David and I met through the young adult ministry at our church that he was leading. We enjoyed talking with each other and after a couple months, he shared that he had feelings for me. I remember him distinctly telling me, "I don't give up easily." Sure enough, he stuck around even though I told him a few months later that I could only see him as a friend. We still continued to see each other, however, and true to his word, he didn't give up and convinced me to finally go out with him. David took me to Grand Central Market (where he lost his parking ticket) and the California Science Center (where we wandered through the King Tut exhibit with our audio tours). I had a ton of fun, but I had scheduled an early dinner with a friend just to make sure I wouldn't have to spend the entire day with him. Who would've thought I would end up saying yes to more dates and eventually to a proposal!

Our first date and how we met aren't quite representative of our entire relationship, and it hasn't been always easy or fun--but we are grateful for all that has happened in the past three years! Our first year was difficult as we were adjusting to very different lives apart (being a full time student vs. working in ministry). It was hard for us to share in anything together, and we didn't know how to move forward or help each other with our respective struggles and stressors. Thankfully, we were able to start couples counseling, where we wrestled through our differences in communication, personality, and more, and learned how our strengths could build upon each other's weaknesses. We were able to process through our doubts and hesitations after learning how to challenge and encourage each other. We are still working through these things, but are thankful that God has cared for us and grown us both individually and together these past years. By His grace, we are taking this next step forward in starting our lives together, and are very excited for what is to come.

Two months before the proposal, I started wearing pants every time I saw Claudia so that if I did come to an occasion that I needed to dress up, I wouldn't make her suspicious. I was trying to figure out where to propose and couldn't think of "special" places, until I remembered that on one of our first dates, I took her to the chandelier tree in Silver Lake. I thought that could be a nice place, but then found out that it was shut down by a city ordinance, so I wanted to see if I could replicate it by decorating a nice tree with lots of lanterns. I went to see Irene Mar and was sharing that idea with her, and she offered to let me use the tree in her front yard. With the help of Irene, Jerry, and the girls, I was able to decorate the tree with lights and lanterns the day before. On the day of the proposal, I threw Claudia off by teaching her how to change a spare tire and told her that our outing for the day would be picking up cookies from the Mars. Once at their house, I turned on all the lanterns, brought her under the tree, and proposed!

Thank you for your love and support over the years, and for taking the time to celebrate with us on this special day!