June 4th...we can't wait for it!

Christina asked me out. I told her that I liked bike riding at a soccer game and she orchestrated a bike ride the following day. Little did I know that as we cycled through the hills of Maryland, that a couple years later I would get to call this woman my wife! I was recently asked what I love about Christina. Christina has a heart that loves people regardless of the circumstances. She notices people in a way that few do. Encouragement should be her middle name and it is not uncommon for her to empower me, even when I feel defeated. Most importantly, she is always pointing me towards my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! From climbing water towers to adopting a baby fox to travelling to Tanzania to skinny dipping in the lake (oh wait, that's after marriage ;) ), I am overwhelmed with how much love I have for Christina Marie Van Wingerden and I am excited to spend the rest of my life with her as we seek the Lord in all we do! - Andrew

I officially met Andrew at a soccer practice on June 15, 2019. We were a random team with most of us meeting for the first time at that practice. There were three Andrews, but one in particular stood out to me. I had heard about Andrew DiDio from friends who wanted me to go to the Bible study he leads at his house on Friday nights, but up to that point I hadn’t gone due to work and just plain cowardness. However, when he invited me at soccer practice, I was sold! The next Friday my best friend and I went to the Bible Study, which ironically was doing a series on Dating. Andy Stanley was advocating taking a break from dating and dedicating the next year to being single. I convinced myself that Andrew was going to do the year of singleness so that I wouldn’t be so nervous around him. After every Bible study I would help him keep the fire bowl burning ensuring that it always had enough wood to buy more time with him. While we were both burning up next to the fire in the summer heat, Andrew and I would discuss our thoughts on the Bible study and would end up just talking about our lives. After a summer of sweaty fire bowls and thoroughly stalking him on all existing social media (and accidentally becoming his only subscriber on YouTube), I was really hoping Andrew did not take the year of singleness challenge! Thankfully he hadn’t, and on August 12, 2019 he took me out on a date. My first, and last first date. Since then I have been continually amazed by the man that I now have the privilege of calling my fiancé! He strives to live according to God’s will by regularly evaluating his life based on the standard of bringing glory to God. One of the things I admire most about Andrew is his discipline to quickly eliminate anything that does not fulfill that criteria. Andrew has helped me grow closer to the Lord through his example of being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. He is a servant-leader that I have the honor of following for the rest of my life!