Ben: Our story starts at Government camp at Mt. Hood.

Grace: We were both attending a young adult conference hosted by Reformation Covenant Church in Oregon City. I was NOT going wanting to meet my future spouse...

And I was. I saw Grace, and instantly wanted to talk to her. I introduced myself to her the first moment I could.

Though I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, I noticed Ben the minute he walked in the room. I thought he was very kind and I began to notice he was always in my general area.

That evening, I initiated a conversation with Grace that ended up being four hours long.

It was so effortless. I was amazed at how much we had in common and how like-minded we were about everything. I noticed how open, fun, and passionate he was. Honestly, I started to get scared...I didn't want to like anyone.

And I was very interested.

The rest of that weekend consisted mostly of Ben trying to talk to me and me reallllly trying not to give him the time of day. (I didn't want to like anyone, remember?)

I left that conference weekend with no idea about how she felt about me.

Probably because I had no idea how I felt about you.

I got Grace's dad's email and phone number from her Pastor, Tyler Hatcher. After a couple days of prayer, I took a total shot in the dark and reached out to see if Grace might be interested in getting to know me better.

I agreed and we proceeded to talk on the phone every day for the next two weeks or so. Our first phone call was over four hours long. I remember telling my mom after those first phone calls, "He must be reading a script...there's no way we think this similarly about everything." I was still in disbelief.

I drove up to visit her family in WA and left totally convinced that I was going to marry her. I'd say I was 110 percent 'in.'

It took me slightly longer to get to '110 percent,' but it didn't take much time before I was completely convinced that Ben was the man that I wanted to marry.

Honestly, our love story would be an adorable Hallmark movie but, long story short, we got engaged October 27th, 2022.

It was an incredibly romantic proposal I might add. Both of us had never told each other we loved each other and we had never kissed...it was pretty amazing.

We are both completely humbled, amazed, and grateful for the beautiful story God has given us. We have seen His sovereign hand in the way He brought us together, the way He drew our hearts together, and the things He has taught us along the way. We are convinced more than ever that we serve a good, kind Father who works all things together for the good of those who love Him. We know and have seen that if you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart. All glory to God! We can't wait to celebrate with YOU on February 11th!