Hooray! We are getting married!

Who would have thought that a girl from Connecticut and a third culture kid who grew up in Asia would have met at a university in Tennessee? Jonathan first saw Ash when he was on a tour of Union University. Ash’s best friend was dating Jonathan’s friend who he went to high school with in Malaysia. In Jonathan’s first year at Union, they enjoyed good conversation, lots of laughs, and even attended a dance together, simply as friends! It wasn’t until the next year that this friendship turned into something new and exciting!

Jonathan and Ash served on the same Residence Life Staff for Jonathan’s sophomore year and Ash’s junior year. The McAfee student commons was where their love started to grow. They both had shifts at the desk back to back, and Jonathan was known to stay after his shift to sit behind the desk and talk with Ash. After several late night shifts in McAfee, it was pretty clear that they both liked each other. It came to the point where both of their Residence Directors greatly encouraged their relationship, and with the A-okay, Jonathan and Ash started talking as the first semester ended.

After a long January Term apart, Jonathan asked Ash out on their first date. For their first date, Jonathan and Ash went to a Thai restaurant. It took the waiter around thirty minutes to come and take their order, which gave them plenty of time to talk. They spent several hours just talking about their aspirations and getting to know each other, and then went to get ice cream after and drove around. The first date was a blast, and it resulted in many more to follow!

A month into dating, quarantine hits, and the vast majority of students opted to leave campus. Ash and Jonathan were among the few who chose to stay. We spent the next few months getting to know each other under the strange new guidelines of COVID, masks, and social distancing. It was a hard couple of months, but they were able to grow a lot closer.

Another incredible blessing Ash and Jonathan experienced in their relationship was being able to serve together on a Summer-long “GO-Trip” to Utah. During this month they served Church-planters, shared the Gospel, and were trained in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus on mission for him. Now, originally, Ash was supposed to be going to Central Asia! Due to COVID, however, all other GO-Trips were cancelled. Because of this, all of the Summer teams ended up serving together in Utah. It was during this time that they saw what it looked like to serve with one another through their best and worst moments. By the end of the Summer, they felt more assured in their desire to be married, and they started talking about it…

Getting married young was something that neither of them really expected. They didn’t exactly go into college expecting to find a boyfriend or girlfriend, let alone a spouse. But this is exactly what happened. Jonathan and Ash knew that they wanted to get married very early on when they started dating. After many long talks with mentors, parents, friends, and each other, they discerned that the time had come! Jonathan received permission from her dad and quickly thereafter, Jonathan acquired the ring.

Ash was visiting Jonathan's family in Virginia for Christmas break, and was told they were going to go on a hike to a beautiful lookout that Jenna, Jonathan's sister really loved. Ash and Jonathan hike and spend time in nature frequently, so this didn't seem out of the ordinary, even when she was told it would be 8 miles roundtrip. Up the mountain they went, Jenna taking pictures, Ash doing silly poses, and Jonathan secretly carrying a ring. When finally getting there, Ash hurriedly went to eat lunch, feeling very preoccupied with her food. At this point, Jonathan slipped the ring out of his backpack into his pocket. Jenna started taking pictures of Ash and Jonathan on the edge of the cliff. When she asked the question, “Do you want to do anything else?” Jonathan turned to Ash, and Jonathan started talking to Ash about how he loved her and wanted to marry her. He got down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me?” Ash screamed, said yes, and then hugged Jonathan, just a few feet away from the precarious edge of the cliff. A crowd of older couples applauded and cheered. One man came up and said, "That was just like Hollywood, just like Hollywood!" The two of them ran and skipped down large portions down the mountain, incredibly excited for their future ahead!