We both decided to spend our summer working at Twin Rocks Friends Camp on the Oregon Coast. I had just graduated from college in California and Josh was coming back from a year in Puerto Rico. We had a blast doing summer staff, but our paths didn't really cross much over those two months. At the end of the summer Josh had decided to stay on staff and do a year long internship and I was still deciding if I wanted to stay and do the internship as well. In the midst of my trying to decide, our boss even tried to use Josh as an incentive for me to stay! But in the end, it was ultimately a mix of circumstance and God that led us both back to Twin Rocks in September where we became fast and deep friends...and I'm so glad we made that decision! :)

There was no spark to begin with. We were just two interns, but realized we were quickly becoming close friends. We were both tired from the summer, and God was giving us a time to rest and grow in receiving his Love. At the beginning, we were there just to listen to each other. After a summer of loud, we needed a fall that was quiet. And our falling in love was quiet. It was not a crash landing into unsafe territory. We quickly learned to trust the ground was safe, even holy. I felt safe when I was with Jenae. I always do. One night in particular drew us nearer to one another. A rainy coastal evening sent us inside to build a fire, but as the night wore on, the fire would eventually go out. I don’t remember what Jenae and I were talking about, but I remember feeling like I could talk with her forever. All of a sudden, as if God wanted to let us know he was there with us, the cold wood in the fire burst into flames, and kept burning even after I left that night. Looking back at that moment now, we see it as a metaphor for how our relationship came to be. The warmth and light of our love is thanks to a greater Love that holds the universe together. That’s why we have hope for each other, and for the world. And we pray our becoming one in the flesh helps us all become one in the Spirit. We love you all!

On a trip visiting friends in Oregon we made a stop in Salem to see our friend Marissa. We met her at a coffee shop where we ordered some drinks to go and after some last minute scheming between Marissa and Josh while I was in the restroom we decided to go for a walk. We ended up going to this beautiful bridge that crosses over the Willamette River. After admiring all of the pretty fall colors, Josh asked Marissa to take a picture of us on the bridge. This is when Josh "dropped a knee" as he likes to call it and said some very sweet and kind words culminating in asking me to marry him (!!!) to which I responded "yes" between spurts of joyful laughter! If you know me, then you probably know decisions aren't my favorite thing. But I have never been more honored, excited, and confident to make a decision than how I felt saying yes to Joshua! We found out later the bridge is named "union street railway bridge" which we thought was a sweet coincidence for where we said yes to our future union!

It is with some sadness, yet still overwhelming joy that we inform you of the changes we have been led to make in the interest of everyone's health and well-being. Instead of the big celebration in person that we all anticipated, we have decided to livestream the ceremony with just our immediate family in attendance on June 27th. Thank you for love and support and we are excited we still get to celebrate with you even if it is virtually. You all mean so much to us, we love you. LINK: https://live.eventlive.pro/jenaeerickson/joshua-and-jenae-s-wedding