The internet is where you can buy groceries, listen to music, get tickets, and, occasionally, find love.

We met by matching with one another on Tinder, and I must say we both had invested some time in our bios! We chatted for a couple of weeks, and the interest in seeing each other's faces in person was just growing day by day.

Someday in October of 2022, we had our first date. We walked through Old Town Alexandria's waterfront on a chilly autumn evening. We delved into philosophical discussions about life. We even ate chicken wings in front of one another, which is not a particularly elegant meal for a first date... But, as you may imagine, sparks flew as we talked, and we found we had a connection unlike any we'd ever known.

And yes, the Alex's had their first date in Alexandria. A most auspicious portent, is it not?!

A month later, we made it official and became boyfriends. We were both thinking, "Yes, I got him!"

Life started to be better having a partner, a friend to share everything with: The good and the bad, the best and the worst.

Along our relationship, we talked about how we were living similar lives in a different context, just like a metaverse. We were both social people, we both had strong family ties, we both enjoyed psychology, religion, horror movies, and cooking. Oddly, we both wanted to learn Biblical Hebrew, too! In this life, we realized quite quickly, that we were granted the opportunity to run into each other, quite literally, by the grace of God.

By Christmastime that year, we were in Michigan sharing the festivities and getting to meet the in-laws (Swains) for the first time after a couple of FaceTime calls. This was amazing. As you may know, Raúl (for the effect of the story) is from Honduras, and definitely the cold is not his element. But he survived the cold and the festivities, perhaps even thrived in them (though his ice skating form needs some work). And if you know the Swains, you know how serious Christmas is for them. This may have been the biggest culture shock of the experience - and it was wonderful!

Life was doing its thing, moving along, and bringing challenges to motivate us. And indeed, it brought motivation and more love to us. Through the hardships of a packed schedule with Seminary education, and the trials and travails of the job market, the two of us found ourselves leaning on, needing, one another more and more each day!

Summer of 2023 came and we got to have a trial version of living together in different spaces. Well, that was an amazing experience, and we wanted more of that time together, sharing life!

November of 2023, we knew we were going to get engaged after many conversations and planning. We decided to make it a surprise for each other. It's hard to surprise someone with something they know will happen. Raúl came up with a plan to propose to Alex, but what he didn't expect was that Alex was bringing his ring to propose too. Raúl proposed to Alex, and after saying yes, Alex proposed to him. Yes, a double proposal, lovely!

For thanksgiving we took a trip to New York and was the first time Alex met Raúl family and the connection was immediate. We celebrated thanksgiving and Alex felt like home, surrounded in the midst of loving people and good food. Our families, we realized, are also very similar in their love for a jolly get-together!

Today, we are planning our wedding and so excited to continue doing life together and bring this commitment to God's eyes. We are doing our best to receive you, dear guests, with our hearts open to celebrate our love and to be part of this joined life celebration.