I first met Luis when he strolled onto my dorm room floor holding an accordion and flanked by a man in a banana suit. My floormates and I were bewildered but he and his possy were determined to break the ice. A man will go to great lengths to meet a girl he thought was cute - COVID or no - and I'm glad he did because now we get to go on one of life's most exciting adventures together.

Luis was mad he found a cute girl. After a terrible breakup in high school, he swore off girls going into college. But she just kept popping up. He found out she was a missionary kid, had been all over the world, his friends kept mentioning her to him - the intrigue finally got to him. So when we happened to be in the dorm lounge at the same time - me running in with my roommate hoping not to run into anyone and Luis already there chatting with some friends - he walked over without pausing his conversation with his friends, slid his phone across the table, "new contact" page open, and sat back down. Despite overwhelming shyness and awkwardness, I filled it out because I follow directions and I have never seen a man so bold. The intrigue was growing in me as well.

The next day he texted me “How’s Thursday sound?”

Thursday came and he bought me an apple cider from the campus coffee shop and sat me down with the intention of burning every bridge to prove to God I was not the one for him. Politics, faith, current events, theology - the conversations you’re supposed to have over the first three months all in one. He didn’t want to wait three months to figure out I was crazy I guess. But unfortunately for him, I aced it even though I felt like a bumbling idiot. I wasn’t crazy or full of wack ideas, but a solid Christian girl. And now he didn’t know what to do. And I walked away knowing there was no doubt that there was an intelligent and kind man behind the humor and no one could question that the Spirit of God was with him. We managed to get a few more walk-talks in before COVID sent us home early for Thanksgiving and Christmas break - I to Turkey and Luis to Burlington. Despite the time difference we exchanged pleasantries and chatted a few minutes every day. That consistency and intentionality solidified for Luis that this was the one for him. So when we got back to Gordon, we went on a few more walks in the woods and across frozen ponds, and hung out all over campus, making contracts about what dating would look like. Then we ended the “talking phase” (as they call it these days) and began the hard work - dating for marriage.

So that was the beginning. The middle was full of ups and downs and sideways - hard semesters, a new niece, trusting each other when insecurities bore their ugly head, working through getting to know one another’s families, learning how focusing on God brings you closer together.

And then, how did we know we were ready to get married?

Well, we checked all the boxes of faithfully living for Christ, having similar ideas for raising children and handling finances, etc. We saw that we were challenged and pushed towards holiness in our relationship. Our extremely opposite personalities have worked to our advantage and disadvantage but we decided the whole package is worth it. Every up and down will be ours together.

On November 26th, 2022, we said yes to forever. It was the most beautiful day. First, we went to PetCo. That one threw me off a little bit, but it was fun and silly. The real surprise came to me when we ended up at Pickity Place, the inspiration for the first Little Red Riding Hood illustrations and now a restaurant. It was a dream for bookish, girly Emily. And it was there, at their little fairy well, that he asked me to marry him. Of course, my answer was yes and all the waitresses and regulars celebrated right alongside us. The rest of the day followed this bookish theme. We got to tour Louisa May Alcott's house in Concord. Little Women is one of my favorite books! It was so fun to learn and enjoy and admire my ring in all the places together. We ended the night with an evening with friends and family celebrating together. We have been so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people who have loved us and encouraged us throughout our relationship. And we cannot wait to celebrate with you all at our wedding!