Well let me tell you. This was like any other day except this exceptionally tall outgoing lady steps into Bounty Music on a mission. Though she may be masked in this moment, her eyes shown through and captivated me. I heard her charming voice and Jesus loving spirit from across the room and I knew, this was my now or never moment. I leaped into action. I asked her name, I asked her vocation, and I knew this was the One for Me. I used for the first time, my now Signature tagline, "Would you like to go Flying?" In an instant, upon her unenthusiastic response of "yeah sure..." I knew I was in for trouble. She lost my number. True story. I am so happy that I was willing to bend the rules and stole her number from the Bounty Music Computer System. Where she didn't reply... for like three whole agonizing days. I know, heartbreaking. She kind of wasn't into the whole flying thing for a first date, so I took her to dinner up in Kula... Where she was forty minutes late. What did happen though was that we were there for hours until after the place closed and her full face truly didn't disappoint! I was smitten, she hadn't decided yet. I know, heartbreaking... again. HOWEVER, my boyish good looks and charming Personality won the day. Truthfully, God had his hand in all of this because frankly, this is absurd but it is so US, and I wouldn't have it any other way. <3

To be honest, the first time I met Matthew is all a blur. A few days before meeting him, I was suffering from food poisoning or the flu, which I called it deliverance and I really wanted to stay home and recover. However, I had a photoshoot already booked in Lahaina, so I got dressed up, put a mask on just in case, and prepared to head out. Right before leaving, I remembered that my guitar tuner that had been broken for about a month. A few friends had suggested getting it fixed at a place called “Bounty Music.” I had never heard of the shop before, and for some reason I thought it was on the way to Lahaina (which it is not even close to), so I decided to drop off the guitar before driving out. As soon as I entered the store, there were workers and customers inside. I couldn’t bring myself to leave without sharing about Jesus. While I was talking with one of the workers at Bounty, another person popped up — that was Matthew. He asked me a few questions and, before I left, said to me, “Do you want to go flying?” I responded, “Uhm, sure?” as I rushed out the door to head to Lahaina. I didn’t think much of it at the time honestly. About a week later, I returned to the store to pick up my guitar. Matthew said, “We left you a voicemail that your guitar is ready,” which I never received. Before I left, he asked again, “Did you still want to go flying? as he handed me his number, which I promptly lost— which it still is to this day. I said, “Yeah, sure.” A few days later, while going through my work phone messages, I realized Matthew had texted me, and I also found the voicemail he left the week prior to picking up the guitar. I decided to text him back to apologize for not responding. Within seconds, he replied, “Which days are you available for flying?” The day before our first “flying date” I realized I had to fly to Oahu for a previously scheduled conference, so we had to postpone our first meeting. When I returned, Matthew messaged me and offered to take me to dinner instead. I said, “Okay, that sounds great.” However, on the day of our dinner, I realized it was a 30-minute drive for me, and I debated rescheduling, but I told myself, “I already said yes.” As I was driving, my phone died. When I plugged it into the charger, I realized it wasn’t charging. That’s when I discovered my bunnies had chewed right through my charging cable. I had to rely on my memory and gut to find a place I had only been to once, a long time ago... at night. When I finally arrived, he was gone. The waiter told me a gentleman had been waiting but had left. I felt awful. As I was about to leave, the waiter tried calling him but reached voicemail. Another waiter texted him and then ran after me to say he was waiting in the parking lot. I felt terrible and tried my best to make dinner enjoyable, thinking that this would be our last meeting. I shared how I came to Hawaii, my ministry, and my journey. My talkativeness and faith didn’t scare him away. We connected over our love for our grandparents, and as we were leaving, he asked about my next availability. Matthew continued to gracefully pursue me, and we did go on our first flight date, and to all you can eat KBBQ and to Haleakala Ranch. He also gifted me 18 phone chargers. We had few new hiccups but with his perseverance and patience won my heart in a big way. I am so thankful he waited for the 45 minutes which allowed this miracle. Now, I cannot imagine a future without him.