Earlier in the year we were 'stunned' at King's Church International as our Senior Pastor, Wes Richards, shared the fantastic news about his then upcoming marriage to Adriana Bastidas from MCI church in Bogota, Colombia.
Adriana is one of the respected leaders at MCI, a church of over 100,000 people which KCI has close links to and their relationship blossomed after the G12 International Conference, held in Bogota in January this year.
Pastor Wes who lost his wife, Carol, to cancer in 2002 said he was 'stunned' and delighted by this development and so thankful that God had a plan to bless him after such sadness.
He added; "I’m happy to say that our families gave us every encouragement to pursue this relationship. For me, this has come as a very clear confirmation that we all have hope and a future. I believe that Adriana is a wonderful gift from God and I love her and respect her very much."
He also received great support and blessing from Pastors César and Claudia Castellanos, the senior leaders of MCI Bogota and his long time friends Pastors Mike and Linda Peters from St Louis, USA.
Pastor Wes proposed to Adriana in the Colombian city of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast and was married at a beautiful ceremony in Miami, Florida in June. The couple then took an extended honeymoon, waiting on Adriana's visa application to be finalised before returning to the UK in September.
Go For The Best Series
On Pastor Wes' return to the church he started a four part preaching series, entitled Go For The Best. The series challenges everyone to go for the best in life, to believe that God is a good God, that He loves you, wants the best for you and no matter what you have faced; the best can still be ahead of you. When you receive and believe this message you will be able to live differently because you will expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.
You can listen to all of the preaches from the series on the KCI Mobile App or on Soundcloud here:
1) Go For The Best And Never Give Up
2) Leave The Past Behind & Embrace The Future
celebrating with the church
Pastor Wes and Adriana Richards also held two wedding receptions on their return to the UK as they wanted everyone to be able to share in the celebration of their marriage. Hundreds attended the two receptions from the church family as well as friends and family from across the UK.