Joel and I met in spring of 2022. At the time, neither of us had any interest. Fast-forward to summer of 2023, a friend of mine texted me out of the blue and said “what about Joel?” I was very offended, as I was interested in someone else at the time. LOL However, the comment seemed to stay with me for some reason. During the summer, we began talking in groups and getting to know each other a bit more. Still, no one was interested… yet:) In November, a dear friend asked if I had ever thought about Joel. She brought up how Joel loved his family and our local church, and how he had a fun, joyful personality. All of these things sounded pretty wonderful, so I decided to listen and consider her comments. A couple weeks later, I started to pray that the Lord would open my eyes to godly men who were available in my circles… and that He did! At the end of November, my friends noticed that I started to bring up Joel’s name a lot more. When I was asked, I would deny any feelings I had for him. Eventually, I did admit to friends that I had a little crush (okay, a BIG crush), and started to hope something would work out. For our Christmas party at Bible study, he offered to help with food which gave me a reason to talk to him. During the party, I noticed he talked to me most of the evening, trying to make me laugh. He even winked at me (which he will forever deny). We started texting a few days after and haven’t stopped since! In January 2024, we went to CrossCon with our church friends and had the opportunity to share testimonies and discuss messages one on one. We spent lots of time talking about the messages and the Word. By this point, everyone on that trip knew we were very interested in each other. A few days after returning, he asked me out to dinner. Of course, I said “I would love to!” We made lots of memories in 2024 including going on hikes, taking day-trips, having fancy dinner dates, and spending lots of time with family and our church. On December 14, 2025, Joel surprised me with a fun lunch date at the Avalon. We ate the best italian food ever and then stopped by our favorite park for a dessert picnic. I knew he wanted to propose soon, but I was not expecting it to be this day. He asked me to pull out the picnic blanket so he could grab something and when I turned around, he was on one knee with the most beautiful smile and ring! I was so overjoyed! We are so excited to spend the rest of our lives together, seeking the Lord in all we do! It’s a gift to spend my life with someone like Joel. He is steady, Christ-honoring, fun, and my favorite friend.

Lis and I met in 2023, at our young adult’s Bible study. While we both attended long before we began to talk, it wasn’t until the 2023 Christmas party that she started having this massive crush on me. There has been some debate as to when we started liking each other, but I do have her dear friend to thank for recommending me 🙂 We first really chatted at the Christmas party, during which I definitely did not wink at her. I did however trade something for a rubber duck she won in a white elephant gift exchange, which led us to continue texting for several weeks afterward. We left for the Cross Conference shortly after, and at this point, I knew I liked several things about her. 1) She was obviously very beautiful. 2) She laughed a lot. She almost won me over with these things alone, BUT we still had to cover the spiritual side of things. Fortunately, this trip helped us do just that. Listening to speakers like David Platt and Rosaria Butterfield, we had lots of topics to discuss both during the weekend and on the 9 hour drive back home. During this drive, I also had the privilege to hear her tell how she came to give her life to Jesus. Needless to say, I asked her out less than a week after we got home! (And she said yes!) Looking back on the past year plus, I have loved getting to know Elisabeth’s heart. The Lord has crafted so many beautiful qualities and characteristics in her, and I am thrilled to have the privilege to marry her. We’ve shared a lot of fun memories, from baking cookies to painting self-portraits, shared good laughs and cries, and taken a lot of pictures to remember them all. I treasure all of these, and the potential of so many more. In December, I worked up the courage to ask her the big question and even though I don’t remember what she said, she’s wearing her ring so I think everything turned out okay! Today, we’re excited and committed to go on mission together, to honor Christ’s example in our marriage, and have a lot of fun on the way!