In April 2024, I (Charley) rededicated my life to Christ, absorbed an abundance of self-worth He had shown me, and vowed abstinence till marriage. And after a tough journey in dating and life in general, I took a break from meeting anyone new. I was happy to work on myself, grow closer to God and find joy in my hobbies. By June, I was ready to give dating another shot. I decided to try a new app — Upward. After two months on Upward, I realized a few things — what race or ethnicity a man was was not important to me. As a daughter of Nigerian emigrants, I dated within my race and culture for years, yet never found any solid spiritual or vision alignment. My requirements at this point were that the man I'd date would have to authentically love and follow Jesus, view me as worth a wait (as Christ does), have an interest in marriage, and appreciate my dog Mischa. By August 6, 2024, I was clear on my values, yet discouraged by how hard it was to find a man who mirrored them. That day, I made a TikTok expressing my wonder if at 30 years old, I'd ever find my person. Some commenters said I was too focused on God, yet in the evening, He showed me favor. I matched with a handsome hazel-eyed man in a suit named Trevor who was actually 2 years younger than me! Luckily, I had adjusted my age range to be able to match! He asked me about West African food and I was very impressed by his interest in my culture and his excellent conversational skills. Soon after, I flew out to Greece for my brother's wedding, and casually texted with Trevor. Our messages were infrequent during my trip, but there was something about him that held my interest. We planned our first date about two weeks after we matched. I caught a stomach bug from my travels and was debating on whether I should even go. Trevor came down with something as well, but there was just something that told us both to meet. There was also something that told me to bring my dog. At the start of the date, I could barely hold food down and just opted for water instead of Trevor's smoothie idea. Then we got lost trying to find the park he wanted us to go to; however, we finally got to a bench outside Arthur Ashe Stadium. With my dog and our illnesses, we all comfortably sat down for about three hours, just talking — about our hobbies, plans, pasts, futures, and hopes. By the end of the date, Mischa and I got an Uber back home and I was sad as Trevor closed the car door. We knew that we wanted to keep on talking. And now, over a year later, we are so grateful to know that we get to talk forever. Jeremiah 29:11

During a wild month of August 2024, I (Trevor) was traveling a lot for different reasons, including a trip back to Wisconsin to see family to swap out the family chicken flock (if you know, you know). Fast forward three days at my apartment in Queens, I abnormally woke up at 6am on a Monday, and decided to immediately open my phone and create a dating profile on Upward. I knew exactly the girl I was looking for, someone who was focused on Christ, and had a kind and genuine heart. After a few days, I matched with this girl named Charley who mentioned food (the way to my heart) on her profile, and specifically, jollof rice. I had experience with this food via my previous African adventures in Uganda, so it hit close to my interest. Fast forward a few weeks, after our conversations, we both decided to go for a walk with smoothies near Citi Field. We were both sick, her with a stomach bug, me with a chest cold. We miraculously showed up and had a great conversation for three hours about various foods, hobbies, interests, family, and her doggy, Mischa. The date was a success, and we continued to talk and go on numerous memorable dates up until the day I asked her to be my best friend forever. We are excited to have you included in our special day!