~ Julia ~ Chang and I matched on Hinge in early 2023, but it wasn’t until April 12th that we had our first date at Chuck’s Hop Shop in the Central District neighborhood of Seattle. Unbeknownst to both of us, this location was equidistant from both of our houses, since we lived less than a block from each other! We had our second date two days later, which somehow involved us jumping into a very cold Lake Washington at the Madrona T-dock. Little did we know we’d be back there two years later! ~ Chang ~ I officially asked Julia to be my girlfriend on May 7th, 2023. This was the same day that I joined her at the 7 p.m. service at Mosaic Community Church. I had been around the Christian faith growing up and believed in a higher power, but didn’t know God. When I asked Julia, “If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?” and she answered, “Jesus,” I knew I needed to understand her answer. I began going to church with her every Sunday, learning more about God and understanding what it’s like to have a relationship with Him. With the help of some good books, the Mosaic community, and Julia’s dad, Gregg, I got baptized five months later!~ ~ Julia ~ Those who know me well know that I am very intentional. So it seemed logical to me to get Chang a 101 Questions to Ask Before You Get Engaged book for our one-year anniversary. This definitely freaked Chang out a bit, but we soon learned through the book that Chang equated getting married with getting pregnant… Our favorite time to talk over the questions was on Saturday evenings during long car rides back from mountain adventures. We’ve always strived to date in a way that is honoring to God and to each other. We’ve found amazing community through our church, especially in our first house church led by Shelby and Kat Braynard. They were our first married Christian friends whose lives we got to see and who set an example for what could be in our future. We’ve had the privilege of making many more such friends in the following years. ~ Chang ~ Both Julia and I appreciate our love of nature and the outdoors. Over the last two-plus years, we have gone on many adventures together. Most weekends involve spending time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest: skiing, mountaineering, trail running, or hiking. Some notable summer adventures included climbing Mt. Rainier with Nick and Anika, skiing down Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams, biking from Seattle to Portland, and gazing at the stars on Cannon Beach. We’ve learned a lot about each other throughout our adventures. Julia is very mentally tough and radiates positive energy—her alpine start (think 2 a.m.) disposition is akin to someone after four cups of coffee. In support of the team, I have grown to embrace my role of “utility boyfriend” (soon to be Utility Husband!) and always pack snacks for two. As Julia’s mom remarked this past Christmas, “you two have really found your true companions.” ~ Julia ~ And so, that is how we found ourselves two years, six months, and three days later back at the Madrona T-dock, with Chang on one knee asking me to marry him! And as if that wasn’t great enough, I got to celebrate in person with my parents and Chang’s mom less than a minute later! My parents had flown in from Wisconsin, and Chang’s mom had driven over from Spokane. They got to watch the proposal together from their hiding spot on the beach. A line from our engagement has been, “a three-stranded cord is not easily broken.” As we take the next step and enter into covenant together, we have faith that God will continue to be kind and gracious to us, and will continue to turn our hearts more toward Him and to each other. We can’t wait to see you all on June 7th and celebrate this momentous day with you!