once upon a dream

I first met Amanda when my family moved into the Cooper Mountain Congregation in 2007. My family was assigned to attend the weekly Bible study at her family's house. She eventually caught my eye. So obviously I started talking to her and we became close friends. Fast forward a few years and I begin regular pioneering, and I was more confident and outgoing than ever. I was great at holding a conversation, both at the door and with any of my numerous friends and acquaintances. She was immediately smitten, and I have to admit she was pretty great too. We pioneered together for many years and became close friends before I left to join the Japanese congregation, breaking her heart. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and asked to start dating me. After dating for a while, I decided I might as well propose on September 16, before moving back to English. That pretty much covers it.

A serious story. In 2007, Josiah's family moved into the congregation I'd been attending since 1997. Eventually they were assigned to book study at my family's home. I remember his sister being there. I have zero memories of Josiah being there, although he assures me he was. Josiah was always shy and quiet, and we essentially had zero interaction for the next several years. I had been pioneering for a while in 2017, when Josiah joined the pioneer ranks as well. We had a close knit, often gregarious group of pioneers and I made it my mission to break this shy, quiet, slightly awkward newbie out of his shell. With some time and lots of questions and teasing, he eventually warmed up and became one of my favorite pioneer partners. Over the next 3 years, we shared the same service schedule and often worked together. It's true what they say... one of the best ways to get to know someone is to spend time in the field ministry with them, and after 15-20 hours a week together in a car, we definitely knew each other well. He was one of my dearest friends and I grew to appreciate the growth I saw in his emotional and spiritual maturity over the years. In fact, I seriously considered setting him up with another friend, feeling he was going to make someone an excellent husband one day. In 2019/2020 Josiah joined the Japanese language class and soon after, the congregation (despite his other exaggerations and how proud I was of his reaching out... I definitely was sad at heart to lose him). During that time, some major changes in my circumstances led to my stepping down from pioneer service temporarily, and for a time I felt like I'd lost my identity. His encouragement and kindness, while they were definitely in character and of no surprise to me, sincerely touched my heart. It was that same kindness that led to my first inkling of seeing him in a different light. I was very convinced, however, that he had always, and would always, see me as no more than a friend. It would still be months before he admitted not just that he had feelings for me now, but that the shy awkward kid I didn't remember at book study had been crushing too. We started dating during the summer, and I found I'd never been so comfortable with another person. I knew from the start, he was the kind of man I wanted to marry. I'm so grateful now for the time we had, with no pressure or pretense, to get to know each other and truly become best friends. He proposed, September 16th, at the Happiest Place on Earth (my happy place) and while it wasn't quite the surprise he'd hoped for, it was certainly everything I could have hoped for.