Our Story

Question

Initial Meeting

Answer

As with all great beginnings, it started at a taco shop. In July of 2022, fresh out of a pandemic, Ainsley and Darren went with mutual friends to get some fresh air and tacos right next to the Hudson River. The evening was lighthearted and refreshing, filled with laughter, funny stories and of course… controversial topics as they sat by a fire pit at a nearby friend’s house (Thanks Liv 😉). Ainsley played the piano, Darren attempted to juggle marshmallows, all the while having no idea this night was the start of something much bigger. The result is summed up nicely by the words of close friends: Garet told Darren, “Okay. Okay. I get it. She is awesome; curly hair, so spiritual, and plays piano.” Olivia said to Ainsley, “I can tell you like him. He’s sweet, funny, spiritual, and can juggle. He’s just your type!”

Question

Darren Visits the Burgh

Answer

Fast forward a year of life experience and Darren found himself going to Pittsburgh with his friend Ellis for a weekend escape. The plan for the weekend was jam packed; dinner, meeting, Football Card Party, and Kennywood (a local amusement park). What is a “Football Card Party” you might ask though. Well in short, it is a football themed spinoff of spades originating from the pre-pandemic days. Ainsley found out Ellis had invited Darren (without asking her of course) and she just invited more people to even out the numbers. Somehow someway, they ended up on the same team and, to this day, Ainsley swears it was not rigged. They had a great time playing together even though they lost. Amongst the excitement of the day, they noticed each other yet again. The next day, a large group of witnesses met up at Kennywood, but it did not seem so big to Ainsley and Darren. Again, the best summaries come from those around them: Ellis asked Darren, “So uh, do you like Ainsley? You talked to her like the whole time.” His response, “You need to invite her to visit… Soon.” Ainsley said to a close friend of hers, “So, I might like a guy...” She replied immediately with a grin, “Does his name start with a D?”

Question

Ainsley Visits Bethel

Answer

Covert operations had begun to arrange another meeting. As you could imagine, living 6 hours apart makes it hard to meet “by chance.” So when Ainsley received an invite from Ellis to visit Warwick with her brother out of the blue, she had some suspicions. Hoping that her suspicions were true, she decided to come. Darren worried about what to cook and decided to do something easy. He could hear the advice of his 101 year-old-grandma ringing in his head, “Do something simple and don’t create a standard you can’t keep.” Ainsley was anxious about getting there late, and made sure they left home early… very early. They got to Warwick 45 minutes early and had to park on the side of the road and wait. Wesley was not amused. Darren and Ainsley spent the weekend together with friends and enjoyed every moment of it. Hugs goodbye felt painful for both, but the elephant remained hidden in the corner of the room.

Question

It Begins

Answer

Ainsley and Darren continued to text, and talk… and text. The questions circled in their minds. Does she like me? Does he want me to start the conversation? Am I ready for this? They learned more and more about each other. Ainsley could clearly see that Darren was someone who worked hard for Jehovah and for others, and she felt like she could talk to him about anything. Both talked with mature friends and prayed a lot. Darren even went on a hiking trip with Casey and Garet and discussed what to do next. He prayed. He hiked. He talked to himself (Casey and Garet were done with it). He prayed again… and he had his answer. Darren called her the next day and asked her out. Ainsley said yes immediately. It came almost as easily as another yes she would say months later. …and so began the journey. The journey of merging two lives. The math is simple though. Ainsley + Darren + Jehovah = Infinite possibilities