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June 24, 2023
Saint Michael, Minnesota

Samson and Brianna

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Samson Streachek

and

Brianna Woitalla

June 24, 2023

Saint Michael, Minnesota

How We Met

"Easy on the eyes" - Oct. 20, 2018

Here is our story. It was a Saturday night on the cool, fall evening of Oct. 20th. The church bells began to ring, signaling the beginning of mass and also waking the small town from the drowsiness and lull associated with the shortening days. Inside the small, historic church on the main street of Delano sat two individuals whose lives were about to be changed forever. Samson sat in his customary spot for Saturday evening mass, which happened to be three pews back from the right side. He felt it was the best mix between being up close to the "action" of mass, while still cushioning him from being the weirdo in the front pew. He had just got off of work at the local grocery store in Watertown (the next town over), and in his mind, he pondered what he might be up to the next morning at work. His weekly work schedule consisted of Saturday and Sunday shifts, which relegated him to being only able to attend Saturday evening masses alone. As Samson kneeled and began to pray, he glanced to his left and noticed the emptiness of the rest of the wooden pew. In his mind, he secretly prayed that God would make it easy on him and that perhaps his future would sit in that empty spot next to him. Alas, God did answer his prayer, but not exactly the way Samson imagined it. Four pews behind Samson sat a complete stranger named Brianna. A few days prior, she had been personally requested to go to Delano for mass by Fr. Nathan (Delano's priest at the time). Only because of the priest's invitation was she there. As she sat, her eyes fell upon a young man ahead of her. She recalled him being "easy on the eyes". She kept her eyes on him during the mass, noticing him singing and praying. After mass, as the crowd funneled out of the back doors of the church, the two's glances caught each other. Quickly, they both sheepishly looked away, thinking this would be the last time they ever saw each other. In the car on the way home, Brianna mentioned the stranger to her mom, who also had noticed him. Brianna joked with her mom about the boy, but Brianna also reminded her mom that she was going back to college in Omaha soon. She said she was in no position to be in a relationship with some random boy in Minnesota. Later that evening (and against Brianna's wishes), Brianna was shocked to hear that her mom had messaged Fr. Nathan asking about the boy. Fr. Nathan responded that he knew the boy and could set them up! However, Brianna reminded her mom that she did not want any relationship at the moment, so her mom never responded. The next morning, Samson sat at his family's kitchen table and stared at the 8.5 x 11 inch piece of white copy paper. On the paper was a large, greyscale photo of the gal he had seen the prior evening and a handwritten email address in Fr. Nathan's handwriting. Samson had been sitting at the kitchen table that morning before work when suddenly, his little sister excitedly rushed into the house with the paper in her hand shouting "Fr. Nathan has a girl for you"! Samson also thought the girl was "easy on the eyes". The next evening, he decided to take a chance as he hit "send" on a quaint little introductory email. The next morning, as he prepared for school, his heart jumped as he got the notification on his phone that his email had a response. He and Brianna had unknowingly embarked on the greatest (and unlikeliest) adventure they would ever know. The two had their first date on Nov. 18th, 2019, just 15 days after they first talked on the phone. Their first date fittingly began with daily mass at St. Joseph's church in Delano. A little over 4 years later, on December 29th, 2021, the once strangers would return to the same church that they first laid eyes upon each other and where they began their first date. There, Samson would get on one knee and ask Brianna if she wanted to begin the next chapter of their lives together there too.

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