Liz and Brayden first met at Church at the Cross during a Young Adults event in the fall of 2022. One of them doesn't recall the encounter, and the other stands three inches below the average male height, but neither realized this would be the start of a lifelong friendship. Over the next year, their friendship grew slowly. Liz, a fourth grade English Language Arts teacher, also served as a small group leader for sixth grade girls at church and coached a senior girls select volleyball team. Brayden, in his second year out from Texas A&M, helped with the Welcome team on Sunday mornings, Young Adults on Thursdays, and Men's breakfast. Even in this early stage of their friendship, Brayden and Liz admired each other's servant hearts. In May of 2023, the Lord called Liz's father, Rocky Gene Williams, home. The funeral was a day of both grief and celebration, mourning the loss of a man who loved selflessly while praising God for the gift of Rocky's life. Liz and her two brothers spoke of their Dad's legacy and their hope in Christ. Though Brayden never met Rocky Gene, he witnessed the impact Rocky had on others' lives. The Holy Spirit empowered Liz to testify of the Lord's faithfulness, which grew in Brayden a desire to know her more. After the funeral, the two houses (aka the girl house: Liz, Emma, and Deborah and the guy house: Brayden, Kelson, Ian, and Andrew) began to spend more time together and serve on the Life Task Force on weekends. Their friendship deepened through these shared experiences, and Liz felt encouraged by the way Brayden was kind and compassionate towards her in the weeks and months following her dad’s passing. Brayden then went on a trip to Colorado with nine other men from Church at the Cross. Amidst the mountains and conversations, he found himself eager to return and talk with Liz. Shortly after his return, Liz came back from being a camp counselor for adults with special needs. At a gathering at Liz's house, both felt drawn to each other in a new way. Liz and Brayden also formed a special friendship with the Carpenter family: Manley, Melissa, and Maevry. One evening, Liz joined "the guy house" to visit the Carpenters, intending to give Manley and Melissa a break during a difficult time. However, Maevry had other plans, whisking Liz away for an impromptu girls' night at the waterpark. This unexpected turn allowed the guys to pray with Manley as they learned of the family's impending move to South Carolina. That evening, Brayden realized the gift it would be to do ministry with Liz and decided it was time to take the next step. After returning home, he asked Liz out on their first date. By God's grace, she said 'yes'. During dating, both Brayden and Liz continued to seek wisdom and guidance from the Lord. They wanted to continue to build a friendship that was rooted in Christ. Even when there were some hard days, both Liz and Brayden appreciated how in the midst of hardship the other would point them back to Christ. This led to thankfulness and praise for who God is and how He chooses to use His people to encourage and uplift one another. As months passed, Liz and Brayden began to see the beauty of doing life together more. They enjoyed getting to talk about Scripture together, two stepping, jamming out in the car, watching airplanes land at Founder's Plaza, and the little moments in between. In addition, Brayden walked alongside Liz in the midst of a griefshare class after losing her father. He was willing to sit with her, pray for her, and encourage her as she processed through her first year without her dad. Within all of these experiences, Liz and Brayden realized they loved one another and wanted to pursue a lifelong ministry of serving and pursuing Jesus together. After some months of planning, Brayden asked Liz to marry him on July 7th, 2024 at Church at the Cross, and she said “YES!”.