We’re getting married!

Leah: It all started back in February of 2020. I was living in Colorado Springs and flew out to Columbia to speak to students at South Carolina School of Leadership (SCSL) about missions and loving Jesus wholeheartedly. I remember meeting Christopher briefly before I spoke. My first impression of him was that he was very kind...and also tall. Lol. In addition to speaking about missions, I was trying to recruit people for a trip I would be leading to North Africa that summer. Christopher expressed immediate interest in said trip. Christopher: I did not really notice Leah at all on her trip to South Carolina. I did not notice her sitting next to me or talking to me or the beanie that she was wearing. Most of all, I definitely did not notice her love for Jesus that permeated every aspect of her being. Leah: COVID happened, and the trip to North Africa was canceled. At that point, I figured I would never see Christopher again... Until the Lord spoke clearly to me about moving back to Columbia at the end of Summer 2020. On the day before I started my road trip to South Carolina, I received a job offer at SCSL. Christopher: Early on in our working relationship, I remember thinking that Leah was the kind of girl I could see myself marrying one day. However, I also was not planning on getting married any time soon, if at all, and so I tried my best to keep on not noticing her. Leah: The more Christopher and I grew in friendship, the more I realized how similar our hopes and dreams for life, ministry, and loving Jesus were. I tried to stay guarded in our friendship though, not knowing where it would lead. And so we worked together for the better part of a year as our friendship grew… Christopher: Fast forward to April 2021, and we led a trip of students to Ecuador together. This was when not noticing her fell apart. The problem with leading a trip with someone is that you have to spend time with them both in preparation for and during the trip. By the end of Ecuador, I knew that I enjoyed being around Leah and was stubbornly trying to just be friends, even though I was also sad to be leaving her there (due to students testing positive for COVID). Leah: Christopher texted and called me everyday I stayed back in Ecuador, and I loved it. I knew he was just trying to be a friend to me, but our friendship grew, and I couldn't help but wonder if the feelings were mutual. When I got back from Ecuador, I initiated a conversation with him about where our friendship was going (classic, lol) and we both admitted to having feelings for each other. One thing led to another and we started hanging out more intentionally over the summer. Christopher: Those summer dates were the best. Most dates lasted for 8 or 9 hours. We would start at a coffee shop, go to lunch and then go for a walk at the River Walk just to extend the date. Then, on July 2, 2021, I asked Leah to date me while sending a Marco Polo to our friends Bunk and Alyssa. Romantic? Not a bit (lol). Thankfully she still said yes! Leah: As you can see, hanging out led to dating, which led to engagement, which is now all leading up to a wedding! I still remember laying down my desire for marriage and family to move overseas back in 2017. It was the most costly and precious thing I had to offer up to the Lord, and I am so thankful that I did because God met me in a real, tangible way and taught me how to love Him for His person and not what He could give me. Even still, he saw it fit to bless me with marriage to the most incredible man I know, 5 years later. Christopher is the answer to so many prayers and dreams. Christopher: The only thing I would change is that I wish PD (Senior Executive Director of SCSL) would have told me about Leah back in 2015, so I could have just married her then. Just kidding... sort of. Anyways, I am so thankful that God saw fit to allow our paths to cross in his perfect timing and we are so looking forward to everything that he has in store for us!