Once upon a time... [Erin: "Nooo don't type that"] Anthony and Erin both served with NET Ministries during the 2019-20 school year on different teams. They never talked to each other. Fast forward. They both decided to continue with NET as team supervisors, where they both lived in community households in MN; again, because of COVID, Erin and Anthony RARELY spoke for the first few months (they were both in quarantine for long periods of time - definitely don't recommend). But what Anthony did know was that Erin was really good at piano, so he thought they could jam out one evening so he could get to know her more. She played Gershwin on her fancy piano (that Anthony's really looking forward to sharing when they get married). It was during that performance that Anthony realized he might be in trouble. "This is just a phase," he thought. "It'll fade away," he said. He was wrong. DEAD WRONG. [Now Erin is going to type] Around this time, Anthony, Erin and their friend Megan were asked to come up with a musical act to entertain the missionaries before Christmas. During this planning, Erin started to realize that Anthony seemed like a cool person that she wanted to be friends with. So they started hanging out more. After they performed their musical act (which was a huge success), Erin stupidly and pridefully joked with a friend that she could see Anthony liking her. This was a silly thing to say, because two weeks later, after playing more music together, she realized that maybe she was the one who could like him. Some time in January of 2021, Erin and Anthony went on a winter hike with some of their friends. Erin was definitely flirting with Anthony during the hike, but didn't think it was noticeable...until, when they went back home after that hike, Megan gave Erin a look and said, "So...Anthony?" Erin denied it. A week later, she told her housemates that actually, maybe she did like Anthony, but didn't think it was going to last. Again, this was a silly thing for her to think. [Anthony takes back keyboard from silly girl] A month passed by. Two months. Half a year. One year. ALMOST ONE AND A HALF YEARS. (NET PEOPLE- ONE AND A HALF YEARS!!) An important detail to note is that supervisors could not date other supervisors. So for a year and a half, it was agony. PURE AGONY. But on a serious note, the Lord was working in Anthony and Erin - in the waiting and also in the support of their housemates and friends. Though it was hard for both of them to wait without knowing what the other was thinking, both felt a call to deepen their relationship with God more freely. Anyways, by June 2022, Anthony was done waiting. The girl of his dreams was waiting! Would it end in humiliating rejection? Fizzle into nothingness? Was he being too dramatic? [Meanwhile, Erin had accidentally found out from a couple friends that Anthony liked her, and just had to pretend like she didn't know his feelings...but that's a story for another day.] He could only find out by asking her out, which he did in the car on the way back from playing Mass at St. Jude's in Mahtomedi, MN. She said ABSOLUTELY, which was great, but she totally forgot to tell him that she likes him - which is pretty funny, and also pretty classic Erin. [Erin starts writing] They went on their first date to Prescott, WI on June 24th. Pretty much immediately, Anthony told Erin that he wanted to make their relationship official, and asked her to be his girlfriend. There was no hesitation in saying yes. The Lord made it very clear to both of them early on that they were serious about discerning marriage together, and so about five months later, on December 3, 2022, Anthony proposed at the Cathedral of St. Paul in front of the St. John statue (who has played a role in both of their prayer lives). He said some nice things that Erin doesn't remember, but she does remember saying yes before he even finished asking her to marry him. And now, MAWWAGE.