Gallery

On January 7th, 2024 Eduarda and I met for the first time. We shook hands, and I felt that she had a little bit of trouble letting go of mine.

We didn't get to know each other too well before it was time for me to go back to school. Eduarda and I both agree that God was putting our interactions on hold, and for good reason.

I remember us waving goodbye to each other from a distance at church. We both smiled.

Three months later I was back in Palm Coast. Less than 24 hours after my return, Eduarda and I saw each other again at a youth service in Calvary.

Eduarda would later tell me that she was trying to act as nonchalant as possible when she first saw me.

I was also excited to see her, and similarly, was very nonchalant about that.

After service that night, she admitted some car troubles to me. Upon realizing that she had close to zero oil in her car, I told her what kind she needed and to get it asap.

Because of this, for the first time we were able to hang out together. We drove to Walmart in search of oil.

During our visit, we had lots of laughs, and lots of questions for each other. Eduarda made it really fun. I was finally starting to get to know her, but I was still hesitant to show that I was enjoying it as much as she was.

The next day, there was a young adults community night at Calvary. Eduarda told me she would be there, so I wanted to go too.

That night, she and I talked and talked. I told her all about my college experiences. Then we got hungry, and decided to get some food together

After the food, we had another amazing conversation. One that enabled me to imagine a life with Eduarda as something truer than reality. I really liked her.

Ironically enough, the first thing I said to her before our “amazing conversation” was that I was not ready for a relationship. And that was true, because I didn’t know certain things about her that I would find out a couple hours later. Funny how that happened.

After much prayer, contemplation, and journaling, one day went by. I changed my mind. I wanted to ask Eduarda to be my girlfriend.

After confessing this to her, and attempting to kiss her, she refused me. She needed me to speak with her parents first. That only made me fall in love with her more.

On May 24th, 2024, Eduarda and I officially began dating. Not long after, I knew she would be my wife. There was no doubt.

We have been dating for a little over one year, and it has been the most beautiful, chaotic, and exciting time of my life. God’s love shines through Eduarda to me, and it shines from me to her. For the rest of our lives, my wish is for us to continually be that light for one another.