In mid-December 2024, Tyler shared his name and city (then, Chicago) on a Catholic Dating/Matchmaking post on Instagram. While Tyler likes to think it’s because Melisa thought his profile picture was cute, Melisa admits she liked his profile simply because “he was across the country so it had no chance of turning into anything.” Ha! A few Instagram DMs eventually led to text messages. A phone call was agreed upon for shortly after Christmas. While Melisa drove back from a wedding in a torrential Louisiana thunderstorm, Tyler sat in his Chicago apartment and hit the call button. One topic led to the next. After 6 hours, they agreed they should probably go. Tyler hung up and thought, “Wow, I feel like she could end up being my wife.” Needless to say, another call was scheduled. The hours on the phone and FaceTime quickly accumulated! They clicked pretty instantly. In early January, Melisa let it slip that she would like if Tyler came to meet her in Louisiana. The one problem - Tyler was in the middle of his extremely busy basketball/work season. After some discussion, Melisa decided to make the leap of faith and accept Tyler’s offer to come to Chicago first. The flights were then booked. In her prayer while preparing for the trip, she questioned how this was all going to logistically work out… but journaled that this might just be her husband, so she was going to take the chance. The “first date” was four days in Chicago at the start of February. They visited the zoo, went to the Bean, and hopped around to some of Tyler’s favorite places in the area. When Tyler took Melisa to pray at St. Stanislaus Kostka, she shared the first of many “God Winks” in their relationship- the town she grew up in was San Estanislao, Colombia and her church there was called San Estanislao de Kostka… By the end of the weekend, Tyler and Melisa were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. There were many airline miles accumulated in the months that followed. As Tyler discerned a surprise job offer in Texas in May, Melisa was at the top of his mind. And she was pretty happy with his decision. Since then, FaceTime has continued to be a Godsend, but the time in-person has been full of joy and blessed by God in so many ways. Melisa brings the fun and flair (and the dance moves!), while Tyler is the steady rock she has prayed for. Their love is full of laughs and love for the Lord.