Gus's POV: What seemed like just a friendship turned out to be something much more. In August 2020, the young adults ministry at Restoration City Church (RCC) was having their weekly prayer night on zoom. I was already logged on with some of the other regular members. Then, I heard the doorbell sound on zoom to see that it was our good friend Hanna. But then I saw that she had a friend with her. I was like, "Ooo she's cute, who's that?" That was the first time I met Emilie. Turns out that first impression would grow into an attraction that would never go away. For the next couple years, we were just friends. We got to hang out together: hiking, Dave and Busters (she beat me in air hockey), picnics, skiing, etc. All of these events were amazing, but what made it even more special was that she was there. At first, I was really excited to be her friend, but my affection for her began to grow. What attracted me to her initially was her love for the Lord and her desire to serve others. I remember when she first began to lead worship for Glory Nights for the Young Adults. I loved to see how she was getting more involved in ministry and thought she had a beautiful voice. That is what led me to tell her of my growing feelings for her. In August 2022, after walking together around Deer Island in Winthrop, we sat down on a park bench and I built up the courage to tell her I liked her. Her response was "Thank you for telling me, but I just see you as a friend." What I thought would've been heart shattering was actually a very peaceful moment. I found joy in knowing that she was my very good friend and I was okay with that. Emilie's POV: Now I pick up the story in January 2023. I had genuinely enjoyed Gus's friendship over the years. I respected him greatly for his servant's heart and his genuine love for everyone he encountered, as seen from serving together in outreach at RCC. One Sunday morning, after Pastor Javie told me I was now the outreach worship leader, I asked Gus, "How do you manage being a young leader?" And we began to have a conversation. Later that week, he texted me a worship podcast that he thought I would enjoy and find helpful. That night, we texted back and forth for hours. After that, I felt so confused. I thought, "What am I feeling right now?" I told myself that it was probably just a one time thing and to not get my hopes up. However, we just kept on texting. Soon, texting turned into phone calls and phone calls turned into Facetimes. Now, this is when I realized I liked him as more than a friend and was just waiting for him to ask me out. Granted, I had already turned him down once so I had to help him out a little bit. One Sunday, after church, he asked me what my coffee order was. I said, "Why don't we just pick a time and get coffee together?" We agreed to meet at Tatte the next Saturday, March 4, 2023. Then, we never stopped going out after that. We officially became a couple on March 26, 2023. About a month later, after watching the movie Shrek, we said "I love you." It was a year of adventure, challenge and everything in between. But through it all, I have loved learning, growing and laughing through life with Gus. In May 2024, we went to a friend's wedding in Colorado. The Sunday after the wedding, I had wanted to go to Garden of the Gods. On the drive there, it was down pouring, but Gus still really wanted to go. Thankfully, it cleared up once we got there. We were walking around and there was one spot where Gus said, "I'd really like to take a picture there." I was like, "Well we can take one later. Let's keep walking!" After a while, we finally reached that spot again and Gus asked someone to take some pictures. He told them, "Just keep taking pictures!" I was like, "He's taken a bunch already!" and got my phone from the guy. When I turned back around, Gus was on one knee. He said, "Will you marry me?" and I said "YES!"