We hope that this update finds you and your family in good health and safety! When the world came to a screeching halt this past March due to the coronavirus pandemic we could have never imagined that our wedding plans would be so drastically impacted. We knew wedding planning would be hard, but no one ever told us it would be this hard! This has been a challenging season for us as we have had to learn now more than ever how to trust in God and His plans for our lives. As the world has scrambled to identify what is "essential" and what is not, ironically, this strange period in our lives has provided us with the unique opportunity to come to a greater understanding of what truly is of greatest importance to us: family, friends, and faith. So, when faced with the prospects of a socially distanced wedding, our hearts broke! After much prayer and thought, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our wedding celebration to July 10, 2021. By this date, we hope to be able to hug, high five, and dance with all those who have supported us throughout the years. Despite these unfortunate changes to our plans, we are very excited to begin life together as husband and wife! On August 1, 2020, we will be legally married in a small ceremony in the presence of some of our immediate family. We are looking into the possibility of live-streaming this, and will keep you updated! We plan on reaffirming our commitment and promises to one another in a formal ceremony nearly one year later at our July celebration. We are greatly looking forward to enjoying this special day with all our loved ones next summer! Thank you for all the kind words of encouragement, patience, and understanding that you have offered to us at this time. With love, Johanna & Sam

I first met Sam Misarski on August 25, 2014 during Freshman Orientation at Gordon College. Towards the end of the week, students were randomly organized into groups for an event called, “Dessert Night.” Sam and I just so happened to be placed in the same group, which would be bussed to a Gordon faculty member’s church for treats and socialization. As our leader explained the happenings of the evening, I immediately noticed Sam. Sam sat right behind me on the bus, but I was too shy to say hello. Luckily, Sam had the courage to strike up a conversation. We talked the whole way there and back again, and stuck together at the event too. When the night came to an end and we returned to campus, Sam and I said goodnight and started to go our separate ways. Just before I was out of earshot, Sam called out, “Wait, I didn’t get your number!” I was thrilled, and absolutely excited to see what might happen next. I went from feeling homesick to barely calling home in just a matter of weeks (sorry Mom!). Sam and I stayed up late together watching movies, strolled along beaches, visited coffee shops, and spent most of our days adventuring around the North Shore. Unbeknownst to me at the time, people would often ask Sam how long we had been dating one another! In this first semester, we learned so much about one another. Fast forward to January 12, 2015--we decided to make it official!

It was a cool summer night on the evening of August 25, 2014. It had been a long week of freshman orientation at Gordon College and classes were starting in a few days. This night was “Dessert Night”, where everyone was forced to mingle with new people and I was less than thrilled. In fact, most people in this group in particular really annoyed me. We gathered around Phillips Hall at Gordon College and were being assigned to different forms of transportation. When the leaders asked for volunteers to ride on the handicap bus, I readily jumped on in hopes of escaping the rest of the group that irritated me. It just so happened that Johanna was sitting behind me on this particular bus. She looked just as annoyed as me at many of the members of our new group, so I decided to turn around and introduce myself (I also thought she was cute). We talked the whole 40 minute bus ride to the church. We stuck like glue for the rest of the night. I remember hoping that we would sit near each other on the bus ride back so we could talk more (which we did). The two of us talked again almost exclusively on the ride back to college (I actually felt bad that other people were not getting a word in the conversation). As Johanna was getting dropped off at her dorm, I gathered up the courage to ask for her number (which was not actually that big of a deal at the time, as I was literally asking every person I met at college for their numbers). After this happened, we started hanging out a lot with each other and our little freshman friend group. After a short while (very short), we both realized that we liked each other (more than friends like) and during a game of 20 questions at around midnight on the eve of my 19th birthday, we both shared our feelings for one another. Fast forward to the beginning of the spring semester of that year, after basically acting like a couple and hanging out all the time, we made it official, and the rest is history.

On August 25, 2019, my mom and childhood best friend, Dana, were up visiting me in Massachusetts. Dana suggested we visit one of my favorite breakfast spots, Sugar Magnolias in Gloucester. After eggs benedict and coffee, she asked if I would be willing to drive to a picturesque stretch of land by the ocean, called Rafe’s Chasm. I didn’t think much of it, because Dana is a photographer. When I arrived, I started down the long path through the woods leading to the ocean, as I had done so many times before with Sam. It wasn’t long before I noticed a display of sticky notes, with my name, directing me to read and follow the notes for a surprise. As I walked through the forest, I read note after note, chronicling beautiful memories and milestones in our relationship. At the end of the path, on the rocky cliffs, stood Sam, patiently waiting for me. It was right there and that he got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him! I said, "YES!" After exactly five years since the day we met, we decided to “stick” together for life!

The proposal took place on August 25, 2019, partially coincidentally, yet partially planned to be five years exactly since the day we met. I will admit, I could have done a lot better planning, but it all worked out perfectly in the end. I had planned it so that both Johanna’s Mom and her friend Dana would be in the area. I coordinated with both of them to be involved and help me pull it off. Up to the weekend it was happening on, I had no idea exactly which day it would happen on. All I knew was a place: Rafes Chasm, one of Johanna’s favorite places to visit in the area. It got pretty tricky, because it all hinged upon Dana convincing Johanna to take her there. I also didn’t have an entirely concrete plan for what I was going to do. Originally I was going to just write arrows in chalk on the rocks leading to where I was, but one of my roommates, Akash, gave me the idea to write memories through the years with chalk instead. Saturday, the night before it happened, I asked Johanna if she had any chalk (I assumed she would since she is a teacher) and finding out that she didn’t, I had to change my plans and instead stole some sticky notes from her desk when she wasn’t looking. That night I stayed up late thinking of thirty-something memories from the last five years. I woke up early the next morning to write the memories on the sticky notes and wrote a handful, but got a message from Dana the two of them left to get breakfast, so I didn’t have a chance to finish. I met Johanna’s Mom and she drove me to Rafe’s Chasm so my car wouldn’t be there. There I found my spot, finished my sticky notes, and just barely managed to tape a trail of them leading to where I was hiding by the water. Then I waited, anxiously, for Johanna and Dana to show up, crossing my fingers that she would follow the notes. Finally, Johanna came down over the rock face and made her way towards me. I then got down on one knew and, forgetting every word I was going to say, asked her to marry me.