I met Jackson for the first time in August of 2020 at MetroCollege, the college ministry we both attended. I had recently given my life to the Lord and was a new regular attender. Although I would see Jackson from time to time at Metro, I only had a few quick conversations with him over the next couple of years. By this point, I had categorized Jackson as a goofy, playful guy, who you could always hear coming before you could see him. 😆 In the spring of 2023, Jackson and I grew closer as we began to hang out with mutual friends from MetroCollege. He'd crack jokes, and I, being slightly uptight and easily offended, would roll my eyes or brush him off. I was totally bossy and rude to him! 😆 But, I can certainly say it wasn't out of dislike for him. I had always had a soft spot in my heart for Jackson Best and had a feeling that there was more to him than a good sense of humor. Through the spring months, I got to know a different side of Jackson by watching how he interacted with other people. He was the first one to welcome someone new into church, lead his small group with intentionality, and was so serious about living a life that pleased God. I had never met a man with so much integrity or character, and he just kept on surprising me. In July of that year, he asked me on our first date. I was FREAKING OUT because I was going on a date with THE Jackson Best. I had prayed for a man like Jackson for a long time, and every time I got scared and tried to convince myself it wasn't going to work, God would send me a reminder that Jackson was sent from Him to me! Although neither of us saw our relationship coming, it was so clearly orchestrated and moved into motion by God. He had carried us into a new, exciting, never-ending adventure of an answered prayer. Now, almost three years later, it's so hard to imagine my life before Jackson was in it. He's truly a one-of-a-kind man that I couldn't be more proud to marry. He's my best friend, my biggest encourager, and I am so honored to be called his future wife.

I met Mati around 2020 during a crazy time with COVID. We both served on the greeting team at our college ministry at Metro Community Church. We weren’t even friends, haha, more like acquaintances. I had been going through a hard season of life, dealing with betrayal, bitterness, and my father’s death. I ended up taking a break from Metro but ultimately returned in 2022. I had spent a long time being honest with myself, healing, and learning to forgive. It was during that time in early 2023 that I became friends with Mati and others at Metro College. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think Mati liked me, and I was a little scared of her. 😆 But around June of 2023, I began to develop a crush on her. I thought she listened better than anyone I knew, loved Jesus earnestly, and was extremely fun to be around. One night, my friends (Malik and RJ) and I were going to film a couple of YouTube videos. Well… I decided to ask Mati if she wanted to help out (I thought there was probably a 99% chance she would say no), and she said yes! My heart skipped a beat, and I had a lot of fun with her that night. I knew I liked Mati, but I really wanted to pursue the girl that Jesus wanted me to be with. I had done dating in the past wrong, made bad decisions, and I wanted this time to be different. I spent a lot of time talking to my friends Cory, Malik, and Matas … asking them what they thought and trying to figure out if this was something I should pursue. There was even a reconnaissance mission that Cory and I went on to TopGolf when a group of our friends was going (Mati included). We were overanalyzing every interaction with Mati to see if Mati may have liked me back. Yeah its crazy looking back at it, but I really didn’t want to force anything and believed if it was from God, then it would seem to happen naturally (assuming going on spy missions to Topgolf is natural). A couple weeks later and in July I ripped the bandaid off and asked her out on date. It was the best date ever. We were friends for so long that I was worried it would be awkward but instead it felt so right. I felt like Mati was the answer to so many prayers. On August 15, 2023 I asked Mati to be my girlfriend and exactly two years later on August 15, 2025 I asked her to be my wife. Mati has challenged to be a better small group leader, Christ follower, and have more compassion for those around me. I love her quirky personality and I can’t wait to spend a life time with her.