Mark was born Charles Marcus Minnix. He is the 7th of 8 children. One of his older sisters died at birth so many times it is said he is the 6th of 7. His parents, Earl and Anna, came to know the Lord as adults and, my perspective of their story sees them as a couple who truly grasped the concept of the grace of God. Life in this large, poor family was far from perfect, but the character and hard work they modeled in front of their children testified to the fact that God is in the business of changing lives for good.
Earl Minnix was a plumber and a wellman. He worked for himself and always had the boys to help him when he needed it. Mark remembers more than once being home from school sick. His dad would come to the door and have a conversation like this: "Boy, why aren't you in school?" "I'm sick." "Are you puking?" "No." "Bleeding?" "No." "Well, get your pants on, I need some help on a job. You can go back to bed later." The Minnix boys grew up as hard workers who understood what it meant to be providers. They all have worked for themselves in the water/plumbing industry.
Who is Mark Minnix? Mark is a story. And, he is quite the story teller. Anyone who has ever had a conversation with him has heard a story. Most of his stories are either from life growing up or work related. His stories will leave you crying laughing! For example, he tells of the leftover mystery supper his mom fed to the birds and they puked! It has been confirmed! Yes, Mark is a story. A story that cannot possibly be written in one blog. Some of the foundational outlines, however, can be and there will be many more to come.
Mark became a Christian when he was 18 years old and told God that he would dedicate his hands and work to whatever and wherever God led. Now, having only lived in the Richmond, IN area his entire life to that point, I think it's safe to say that he had no idea just how far that prayer would take him. At the time we met, Mark was 40. To that date he had already been to Haiti several times, Ecuador, Guatemala and India.
When I met Mark, I was a single mom with 3 little boys, and he had a son and a daughter. I was definitely not looking for a relationship with anyone. Further still, I had told God that if He wanted anyone in my life He'd have to bring that person to my front door because I wasn't looking! God has such a since of humor. I was in the process of moving and needed help. A close friend volunteered to help and brought a friend with her, and he brought a friend with him, who happened to be Mark. It was a year later that we went on our first date, and dated for 3 years before getting married. In the three years we dated, Mark returned to Haiti and also went to Ethiopia.
We've been married now for 14 years. How do I describe that? Well, let's see....I threw my wedding ring back at him 8 days after saying, "I do." What can I say? We had begun blending two families and it was nothing like the dating years. There is no sugar-coating life. We've made a bunch of mistakes to date and there will be more to follow. We also came to one huge conclusion early in the game. We knew that our wedding vows would be challenged. We were committed to honoring those vows come hell or high water, and we've been through hell and high water! We've also experienced some of the sweetest times together. Through all the daily life together we've learned to dream again...cautiously at first, apprehensive.
Today, we have direction. We don't know everything, but we share a confidence that we are grounded in the right place. We've had a lot of rubble that we needed to clear, closets that needed to be cleaned out, rough edges that needed to be smoothed, blah, blah, blah. Ok, that stuff is ongoing. I love life with Mark Minnix. I love where we are headed together and am so thankful that it is with him that my life journey is taking me
Beyond Our Walls.
Linda
