From the first year of awana camp I have known of Nathan. Him and I were in different friend groups so we didn’t talk. After we graduated we both came back as the exceptions to waiting a year before becoming counselors. We were placed on red team together. I was nervous and trying to navigate my duties as a counselor and realized I we were both new to this and could help each other. I had to talk to him. We were dismissed to meal time and were walking in silence near each other when I walked in step with him and said, “You’re convenient. Would you help me put my water bottle into my backpack pocket? I can’t reach.” He obliged. Conversation began from there. We quickly became friends and were always laughing. I had laughed more with him in 10 minutes than I had all year leading up to awana camp. He was wonderful! At the end of camp I gave him my phone to put his number in and texted all year. By the time next camp year came around we were great friends that had been flirting off and on all year going through the ups and downs of life. We continued to get to know each other that second year as counselors and that’s when I knew, I really liked him. We started dating and became official on September 24, 2024. I knew I loved him very quickly in to our relationship. I tried to hold off on telling him I loved him because I was afraid it would scare him how quickly I fell for him. I accidentally told him when saying goodbye. I tried to take it back but that didn’t last long. His love for me poured from his eyes every time he looked at me. I knew. He was the one. He was the one I had prayed for my entire life. God has blessed me with the most amazing man. He is so kind, generous, loving, handsome, great with kids, and his heart for the Lord shines in every part of his life. I am so grateful for you my Nathan. Thank you for loving me and choosing to go on this journey of life with me. Here’s to forever <3

I knew of Jazmine from AWANA camp since early middle school, but we never really talked. I was the weird kid who didn't really make new friends (female friends anyway). we both went through camp and became counselors once we had both graduated, we really didn't talk till we were leaders on the same team and kind of had to communicate. after about two days of awkwardly not talking this goofy lady comes right up to me and shouts "you're convenient!" which caught me extremely off guard,, obviously. all she needed was for me to put her water bottle in her backpack as we walked to lunch with all the campers, but what she didn't know is how hard I had fallen in that moment. she had been so bold and funny I had never felt so sure that I wanted to pursue someone in my life. unfortunately for me in our week of talking at camp she informed me she wasn't looking for a boyfriend.. Dang, there goes that, guess I'll have to let this amazing girl slip through my fingers. a year goes around and I hadn't found anyone who made me laugh as hard, no one who caught my eye or made me light up when they enter the room. I head to AWANA camp with low expectations (other than the excitement of camp itself). the first two or three days are a little strange since we don't know quite where we stand since we had stopped communicating throughout the year. finally we start talking, and this time we don't stop talking, she starts coming to my softball games for the church league, I invite her to come to my church and we start spending a lot of time together. her AWANA club shuts down. she needed another club to join and luckily Northshore has one of the biggest clubs in the area. after she joined my AWANA club it all came together, we had no reason to not make it official. we spent all our time together, we had a few bumps and turns on the adventure as all good relationships do, it didn't take long to realize I had found the one, this is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. with no doubt in my mind I had to figure out how to propose. I took into account the many stories she had told me over the time we had spent together, finally I came to a conclusion, I found a spot on the water where mount Pilchuck was in the background, she had told me many stories about how beautiful the mountain was from the window of her old home. I got together with my buddy Ben and we planned out how everything would go. if you read a lot of books or watch a lot of movies you'll know that the plan will always fly out the window.. we got to the location and I had managed to hide the ring from her the whole time, it was going beautifully until we got to the big moment, we had been doing a photo shoot and got to an awkward moment where we didn't know how to move forward, she made a joke that I should get on my knee and even showed me the perfect pose, I laughed and pulled her up. we enjoyed the humor of the moment but she didn't quite know why it was so much funnier than she thought. I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me. she didn't believe it was happening, the ring we had gotten together was in the shop being resized, I shouldn't be able to propose for another few weeks.. I had been given her great grandmothers ring from her mom. she had no idea this was even a possibility. I was so excited to have the chance to surprise her in a way she could never see it coming. She said yes.