Sealed for Time and All Eternity

Summer of 2025 both Josh and Ava worked as counselors for the For Strength of Youth program (fsy). They were assigned to camps all over the country that summer, and the week of June 16, they both ended up in Canyon, Texas. He noticed her first and struck up a conversation! They kept talking that week and sat together on the plane afterward.

Shortly after their week in Canyon, Josh asked Ava out...and she said no! But she thought it over and eventually asked him out after they had both finished their fsy assignments. They went to the Provo, Utah temple and were out late afterward at Raising Canes. They still had one more day in Provo before they both headed home, and they certainly made the most of it! They had another date to the BYU duck pond, and borrowed bestie Skyler's kitchen to cook dinner. By the end of the day, Josh had dyed Ava's hair purple and both had said "I love you!" I guess the spirit of Provo is contagious.

On August 10th, Ava and Josh went to Seaworld as part of a Young Single Adults conference. They didn't go on a single ride. There were too many animals to look at! Towards the end of the day, while visiting the African penguins, Ava agreed to marry Josh. In very Ava and Josh fashion, it was playful and unplanned, and Ava wore a ring Analisa had gifted her as an engagement ring until she picked out her pink "fairy" ring. They tried to keep the engagement secret, but it didn't take too long for her mom to figure it out!

"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that marriages performed in the temple are "sealed," or blessed to last for eternity. The concept that the family unit can continue beyond the grave as a conscious, loving entity, with the marriage partnership and parent-child relationships intact, is a core belief of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."