One of my favorite Bible texts is Romans 8:28. "And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." I look back on the story of how we met and see all the ways God worked things out to bring us together. It was probably a good thing for me that we didn't meet growing up. Knowing Suzie's soft heart, she would have been kind to young Donny, but we're both pretty confident that the chemistry might not have been there. I think one look at my striped polos tucked into khaki pants and overhearing a few of my corny jokes would have cured her of any romantic delusions. The first time I heard about Suzie was the summer of 2014 when I came home for a few weeks after my freshman year of college. My good friend Hannah pulled me aside at church and told me about a girl she thought I should meet. According to Hannah she was really smart and super nice. Several years passed, life went on, and I almost forgot about that conversation. It wasn't until after graduating from Andrews University when I moved to Loma Linda for medical school that Suzie and I first crossed paths. Around that time I started cycling as a hobby and to get exercise and followed Suzie on Strava, a popular app for people to post their rides. I noticed that she rode a lot, and saw an opportunity to meet her. I was bummed when she couldn't make that first bike ride, but she offered another time and we met up with Hannah to ride close to Loma Linda. After that ride we decided to bike together with a group of friends every week. Biking together led to studying together, and from there our story almost wrote itself.

After dating for about a year, I began scheming how to pop the question in a way that would surprise Suzie. Given my poor track record of planning surprise birthday parties in the past, combined with her ability to sniff out surprise schemes, I knew that a surprise proposal would be a challenge. To help with the details and execution, I reached out to my good friend Luke. Several years earlier, I was there as Luke proposed to his now wife Esther, so in helping me out, Luke brought things full circle. After a meal together and attending church, the plan was to go for a hike all together. After the hike, Luke and Esther excused themselves under the pretense of visiting an old friend. Instead, Luke put on a camouflage ghillie suit and hid in a bush opposite the engagement spot in the hills behind Loma Linda. The critical moment of the plan fell to Luke, who called Suzie to inform her Esther had left her phone near a bench that we had visited on the hike earlier that morning, and asked if we could look for it. I had planned a few sentences to let Suzie know that the real reason for walking into Hulda Crooks wasn't to find a phone and give her a heads up that I was actually planning to pop the question. But the setup and story about finding the lost phone was so convincing that it wasn't until she the flowers and picture board that Luke and Esther had helped to set up that Suzie realized what was happening. The rest of the evening was spent celebrating with friends and family.

The first time I heard about Donn was through a college friend, Hannah! Hannah and I studied together for many of our classes as we were both pre-dental students at Southern Adventist University. During one of our study sessions, Hannah told me about her childhood friend Donn and said that he was a really nice, athletic, and smart guy, and that I should meet him. I didn't think much of it because Donn was at Andrews and I was at Southern and focused on school. After a few years, I started dental school and in the spring of my third year, COVID hit. Classes were all online and we had no clinic so all I had was time. Thankfully that is when my interest and love for cycling really peaked. Leisa and I had bought bikes together less than a year ago and were really into cycling. We would record our rides on an app called Strava where your friends could see where you rode and who you rode with. One day, Donn started to follow me on Strava. I didn't know him personally, but I had seen him a few times because his housemate Vance was a good friend of mine from SAU. Sometime in July, Donn messaged me and asked if I would want to go on a ride with him and his friend Hannah. My classes had just started up again and I was not able to make it, but suggested we could go on a ride all together on Sabbath. So the three of us met on Sabbath morning and rode the Santa Ana Trails together. We had a great time and I invited them to ride with our biking group that biked every Wednesday morning! It wasn't until a later bike ride that Hannah told me Donn was the guy she had talked about back in college! Time went on and Donn and I became good friends and started to study together and hang out more. I guess the rest is history!

Getting to know Donn was really easy! We shared many hobbies and both picked up new ones. Donn taught me how to surf and golf, and I introduced Donn to rock climbing! Although we aren't very good at our newly found hobbies, we enjoy learning together! As time went on, we were both excited for what God had in store for us. Early last year, Donn told me that his good friend Luke and his wife Esther were coming to California to visit and meet me. Since Donn was busy with school, he asked if I could plan the weekend, and I agreed! Although April of 2022 was the first time I had just met Luke and Esther, I felt like I already knew them for years. They were so friendly, kind, and funny! Watching Donn interact with Luke, I could tell why they were good friends. They shared the same energy and humor, and we all enjoyed each other's company! I had the whole weekend planned out. On Sabbath we were going to go to church, then on a sabbath-afternoon hike, and end the day by going to a Korean restaurant in Diamond Bar because Donn said Luke and Esther loved Korean food. Luke and Esther told us after church that they had a friend they wanted to visit before dinner so they would drive separately and meet us at the restaurant. A few minutes before Donn and I were about to leave for the restaurant, Luke had called us and said that Esther had left her phone where we had hiked earlier. Quickly, we drove to Hulda Crooks and started walking up the trail again. I was in a hurry as we were going to be late to meet Luke and Esther at the restaurant. As we were walking up, Donn said we weren't going up to pick up Esther's phone and then started saying things I honestly don't remember because I thought he was just joking. I was so focused on finding Esther's phone! Soon enough, we turned a corner, and there was a nice setup with flowers and pictures. That's when I realized we really weren't going to get Esther's phone! Donn got down on one knee and proposed and I said YES! Luke had been hiding far away taking pictures and Esther had set up the blanket, flowers, and pictures! Then all of a sudden my sister Angie, friends, and Donn's brother Josh popped out of no where and congratulated us! I have to say I was completely surprised and was shocked by how good of an actor and actress Luke and Esther were. Donn put so much effort into planning the whole surprise and I was very touched!