In the fall of 2022 I noticed a shy, quiet, reserved guy coming to the young adults program at our home every wednesday night. What struck me was that he brought his highlighted bible and took notes every week: something I absolutely love doing. I also noticed his integrity, and his passion for the Lord… I saw how gentle, and strong he was. Throughout several months Christian started coming over more than once a week which started in January, as he helped my sister through one of the hardest times of her life. The way she loved him drew my heart's attention, and the way he cared for her did as well. We started getting to know each other a little bit over the span of a few months, and then February rolled around…

I remember the first time I saw Sunshine, she was on stage at church worshiping and I was struck. But our story actually begins with her little sister, Journey, who I first met in Extreme (our church's 5th-6th grade youth group). Along with her mom, Emily, we developed a close but very competitive relationship. And it was through this relationship that Emily invited me to her and Mr. Tanner’s young adult bible study at their house. Here I learned Sunshine’s name and found out she was Emily’s daughter and Journey’s sister. We inevitably exchanged a few awkward hellos and even the occasional awkward conversation. But I kept my distance as we weren’t exactly in the same age bracket. As luck would have it, Journey made the first move while during a game of basketball, she said “you should ask my sister out”. Which unbeknownst to me would be the first domino to fall.

One late evening on Valentine’s Day I (with the help of my siblings) sent a flirtatious text message that caught Christian’s attention. Christian called and talked to my mom immediately after receiving the text, and she encouraged him to do only what God called him to and to pray about it. I also prayed, and prayed. A few days and a lunch sack later, Christian took the matter to his family, and even our pastor where he found inevitable support and a green light. Soon after, he talked to my dad and asked his blessing to begin a blossoming courtship.

The next domino would be an unsolicited, not-so-subtly flirtatious text, apparently endorsed by her whole family. During this time I only ever heard about Sunshine’s heart for the Lord and all about her character, having seen a little bit for myself. And after a few conversations with her mom and more than a little nudging from God and my own mother, I went to my family and friends for advice and after receiving it in the affirmative I went to our pastor, and then, finally, I went to Mr. Tanner to ask to court Sunshine. So our courtship began in February. Then, shortly thereafter, I was asking her dad for Sunshine’s hand.

The day before we got engaged I heard someone on the radio talk about seeing Bonnie and Clyde’s grave stones. While the both of us absolutely love history, I thought this to be the best idea ever! Because I wasn’t very patient in waiting to get engaged I told my mom that I would be taking him tomorrow and proposing to him at the Bonnie and Clyde cemetery instead of our “normal” date night that he had planned. Little did I know we were going to be engaged the next day. Thank the Lord and true to her straight forward advice she told me to calm down and that it had only been 5 months (she knew everything as her and Christian are very close). After some protesting I conceded my only half hearted idea. As the next day came what started as a seemingly normal date night plan to Osuba (a favorite date spot) soon turned into the best night of my life. HOWEVER! I still told Christian that we should go to the cemetery tonight on our date. We saw the gravestones, ate sushi (Not osuba), and then went back home. At the truck he told me that he had a super romantic idea, so I followed him down to the bridge (the place he asked me to be his girlfriend shortly after we began courtship)! Before I knew it we were slow dancing to two really sentimental songs of ours. In the middle of the second song, he spun me, and when I turned around he hit his knee. I was in shock. Then the most beautiful lights came on everywhere over the bridge in the forest behind my house! It was on his knee that he promised to love me and tell me for the rest of his life if I would be his wife!

Emily helped me pick out a ring that Sunshine would like. I planned a surprise Engagement on the same bridge at the back of her paren’ts house where I asked her to be my girlfriend. With Mr. Tanner’s and her siblings’ help we hung lights in the trees and rigged them to a remote. After some delay running around a couple cemeteries (which was a last minute wrench in my plans courtesy of Sunshine) looking for the last resting places of Bonnie and Clyde, a traffic jam, a moment of panic from some red and blue lights, we managed to arrive at the house an hour later than planned. But once on the bridge it all went off without a hitch. We danced to two of our songs, I spun her and hit my knee. And by the Grace of God she said yes!