“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” psalm 34:3

Nearly 8 years ago, at church camp, I looked up and from across the room I saw a boy. The camp directors had said numerous times that we were NOT there to find our future husband or wife, but God had a different plan in store for us. The moment my eyes landed on Noah Sturtz, I felt something new. I had been gifted a sudden courage to talk to him. Though I had never been brave enough to talk to a boy before, I took this chance. We introduced ourselves and exchanged contact information. I’m sure, even to this day, that my face was tomato red and my stomach was full of big, tangly knots. Pushing that aside, I messaged the cute boy from church camp. Over the next few days, we talked and learned little bits about each other. I loved watching him in the camp games—he was so full of joy, no matter if he won or lost. That same night, we stayed up past curfew texting because neither of us wanted to say goodbye. On the last night, under twinkling string lights and the glow of the fire, I held onto the moment, unsure if we would ever see each other again. As we walked back to our cabins, I sang a song to him, and we talked outside until the cabin directors sent him back. After camp, we went home—about 3 hours apart—and spent the summer texting, calling, and FaceTiming, learning as much as we could about each other. He is adamant that he remembers more of these conversations than me but I’m sure I do. As time went on, life got busy, and we didn’t talk every day anymore. But we made a pact to reach out at least once a year—and for 5 years, we did just that, sharing the good, the bad, and everything in between. Eventually, as we reached adulthood, we started talking almost daily again and made plans to meet in person. After our first date, still living 3 hours apart, I knew we would be more than just friends. But I didn’t know how we’d make it work living so far apart. After about half a year of talking, I felt led to move and started looking for places in Iowa City but nothing was working. I tried again in Des Moines but even that wouldn’t work. Eventually my sister recommended I try Ames due to a large portion of the population being close to my age and I figured I’d try. The very first night I looked for an apartment I felt as if I found the perfect one. After choosing it, I realized it was in the same area as Noah—and then discovered we were in the same building… on the same floor… even sharing a wall (next door neighbors). I knew this was nothing short of God’s hand at work. After a few more months of growing closer, Noah planned a romantic sunset picnic with fruit, treats, and wine and cheese. We read the Bible together, and on June 11, 2024, he asked me to be his girlfriend—and I said yes. We spent the next year and 8 months going on dates, having adventures, and staying up late just to learn more about each other. Some of my favorite dates were spent at Adventureland on rides, or in the water park , or out in nature on walks and hammocking. I couldn’t count on my hands the amount of moments that felt straight out of a romantic movie or book. These moments would steal my attention to him and him alone and the world around us would shift to the background, barely noticeable. On February 28, 2026, would be another moment that the world faded away and it was just us. Noah planned the most special day. We went ice skating under the stars, with the city lights glowing behind us. On the ice, to the first song I ever sang to him, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Through tears of joy, I said yes. That brings us here—planning a celebration to share. We are blessed to have you join us in the next part of our story, a future memory never forgotten.

Analysa and I met 8 years ago at Sunstream Retreat Center (church camp), as we both attended Assembly of God churches. I first caught a few glimpses of Analysa and thought she was really cute. But the crisis I wasn’t expecting hit… I was nervous to talk to her! Thankfully, she got the courage to come talk to me while we were waiting in line for lunch, and I am forever grateful she did. We spent the next few days talking (flirting) every chance we got during outdoor games. I loved that she had the same positive, bubbly personality as me, while also being so caring and loving toward others. I showed off my noncompetitive, carefree side during games, while her giggling gave me the confidence to keep going (and to keep trolling). She even stole my sunglasses during a game of steal-the-bacon and was obviously flirting. I knew she liked me, and I thought she knew I liked her, but apparently I was too “nonchalant” for her to tell. As camp wrapped up, we had a magical moment walking under the stars after the infamous campfire. We said our goodbyes and promised to stay in touch. Over the years, we had long FaceTimes filled with laughter, deep conversations, and plenty of flirting. In the back of my mind, I thought she was the perfect girl, but that it would never work out as she lived three hours away. Even my parents thought highly of her—my mom would always say, “What about that Ana girl from camp?” Toward the end of my college career, we reconnected and rekindled that spark—right before she moved to Ames! We spent many days hammocking, playing tennis, hiking, and having long, meaningful conversations. One spontaneous date had us run, dance and splash in the torrential downpour of rain from a thunderstorm as my speaker blared music. We were soaked, but so were our brains with endorphins, dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin as wonderful memories were being made! Another time, during light snowfall, we slow danced outside, just enjoying each other’s presence in the magical moment. Eventually, it was time to ask her to be my girlfriend. After we both finished a fast with the Lord, I knew the the time was now, and the moment had to be special because she deserves the world. I planned a picnic at Ada Hayden Park with all the fixings—including our Bibles. We walked and talked for awhile (she later said she thought that’s when I’d ask, since I had spent a solid hour scouring the park for the perfect spot). At sunset I asked her to be mine—and she said yes! We even overheard some kids riding by saying, “Aww, that’s so cute… they’re on a date,” which made us chuckle. As time went on, we dreamed about our future and made unforgettable memories—one that is engrained in my brain brain was when we danced on the rooftop of The Historical Building in downtown Des Moines while Ana sang songs from The Greatest Showman, and we frolicked around the Capital. When it came time to plan the proposal, I wanted it to be perfect, so I planned to propose while ice skating. After three weeks of planning, everything started going wrong—the rink opened late, and I couldn’t get a hold of them to play our song. I kept texting my best friend Abhi updates, and he helped coordinate everything with our families (thank you, Abhi!). I had a whole speech planned—but when I got down on one knee, Ana started crying, and I forgot half of it. I was so nervous I almost forgot to pull out the ring! As our song played (the one she sang at camp), the entire rink watched and recorded. Some teenage girls gushed, a sweet girl skated by saying “congratulations,” and a little boy rolled past saying, “ewwwww” right after we kissed. And just like that, Analysa became my fiancée. Our story will continue to flourish until death do us part, and we’re so excited for you to be part of this next chapter of our lives. God bless you, and may God bless our marriage. :)