I met Andrew at Arizona Christian University in August 2021. We quickly became good friends, eventually hanging out together every day. We started talking more, and our unofficial first date was Waffle House at 4am. As someone who is chronically oblivious, I didn’t realize that he liked me. In October, we were watching Stranger Things in the Tower when he put his arm around me, only to grab the apple cider next to me and then move his hand! At that point, I hadn’t realized I liked him, but I definitely felt the butterflies. A little later, he went to tap me on the shoulder and then just left his arm around my shoulder, and I knew at that point that there was no denying the feelings we both had. After we finished the episode, he told me that he liked me and asked if I was interested in pursuing a deeper relationship. I was hesitant to rush into a serious relationship since I had only met him a few months prior, but I told him I would think and pray about it. Throughout the next two or three weeks, we continued to hang out and talk a lot. I finally had the peace and quiet I needed to hear from God about Andrew when I was at Lost Canyon with ACU’s Young Life group. When I got home, Andrew took me In N Out for our first official date, and that’s when we made it official!! Throughout the next year and a half, we had many adventures together and we talked a lot about getting married. I did start to get impatient wondering when he would propose, but I thought he might do it on our beach vacation in Hilton Head, SC. Our first Sunday there, we were heading to church and my aunt and uncle decided to stop by the beach on the way to see it before there were too many people. As we walked down the beach, Andrew said “Hey Maria” and I turned around to see him on one knee with a ring, asking me to marry him!! I was totally shocked!!! Of course I said yes, and luckily my aunt and uncle had gotten some really sweet pictures of us. Being engaged has been the most exciting season in my life (so far!) and I love that I get to share it with him. Can’t wait for May 10th!!!

When I first met Maria, we were in the same music program at school, but rarely interacted. I had the opportunity to play guitar at a Young Life conference that Maria attended and we bonded and became quick friends, making a cult that worshiped Tom Cruise and his off center teeth. While silly, I didn’t know where it would lead. We began to hang out and make late night Walmart runs for watermelon and apple cider with our friend Cam. Eventually we had a moment alone and we got to talk about our lives, and really hit it off because we went to Waffle House at 4 am after talking for 5 hours straight. At this point I knew I really liked Maria, unfortunately she liked someone else at the time. I didn’t know how to react and spent many nights talking about it with my best friend Cam. Eventually we began to realize we didn’t want to spend our lives without each other and started dating. That was 2 years ago, and our love continues to grow everyday. I thank God for the blessing of Maria. She truly is everything I could have ever wanted in not just my future wife, but as my best friend. I am excited for the future and what happens next.