Abby & Darren: From St. G's to St. T's!

Abby and Darren re-connected at St. Thomas' Episcopal church, where Abby was raised and her family still attends, and where Darren worked as a youth minister 2012-2015. But, that was not the first time they had met, it was more of a recognition. They had officially met several years prior, in 2000, when Darren was in college working as a camp counselor at Shrine Mont for the first summer, and Abby was ... a camper! Oh, the Scandal! A better way to say it is that Abby and Darren "met" two times, and both connections were through the church :)

In September of 2014, St. Thomas' church held their annual parish retreat weekend at Shrine Mont. Darren was working as the youth minister, and Abby was attending with her parents. On Friday night, after getting settled in for the weekend and after bedtime for the kids, a group of friends lit a friendly campfire outside Atkeson cottage on the loop, Abby and Darren included. Eventually, some others went to bed for the night, but Darren and Abby weren't tired, and stayed by the campfire as long as they could by social standards. The next morning, afternoon and night, they kept finding ways to check in, and at the campfire on the second night, Abby roasted a marshmallow especially for Darren and brought it to him. It was the most perfect, beautiful, kind and delicious marshmallow that had ever been roasted, and Darren was hooked. The very week after the retreat, Darren offered to help Abby move into her newly purchased house, where they now live today.