Our families got to know each other about seven years ago because our sisters, Annie and Kaelyn, were good friends and doubles partners on the Gordon College tennis team. Zeke and I never officially met back then, but we both knew of each other and had thought about the idea of getting to know one another. I (Elsie) never imagined he would be interested because of our four-year age gap — little did I know, he had a crush on me since 2023. Still unaware of this, in December 2024 my sister Emma and our friend Deborah were talking with me about Zeke, saying that since we both play tennis and would look great together, they should risk it for the plot and message him. Without telling me, they reached out to see if he’d be interested and they gave him my number. At that point, we had both moved away from Massachusetts — Zeke was living in Houston and I was in Spokane, Washington. He replied quickly, saying that I had been “on his mind recently.” I later found out that just the day before Emma texted him, he had prayed that he’d be able to get in touch with me. We started texting long paragraphs to each other, and a week later he asked to FaceTime. We instantly clicked — bonding over tennis, being the youngest in big families, our summers in Maine, and most importantly, our shared faith in the Lord. At the end of that first call, Zeke asked if he could fly up to take me on a date. I was surprised that he’d be willing to fly across the country and stay with my family just to take me out, but I said I’d love it if he did. Two weeks after that first date weekend, he flew up again and asked me to be his girlfriend. In June 2025, we traveled to Maine together to visit family and friends, and he proposed to me on the most perfect proposal bridge — it couldn’t have been more special. After the honeymoon I will be joining Zeke down in Houston as we start our new life together!