We're getting married!

No one knows exactly know when Andres and Susanna met, but what is known is that the first time they were around each other was at church in 2002 after Andres's family had moved to Houston. And if you're wondering if they started dating when they both were under 10 years old, the answer to that is no :-) During middle/high school years, they continued to attend the same church. Of course, Susanna was the cool girl who went to public school while Andres was the awkward homeschooler who didn't know how to interact with girls. It just so happened that Susanna became really close with Andres's sister, Maria. In Andres's mind, this made things complicated because he made a pact to himself that he would never date his sister's best friend. Once in college, their paths started to separate as they both were trying to figure out what they wanted to do in life. Susanna stayed in Houston to go to Houston Baptist University (HBU) for Nursing while Andres went to College Station to attend Texas A&M University to study engineering. Andres and Susanna would occasionally see each other during the summer and winter holidays when they were off from school, but neither had any thought that their friendship would turn into something more. Honest! Let's fast forward to the beginning of 2020 when the pandemic changed everything. Andres had already been living in Dallas for two years after he graduated college & Susanna remained in Houston working as a nurse in the med center. Because of the sudden lockdowns, they found themselves talking more frequently over the phone about all the things going on in the world...the pressure on America's healthcare system, racial injustice, and how they were handling the pandemic. Since Andres's job allowed him to work remotely, he took advantage of the flexibility to go down to Houston every few weeks to spend time with his family. During one of his trips back down in April, Andres and Susanna decided to meet up for a bike ride in downtown to catch up and then met for coffee the following day before Andres returned to Dallas. They both knew that something was different after that bike ride and were freaking out (mainly Andres) because they knew their friendship of 10+ years was about to change. Fortunately, Andres decided to not be a doofus and asked Susanna out a few days later - and she said yes :) Thus began their journey together! Something you should know is that they love to travel and have had many amazing memories doing so already - hence their first date was in Nashville, TN (another story for another day). Well, if you want to know a little more...they dated long distance from HTX to DTX for over a year (they do not recommend). That 1st year was a lot of planned phone call dates to get to know each other on another level and weekend trips meeting each others' people - they put in the work of investing in one another. Lots of loyalty and commitment made up the foundation of their relationship, with the ultimate trust that Jesus would continue to lead their steps of faith. Andres' lease ended in Dallas and instead of darting over to Philly (where his career is based, and was supposed to have moved awhile ago) he moved back to Houston to continue to pursue Susanna. This really is a story of endurance and patience. Going on weekly dates became Susanna's new favorite activity; cooking meals together at home, going on neighborhood walks most evenings they had together, & being able to be apart of the same community - all were gifts. Their relationship grew so much deeper in maturity, honesty, & closeness over the next eight months while being in the same city. By their 2nd year anniversary talking about the future together was sweet and hopeful. Two months later they were engaged on August 27th...that is one of their favorite stories so you should ask them to share it when you see them next time!