Before I met James officially, I had known him as Unofficial Project Dance Team’s director. It was September 2015. I had joined Fusion Hip-Hop Dance Troupe (as it was called then) at Boston University. We would say “hi” sometimes at dance shows and I was aware that he was also a Christian. We had chance encounters and both wore the same “Rep the King” sweatshirt at a dance show once. When I was visiting Cornerstone Church for the first time, I ran into James and found out that he regularly attends. Through Cornerstone and dance, James became more than an acquaintance to me. We would message each other occasionally and talk at dance team mixers, but our friendship grew more after he graduated. James moved to Seattle for his new job and I was in California for the summer. We continued to keep in contact and spent time together when he visited LA and Irvine. As we continued to message each other, even while I was studying abroad in Spain and studying in Boston, James eventually “defined the relationship” on 2/14/17. From being long-distance friends to long-distance relationship, our relationship has become stronger despite being 3000 miles apart (from Seattle to Boston). We were long-distance for 4.5 years and now, finally short-distance in Boston. Though our relationship was tested in so many ways, I'm thankful for the ways God has tempered and humbled us so that we could understand what it means to be self-sacrificing and what it takes to love unconditionally. Our relationship isn’t perfect and it’s being refined every day, but there is no one else I’d want to pursue God with but James. James has shown me a gentle, patient, and steadfast love and he reminds me of my worth in Christ and supports my ambitions while in dental school. He’s my best friend, my dance partner, my IT guy, my future dental patient, the Jim to my Pam, the Eren to my Armin, the TARDIS to my Doctor, the Sam to my Frodo, the Carl to my Ellie. Thank you for asking me to be your personal dentist for life.

I first met Grace at BU. She came out to a dance workshop I was teaching, and she was alright. She didn't join our dance team so we never really got to know each other until she started coming out to Cornerstone. Eventually, after I graduated, we started talking a bit more. I had just moved to Seattle and she was studying abroad. I had been flying back to Boston often enough since my family is from there, and so when she was back in Boston, we hung out a bit. One trip, before I left back for Seattle, I asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend. She shot back and interviewed me for a good half hour about relationships, intentions, myself. I passed her interview with flying colors and the rest is history. We dated for four years, often meeting up in Boston or California, and sometimes Seattle. Eventually, once the timing was right, I asked her to marry me. No interview this time thankfully. She just said yes.