j&h

After Jake was convinced, by Pastor Sean O'Connor, he reluctantly agreed to come along on the annual Young Adults Beach Day trip. Hannah had been involved at the church for about 5 years and Beach Day was her favorite tradition with the Young Adults. Any chance to visit the coast is one Hannah treasures deeply! So, on July 20th 2024 we all headed to Pacific City for a day that promised more than Jake and Hannah could have hoped for. As we got settled into our spot, the "new kid" definitely caught Hannah's eye. He was tall and had a great smile and kind eyes. The exact series of very fortunate events is blurry. But an invitation to climb The Dune was made and a small group of us made our way over there. The climb was a feat (iykyk), one that Jake had completed more than 100 times. Pacific City was his family's beach growing up and already held a very special place in his heart. The group gathered for a photo at the top of the dune and then it was time to explore! Hannah and her friend Em headed out. Jake caught up to them towards the back of the dune, where it was so windy they could barely keep their eyes open. He wondered if he could join their fun. They obliged. He asked "What are your guys' names again?" As Jake tells it "Hannah said 'I'm Hannah!' and it was that moment that I knew I wanted to get to know her more". He had not actually met Hannah yet so this was very smooth. As the three of them explored Cape Kiwanda the attraction between Jake and Hannah grew. As Em tells it "about half way out to the Cape as they were teasing each other and talking about running I knew they would end up together!" They took in the beautiful sights, saw about a million star fish and little crabs and paused to sit and watch the waves crash against the rocks. It was time then to head back to the group. As they walked back the topic of Oregon weather came up. Hannah learned that she and Jake had the same innate love for the rain, a sentiment Em did not share. Hannah was endeared to learn this fact about him and wanted to know more! As the evening approached it was time for dinner. The group went to Pelican Brewery, right on the beach. A few things happened that made it very obvious to Hannah that Jake was interested in her. He not so slyly offered to share his fish and chips with her when she decided not to get anything there and just join the group that was ordering Doryland Pizza. She later caught him staring lovingly at her from across the table, a couple times. And when Jake was invited to another Young Adults event by Hannah's friend JJ, he turned to Hannah and asked her "Are YOU going to be there?!". It would take a few more weeks for them to run into each other again at church, against both of their best efforts to see each other there. But the next chance Jake got he asked her out on a date. She said "yeah!" And the rest is a love story!