Erin's Side (from her missionary blog):

Meet Josh!

Our Engagement

Josh's Side:

It was the week before I was supposed to be deployed to Sri Lanka. I had my suitcases pulled out, ready to pack for my year and a half vicarage. I was ready to buy my tickets and fly out. By email and phone, I learned my vicarage had changed. I was going to the Dominican Republic. I went from learning Tamil to learning Spanish. I went from being on the other side of the world to being a few hours southeast of Florida. This was great! I repacked my bags, bought some new items, and made my way to the Dominican Republic. When I arrived, I was transported to my house. I unpacked my bags and prepared for the next day. It was shopping day. I prepared a list of what I needed and brought it with me. A missionary named Erin picked me up to take me to Sirena. I’m not a big fan of shopping, so I told her I had a list: “Please take this and find everything for me. I don’t want to be here long.” She said, “Of course,” and while shopping with her, we conversed. We conversed in the car and I learned she liked to play cribbage, so I suggested we play…immediately. We did, and we continued to talk and learn about each other for days. This was all in December. When Christmas came, I heard that she was leaving for Jamaica on the 26th. I didn’t want the conversation to end, so I asked her out. She shook her Magic 8 Ball and said, “Your chances are looking good, Josh.” What that meant I will never know, but I still wanted to get to know her. So, I continued our conversation the day she left. I sent a text. We continued to converse, and my curiosity about her response to my “let’s go on a date” proposal intensified. I was going to figure out what her answer actually was when she got back. When she returned, I asked her again, “So… was that a yes to a date?” She said, “Yes, but you need to finish orientation first.” OK. We planned a date. We had a date - February 12. It was cribbage, steak, and The Middle. It was great, and all the dates after have been wonderful. I learned I’d been earning brownie points the whole time leading up to our first date: the shopping list, a Boggle challenge when she was in Jamaica, and also teaching her how to shuffle. We continued to date, learn about each other, and be with each other. God has blessed us with an enormous amount of time to create memories with one another and guide us forward as we look to our wedding. I can only say it is by God’s will that we met, dated, and will soon be married because I was supposed to go to Sri Lanka. Look where I’ve been brought! I’ve been brought somewhere far beyond my expectations, and I thank God for that.