Answered Prayers: A Love Story

We’re connecting the dots…•

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We’re just connecting the dots, Kristi

W hen they take to the dance floor, they’re oblivious to the crowd. Dancing to almost every song, smiling, they only have eyes for one another.

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Larrie and Karla Wiggand are practically newlyweds. In June they’ll celebrate six years of marriage. Both widowed, they met via Match.com and felt an instant connection during their first phone conversation.

It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the long-awaited return of so many of our friends. Now, here we are bidding you farewell and safe travels. All of us at Welcome Home RGV look forward to your return. Plans are

Karla lost her husband of nearly 41 years in 2015. He was her best friend, a Godly man. Moving

ANSWERED PRAYERS:

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1>> forward from the loss, Karla trusted God. “I really had a lot of faith. I thought, if I’m going to be a widow, then I’ll honor God by being the best one I can be.”

She planted flowers, took up horseback riding--a lifelong dream--and provided care for seniors in their homes. After two years, she began thinking it would be nice to have someone to talk to.

Karla turned to God and prayed for two things: someone who loved Him with all his heart and who was really hurting. “I had been through it and wanted to help,” she says.

Meanwhile, Larrie was in pain. Suffering from the loss of his wife of 20 years, he was immersed in grief and loneliness. “I couldn’t deal with the pain of losing my wife and being on my own.”

Larrie began saying his own prayers. “I don’t know where she is or who she is; you’re going to have to bring her to me.” Then, he says, someone popped up.

He received notification that his dating profile had been favorited and received a “wink.”

“And that was me,” says Karla.

Initially, they spoke for hours on the phone. It was an instant connection. Their first in-person

ANSWERED PRAYERS: A LOVE STORY

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 >>

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ANSWERED PRAYERS: A LOVE STORY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2>> meeting began the morning of February 15, 2017, and lasted eleven hours. Karla knew that night Larrie was the one she had prayed for, and the feeling was mutual, Larrie was smitten.

Their first official date was a 200-mile motorcycle ride on Larrie’s Goldwing trike. By June, they were married.

The first two years they traveled, visiting the Bahamas and Puerto

Rico and cruising the country by motorcycle.

Then the couple set their sights on the Rio Grande Valley. After a quick Google search on “snowbirds” (they weren’t familiar with the term “Winter Texan”), they found Bit-OHeaven RV Resort in Donna.

They initially visited for six weeks. “It was a blur--loved every minute of it,” says Karla. The next year they came for six months; they had a ball. When it came time to go back to Illinois, they didn’t want to leave because, Karla says, “This is a perpetual vacation!”

Now they’re proud “Converted Texans.” They attend dances six days a week, Karla sporting her signature cowgirl hat, Larrie in a Western shirt. Sundays are for church, lunch with friends, and naps.

It was really a God factor,” Karla says. She felt directed right to Larrie. While they both reflect fondly on the time spent with their previous spouses, the Wiggands express the importance of letting go and embracing the new.

Karla has discovered cooking, while Larrie enjoys socializing with the neighbors. She loves his joyful spirit, and he appreciates how she puts him first and how equally important they are to each other.

And, of course, they love to dance. When the Wiggands take to the dance floor, entertainers who know them will make a point to play Tracy Byrd’s “Keeper of the Stars.” It’s their song and speaks to their story: It was no accident, me finding you. Someone had a hand in it. Long before we ever knew. •