THE MEETING Andie and Dakota met through serving in their church’s junior high ministry. One day during the 2021 summer camp, Dakota went over to a group of leaders that Andie was mingling with and butted into the group. Dakota has no recollection of who was in the group - all he knew and remembered was that Andie was there. Dakota said approximately 10 words to Andie and left (perhaps because he was afraid of drooling). Andie thought Dakota seemed nice and was extremely cute. Though their very first interaction was minimal, it was enough for Dakota to hold on to hope, for he already liked Andie at this point. So he made sure to keep contact and begin efforts of flirtation. THE FIRST DATE In Dakota’s efforts to keep contact going, one Sunday at church just a couple of weeks later, Dakota walked up to Andie to say hello. Down the flow of conversation Andie mentioned she would be working in West Hollywood the next morning. Dakota perked up because he worked in West Hollywood at a restaurant called Tocaya Organica. Dakota suddenly got a brilliant idea and said, “No way! I work at Tocaya there! If you want, come by Tocaya for lunch and I’ll give you a meal on the house.” Andie complied a little too easily it seemed to him. Andie wasn’t quite sure if Dakota was making an effort to ask her on a date, or was simply just being a friendly dude. Andie met Dakota at Tocaya the next day and they enjoyed their meal together. Andie was so impressed by Dakota’s sweet manners, and was struck by his love for the Lord and easy conversation questions. Time flew by, and as they made their way out, Andie mentioned she was on her way to the airport to fly home to see her family. Dakota sweetly insisted on driving her there - so he dropped her off and wished her a safe trip. Several weeks later, amidst a young fostering relationship and much more communication between the two, Andie finally told Dakota a secret she had been keeping. On their first date she had gotten so caught up in the enjoyment of their conversation that she had completely missed her flight home. Dakota was absolutely mortified and blamed himself for this mistake - Andie knew it was simply because she very much liked this guy and couldn’t keep track of time when she was around him. THE PROPOSAL Fast forward eight months. Dakota had the day, the place, the time, and the how of his plan for a proposal. But Dakota’s plans were thwarted. The day, thwarted. The place, thwarted. The time, thwarted. The how, thwarted. He finally gave up on his plans, and turned to spontaneity. He said, “I will propose when the Lord gives me the opportunity to propose.” So Dakota prayed for the Lord’s blessing and the discernment see the opportunity to take advantage of. Dakota had to take the ring with him several times on random occasions just in case the Lord presented the opportunity. He even almost proposed in the street late one night out of desperation! On Sunday May 1, 2022, after church and lunch with friends, Dakota and Andie decided to go watch the sunset at Point Dume in Malibu, CA. Dakota kept his mind open to this possibly being the moment he’d been waiting for, but he had never been to Point Dume so he didn’t quite know what to expect. As they arrived at the beach, Dakota made sure to have the ring in his pocket just in case. Andie suspected absolutely nothing, thinking this was a totally normal Sunday evening! They found a perfect little spot of sand between a group of rocks just far enough from the crashing waves. There was not a soul in sight (which is a rarity on Los Angeles beaches). The sun was setting, birds flew overhead, the air was cool, the privacy was blissful, and their conversation was fruitful. Dakota began to see that this was the opportunity to be taken advantage of. There on the Malibu sand, Dakota got on one knee and professed his love and desire to marry Andie.