totally speechless. I gave her the three flowers, one for where we have been, one for where we are now, and one for our future together. I told her, "I love you Val. I love you with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" I then took the house, opened the roof to reveal the ring, and said, "Valerie Nicole Elizabeth McGinnis, will you marry me?" Her response was something like, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!!!" While this was all happening, a beautiful sunrise was in the background. Praise God!












After a very long hug I went and grabbed my Bible and guitar and we sat down watching the sunrise in all it's glory. We first took the time to pray together and thank God for the start of this new phase in our relationship. We asked Him to be the foundation of our engagement and future marriage. We thanked Him for blessing us with each other and for loving us so much. I then opened the Bible to Proverbs 31 and read the passage about the wife of noble character. This passage so defines my sweetie!




We read a few more passages and then entered into a time of worship through song. I am really starting to enjoy playing worship songs on my guitar! The chords are usually pretty simple which makes for limited frustration. We played through a bunch of songs, giving God the praise and glory for all that we had been through together as a couple. What an incredible God we serve!



The hike down was long and tiring, but we didn't care! The eighth set of clues was to bring us to Waffle House, but we did not have enough time to eat there. This was because our ninth set of clues would lead us to an event of much greater importance! I had to crack up when I found this picture for the Waffle House clue sheet though haha.


The first clue was "Spending the afternoon with Worsham and Lane." The next clue was "Exit Light, Enter Night." The final clue was "A sea of orange and maroon faces." That's right you guessed it, we were headed to the Hokies game! Even though we were exhausted, we had a great time tailgating with Meredith's family and cheering on the Hokies to victory. It was their first win of the season as they beat East Carolina 49-27. Val got to shake my keys on third down and was even pushed up 42 times after the Hokies' sixth touchdown. I must say she looks great in maroon and orange! What a great debut for her in Lane Stadium!







Our exciting 24 hours had finally come to an end, but not before one more set of clues resulting in this:


It was time to get a little rest!! We maybe napped for a few hours before playing some train game downstairs with the rest of the apartment. At least we got some sleep! Sunday was a really relaxing day as we went to church and then watched football all day. Sunday school was amazing and three new freshmen visited! I am really excited to see what God does through that class this year. Val and I enjoyed recounting the previous day's events as everyone celebrated this wonderful time in our lives. Lunch at the Banyais was incredible as usual. What a blessing they are!


Overall I could not have asked for a better weekend. God allowed everything to go so smoothly. Val and I are so excited to spend the rest of our lives serving God together. What a blessing to spend the rest of my life with someone who will constantly sharpen me spiritually and encourage me daily! I am madly in love with Val and am probably the happiest man on earth! I praise God for all He has done, bringing me through the valleys and helping me ascend to the mountaintop. Thanks to all of you out there who have been a constant source of encouragement to me and Val. God bless!