Our New Friends!!!

Josh has been blessed beyond our wildest expectations at his job and due to those blessings from God, he has won many incentive trips. One of those trips is called "Round Table" and it is only for agents and their spouse. He also won the trip last year and we were able to travel to New York City and had a wonderful time. This year the trip was to...drum roll please...VIENNA, AUSTRIA!!!! Wow!!! All Kentucky agents generally travel together. However, the week that Kentucky was attending the trip was the week of CATS testing at school and I didn't feel it was in my best interest to ask off during testing. So we opted to go with a different group (agents from Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia). The trip was scheduled for April. Enter the Icelandic Volcano. About three days before we were scheduled to depart, Southern Farm Bureau had to postpone our trip due to the volcano erupting in Iceland. The trip was rescheduled for June 24-July 1. Ironically, our sixth anniversary and my 27th birthday were during the trip!!! Anyway, we arrived in Austria on the afternoon of June 25th (Austria is six hours ahead of us and we traveled for about 18 hours). The morning of day two (June 26), Josh and I were in the breakfast room awaiting some information on our rental car (each couple was given a rental car to share for two days with another couple.) At our table was another couple that was scheduled to attend with the first group, but their daughter was getting married and they had to reschedule for a different week as well. Although we were not their scheduled car partners, we chose to spend the day with them. I truly believe all things happen for a reason and when God closes a door, He always opens a window. Not only was rescheduling to June easier for me (I didn't have to make lesson plans), hopefully easier on my parents (because Mom wasn't having to work at school and then come home to a toddler and a preschooler), but I think He wanted the Wilson's to meet David and Angela Rea. David and Angela are from the coastal region of North Carolina. David is a Farm Bureau agent and has been with the company for close to 30 years. Angela is a school psychologist. Immediately, we had something to talk about...and did we ever talk. We spent the day driving along the Blue Danube, touring the Melk Abbey, and eating authentic, Austrian cuisine. For the remainder of the week, we spent as much time with David and Angela as we could. We rode on the train with them to Salzburg, we ate several meals with them, toured the catacombs of St. Stephen's Cathedral, went on an evening carriage ride through Vienna, and talked....a lot. In addition to meeting David and Angela, we also met two other couples from North Carolina that were also unable to attend with the rest of the state. Anthony and Amy Reese live in the mountain regions of North Carolina. Anthony is an agency manager and Amy is a full-time mom. We also met Clyde and Ruth Fulk. Clyde is the Vice-President of Sales for NC and Ruth is the quintessential Southern woman. She is refined, thoughtful, sincere, and loving. All three couples made our trip memorable. Clyde and Ruth even invited us to a nice dinner with Anthony and Amy and David and Angela...we aren't even from North Carolina,(but we do feel a little adopted:). I never dreamed that we would have the opportunity to travel to Austria and experience the wonder of the country. I feel blessed that we saw the culture and history of a mesmerizing country. But the best memories I will cherish are those of our new friends!!! Thank you God for bringing us together!!!

Clyde and Ruth Fulk

Anthony and Amy Reese

David and Angela Rea