On August 16, 2020, I met Megan at Redeemer Community Church through her roommate Jess. I immediately thought that something was different about Megan, which I relayed to my roommate Joe. She obviously was cute, but through conversation I saw more. I loved the way she was such a strong listener, how she cared so deeply about others and the Lord and how passionate she was about those with disabilities and being a speech language pathologist. After confiding in several friends about my feelings, I took a slow and careful approach. I talked to her in group settings, subtly got her phone number from Jess, and "purposely" sat next to her in small group. By the end of September I was committed to asking her on a date. On Thursday, October 8, after small group, I semi-awkwardly expressed my feelings to her, which she joyfully expressed the same. Our first date was two days later. We went to Viva Mas, walked the B-line, and shared our testimonies at the Woodburn Clock Tower. From the first day on, there have been many laughs and special moments. From petting donkeys and llamas to going to Christmas at the Zoo in Indy, to making gift bags for friends on Valentine's Day, to doing our own easter egg hunt, I found myself falling in love more and more every day with her character and how she pushed me to be a better man of the Lord. Megan is an incredible woman of sacrifice. I remember on March 12, 2021, I went to the Emergency Room for a lot of pain with a kidney stone. Megan stayed with me throughout the whole day even being exhausted from being out of town. That was the first day I truly wanted to marry her and I loved her. In early July, I asked Megan’s dad for the blessing for marriage as a whole and then began planning out an extravagant proposal with many of my friends. On August 21, I planned out a scavenger hunt with many of the important people in our lives, and with our families, at Redeemer, I proposed to the love of my life.

When I met Kyle on August 16, 2020, my immediate impression was that he was abundantly welcoming, and I loved hearing about his job as a special education teacher. Later that day, I embarrassed myself as his unathletic partner in a frisbee game, and he was teasing (of course) but incredibly gracious. Over the next few weeks, we had several conversations in groups with friends. Immediately, Kyle's love for the Lord and intentional care for people was so evident. Kyle invited me to the Redeemer community group he attended, and I looked forward every week to sitting next to him so I could talk to him after the group. Contrary to all my insistence that I "didn't have time" to pursue a relationship during grad school, I found myself quickly attracted to his genuine character. I prayed a lot about my feelings for Kyle, and I felt nothing but peace about him. As I would later learn, Jess had known for weeks that Kyle was interested in me. Kyle asked me out after community group on October 8, and our first date two days later consisted of Mexican food, followed by several hours of walking through downtown Bloomington and IU's campus while we talked about life and the Lord's work in each of us. Again, I felt overwhelming peace. Since that first date, we’ve had many others and done a lot of daily life together! We’ve laughed often, cooked together, worked/studied together, shared some hard conversations, and learned so much from each other about God, life, conflict, grace, and love. When Kyle was in the ER with his kidney stone on March 12, I remembering wanting nothing more than to be at his side that night. That was when I knew I loved him and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Kyle continues to make me laugh often, challenge me, and push me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. On August 21, 2021, he surprised me with the most intentional scavenger hunt including our friends and family, then got down on one knee, and I said “YES!” to forever with him!