The Salvation Army
A Valentine's Story: When Anne met Bobby
14 February 2014
When Anne and Bobby met at the 2000 International Congress in Atlanta, little did they know where it would lead them. Read the story of how they met and how their lives changed because of it.
| Anne: |  'My name is Lt. Bobby Westmoreland, and I have been looking for you!' I remember those words like they were spoken to me yesterday. But to this day my now husband, Major Bobby Westmoreland will say, 'I didn't say exactly that, that's cheesy,' but I know he did, because from that moment on my life changed as I quickly knew I had met my soul mate. It was at the end of June in 2000 when over 20,000 Salvationists from around the world had gathered for the Salvation Army's International Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. I was there by the grace of God, as it was a last minute plan, prompted, I believe, by the Holy Spirit. I was working for The Salvation Army in Bangladesh as a soldier/volunteer, and having earned virtually nothing for a year, going to the congress was not even on my radar, until one day out of the blue in a devotional time the thought was planted in my mind. Thanks to family and friends I soon found myself in Atlanta, crashing the hotel room of good friends of mine from Denmark (my native country) and enjoying the fellowship of fellow Salvationists from around the world. Little did I know that down the street in a hotel with his corps cadets and home league ladies from Natchez, Mississippi, where he was stationed, was the man God had chosen for me. On Thursday night there was a march of the nations, and as a delegate from Bangladesh, I was marching with the Bangladeshi group. Looking rather Scandinavian, I guess I stood out, because Bobby, who himself was not marching, as he had forgotten his hat(!), noticed me, and thought he would like to meet me again. He himself was interested in mission work overseas, and looking at me, assumed I was a missionary. |
| Bobby: | Okay, I need to take over from here. What I was really thinking was, 'that is the most beautiful Salvationist I have ever seen, I really would like to see her again!' |
| Anne: | Hmmm, talk about cheesy... |
| Bobby: | But we did meet again that same night, after a youth rally as we happened to be in the same restaurant. I was leaving but on my way out I saw that young woman I had seen in the parade and I just had to go over and speak to her, something that was very uncharacteristic for me. |
| Anne: | And that was when he said his famous line. My TYS and good friend quickly said, 'Well, Lieutenant, have a seat', and for the next 10 minutes we talked - all about mission. But then he said goodbye and left, no phone number, nothing... |
| Bobby: | Well, I thought that for sure I could look up and find Anne from Bangladesh again... |
| Anne: | With over 20,000 Salvationists there? I didn't think so, so we quickly followed him out and met again in the street. Long story short, we made plans to meet the next day, only he didn't show up... |
| Bobby: | I most certainly did, but you were in the wrong place... |
| Anne: | That's debatable, but I happened to know which hotel you were staying in, so I went there, and when I asked for Bobby Westmoreland a group of ladies, whom I would later get to know as the home league ladies of Natchez, started listening in because he was their lieutenant. But who was this young woman asking about him? They were very kind though and passed on a message to him about meeting up with me that night at the last night meeting of the congress. |
| Bobby: | I will never forget that meeting. It was the prayer meeting and they asked us to hold hands with the people next to us and pray for them. |
| Anne: | Yeah, we were smitten by then... |
| Bobby: | What followed was a year apart with an 11 hour time difference. I in Natchez, Mississippi, Anne in Dhaka, Bangladesh. There was no skype and hardly a reliable internet connection for emailing. It was a trial, but we both knew this was something special and trusted for the Lord to make a way. |
| Anne: | And he did make a way indeed. When I entered the William Booth College in London, England in 2001, Bobby was appointed to International Headquarters. He lived just up the road from the college and we were able to spend time together and finally date. He popped the question on his knees on Waterloo Bridge in December of 2011... |
| Bobby: | Such a hopeless romantic... |
| Anne: | And a year later we married in Copenhagen, Denmark! |
| Bobby: | God will use anything for his glory, even our forgetfulness, as I don't know how we would have met if I had not forgotten my hat... |
| Anne: | God is faithful! What we later discovered is that we were both at the altar the night before we met... I had finally surrendered everything and accepted God's calling on my life to become an officer. I had held back because I wanted to be married first. |
| Bobby: | I had served as a single officer for 4 years, and I did not feel like I was called to be single, and therefore struggled. That evening I surrendered all at the altar, and trusted God once again. It was after that and not before, that I met Anne. |
| Bobby & Anne: | God's timing is perfect, and he works in mysterious ways! This is our joint testimony that God has proven again and again in our ministry together! |
| Bobby: | And we delight in remembering that good things come out of International Congresses! |
Ephesians 3:8 - Preach to the nations the BOUNDLESS riches of Christ
