I was a thirty-three year-old single Baptist minister living in the small town of Piqua, Ohio who was looking for a godly Christian wife whom I could share my life and ministry with . My sister, Vickie Massey, lived in Pensacola, Forida where I knew there was a Christian college of like faith. (I had a scholarship to go there fifteen years earlier when I was eighteen years old.) I moved there and stayed there with her and her husband Chuck on May 9, 1996.
My first Sunday there, May 12, 1996, I walked to the nearest Baptist church (Bayou Grove Baptist Church) since I had no car at that time. 30 people attended there and they were all elderly (This was quite literally a dying church!). So I thought to myself that this would be my last Sunday here. I would try elsewhere next week. However, shortly after Sunday school had started, a middle-aged man and his Filipina wife walked into the sanctuary along with eight Amerasian children. When it came time to break out into our Sunday school classes, the middle-aged man introduced himself as Frank Foust and invited me to his class where he was teaching the Amerasian children.
After the service, Frank, the middle-age man, kindly invited me to his house for lunch. We hit it off and struck up a conversation. He asked me why I moved to Pensacola and I told him that I was looking for a godly Christian wife and I was considering attending Pensacola Christian College to find one. He thought that was very interesting and proceeded to tell me about his sister-in-law. He told me all these wonderful things about her. The only problem was that Brenda was in the Philippines, but if things worked out between us, Frank would make sure that I would have a roundtrip ticket to go there and meet her.
I began writing Brenda that very day-May 12, 1996. My sister thought I was crazy for doing this. She asked, “How well do you know Frank? How do you know he is not going to sell you into slavery or something in some foreign country.?” My trip to the Philippines was eventful. When I landed in Chicago at O’hare airport to catch the next leg of my flight to Tokyo, I learned my flight was canceled due to a typhoon striking the Japanese islands. Was this an omen? Anyway, Northwest airlines put me up for one night as a distressed passenger at the Clarion hotel. My flight continued the next day towards the Far East. I flew 8,850 miles and land in Manila, Philippines on September 24, 1996. When I made my way through customs and got my baggage, I started looking for the people who were suppose to pick me up. There was no one there! I thought, “Oh, no, Vickie is right! I’m stranded!” A few minutes later a petite lovely lady asked if I was Mark Butts, and I told her that I was. She introduced herself as Brenda. I didn’t recognize her at first because I had only seen her picture once and she wore her hair differently. Brenda once asked me after we were married, “Sweetheart, what did you think about me when you first saw me?” And being the sweet, romantic that I am, “Boy, is she short!” Nevertheless, eighteen days after our meeting we were married on October 12, 1996, only five months after I began writing her. That might seem fast to some, but it was God-orchestrated! However, there were those who didn’t want Brenda and me to marry because they didn’t believe that cross cultures could work out. There were those who tried to talk Brenda out of marrying me and others who tried to talk me out of marrying Brenda. Brenda and I were both struggling with what to do because we did love each other and we wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing. I asked Brenda Friday night if she would be there tomorrow and she said, “If I am there, I’m there, and if I am not, I’m not.” That early Saturday morning was a difficult morning for me because I didn’t know what to expect. On the positive side my soon-to-be father-in-law went with me to the church. That was a good sign! One of the funny things that happened on my way to the church was that in the tamaraw that I was in was playing the song “I Will Always Love You” sung by Whitney Houston. I hate that song because a part of the lyrics go “…we both know that I am not what you need…” I thought, “Oh, great! That’s just what I don’t need to hear sung right now!” When I got there I was elated to find out that she was there. When the ceremony began, we were both still scared to death. When the two of us were to join hands together, I told her that I never saw her look more beautiful. She was tight-lipped and I still didn’t know if she was going to say, “I will,” when asked that all important question. In fact, we were both so nervous that when we put the wedding rings on each other’s hands, we put them on the right hand instead of the left! But at least now we were legally husband and wife!
What convinced Brenda to marry me? My wife had been praying what to do about me (she still doesn't know the answer to that one.) and one day as she was doing her daily Bible devotions she read 2 Timothy 4:11, "...take Mark and bring him unto me, for he is profitable unto me for the ministry." She prayed, “Lord, does that mean that I am suppose to marry Mark Butts?” A few days later she read in her devotions 2 Corinthians 2:8, “…confirm your love towards him.” I’ve always told Brenda that if she told this story to other people that they would tell her that she took those verses way out of context!
All that I can say is that I thank God that my name wasn't Sam, Steve, or any other for I have a precious, priceless gift in my lovely wife.
