Adam: Carolina and I had known each other for a couple of years, serving together in the church, but I would say that it BEGAN when she was translating a service for me. I remember thinking, between the preaching in Spanish and the whispers of English, that I was having so much fun with Carolina! I guess you could say that was our meet cute. Carolina: Adam will say that he is not good at first impressions, but even though it took us a little while to become friends, I always admired Adam’s heart for service, his depth in friendships and his creative mind. I am so glad God orchestrated a perfect and very natural way for us to connect and start building our friendship!

Adam: I began to try to find as many ways to spend time or work with Carolina as I could, coffee before a meeting or lunch afterwards. What I really wanted though, was a date where we could get to know each other. I talked with my roommate, planned dinner and tye-dye at our place and tried to make my best impression! Everything that night went great! Almost too great, it made me kind of nervous. Carolina is a great friend and I wasn’t sure if we were only becoming great friends, or if we could possibly be more than friends. Carolina: I found myself really enjoying the times we spent together and looking forward to the next hang out. We had so much fun and at the same time it was wonderful to find out that we shared so many dreams. However, I wanted to be cautious and not read into anything. So, when Adam asked me on a date, I was surprised but also felt a bit nervous because I knew he wasn’t too keen on casual dates. Through the communications about the date and the planning, I felt so taken care of and on that day, we just had such an amazing time together. I think this is when I would say, I knew I liked Adam.

Adam: I knew that my feelings for Carolina were growing, but I wanted to spend some time working on our friendship and creating that kind of connection. We went on more dates, spent time with each other’s friends, we even danced together and to everyone’s surprise, I really liked it! A great friendship is the best foundation for a great relationship, and after a few months I was ready to take our friendship to that next level. I told Carolina that the next time we were seeing each other I was hoping for some time to take a walk, talk and pray together, that I had some feelings for her that I wanted to express. We went to Ell Pond in Melrose, near her home, and I read her a card there, sharing my feelings for her and asked her to be my girlfriend. Carolina: The summer flew by, and I loved that we had so much of a community around us to support and encourage us as we built our friendship. Knowing that Adam cared enough about my heart and our friendship that he would want to seek wisdom, be patient but also very clear, made me feel more and more sure about him. The best advice I received during this time was to really trust God and enjoy the process. I did! And I was ready by the time Adam asked me to be his girlfriend. I will never forget that as part of our dating celebration, we went to visit one of Adam’s best friends, Ms Rachel, an 85--year-old, wonderful lady, who we both love now.

Adam: We have been planning for a long time to go to Peru for Christmas with Carolina’s family, and I had told her that I didn’t want to still be dating when we left for that trip. Still, I was hoping to surprise her with my proposal. Two weeks before we were heading to Champaign for Thanksgiving with my family is when I popped the question. I let Carolina think that she was planning a double-date with some friends of ours, while I was making plans of my own. It was just the two of us, I took her to Ell Pond again, read her two poems (one in English and one in Spanish), a card that I had written her and asked her if she would marry me! After she said “Yes, I will!” we celebrated together for a little bit, video chatted our families and made our way to a Peruvian restaurant where some of our closest friends were waiting to celebrate with us. I can't wait to celebrate with our families for the holidays and get ready to spend the rest of our lives together. Carolina: I do not really like surprises, but this was one I really loved! Adam, very cleverly, got me thinking I was in charge of our plans that day. He did it in a way that is very ‘us’ and allowed us both to be relaxed and enjoy the moment and celebration. I think what made me feel most special was hearing him read a poem by Pablo Neruda (my favourite) in Spanish! It was wonderful to then go to celebrate with key people, who helped and supported us in our relationship. I have loved the journey this far and I feel confident and grateful to God that the best is yet to come!