The merging of Kayla and Samuel’s lives is truly a testament to the great handiwork and mercies of God. Kayla and Samuel both met at Fort Des Moines open bible church, which is where Kayla had been going since birth. Samuel started going to the Fort November of 2024, at which point neither of them were seeking a relationship. It was during this time that both Kayla and Samuel were individually rebuilding their faith and prioritizing God.

Later in the winter season, Samuel began to grow close to Kayla's brother and father. It was around this time that the two began being acquainted with each other through church and game nights hosted by her brother. Around springtime, Samuel was invited for the first time to join Kayla's family for lunch one Sunday after church. After that, he ended up going every Sunday after church. Towards the end of May, Kayla had missed a couple of those lunches, which brought some disappointment to Samuel. It was during those couple of weeks that Samuel learned more about Kayla through her family, which shaped Samuel’s view of Kayla with a deeper sense of appreciation and respect for her. He was starting to develop some feelings toward Kayla, but he was uncertain and decided to dismiss those feelings initially.

Around the middle of June, after Kayla made a call to her mom telling her about this guy she just couldn't seem to stop thinking about! That was when it was obvious to Kayla that she had feelings for Samuel, yet, she decided to keep them at bay. So she continued to build a friendship with him, while also maybe testing the waters with some flirting to see if the feelings were mutual.

In early July, Samuel accepted the fact that he had these feelings for Kayla and made a phone call to his dad admitting these real feelings. After this phone call, it took time for Samuel to process the encouragement and further thoughts that he had. After also discussing with his mom that he had feelings for Kayla, Samuel began to process the attraction he had towards Kayla. It was after writing out his feelings and thoughts on paper and a lot of time spent in prayer that Samuel felt God was telling him to “go find out” which signified some clarity in Samuel’s heart to pursue Kayla more intentionally.

A little over a week after that phone call, the church youth group took a short trip to Adventure Land that Kayla and Samuel were invited to. The day at Adventure Land allowed Kayla and Samuel to spend a lot of time together, allowing for more bantering, subtle flirting, playful moments, a meaningful faith-based conversation, and even a spark-filled moment where they locked eyes and were in close proximity right before leaving the park.

The day after the Adventure Land trip, Kayla sent Samuel her first text message to him, sharing her devotional. Kayla had wanted to text Samuel for a while but was nervous to start a conversation, but she felt that the Lord was putting on her heart to share a devotional with Samuel, which truly was a perfect way to open up a conversation! Samuel was so beyond excited, he had to tell his mom immediately and expressed how meaningful the message was to him and that if things ended up working out, that was a special way for it to start. Kayla waited for a response… he finally responded… you can imagine that Kayla was nervous and excited in waiting for his response, she had shared the message with her mom and waited patiently for a response, and when she received one she was elated!

A few days later, Samuel competes in track & field events at the Iowa Games and is fueled with a new found drive and motivation to perform. Kayla texts Samuel with messages that put him at ease and encourage him. He’s so excited to do his best now not just for himself, but for Kayla and couldn’t wait to finish the day and let her know how it went. After the Iowa Games, Samuel travels back home to his apartment and is texting Kayla, trying to work up the courage to say he wants to get ice cream with Kayla. Of course, Kayla beat him to it and they got together that night at Classic Frozen Custard. Kayla and Samuel had a deep and meaningful conversation that fostered their respect for one another and developed a deeper desire for each other.

The day after Kayla and Samuel’s first “date night” the two of them had planned to carpool to Open Bible Youth Camp as they were both volunteering to help out with the activities crew. For both of them, this was an optimal opportunity. The conversations were fun and easy, yet they were personal and it opened their hearts and minds to begin to understand the souls within these two people who not long ago were strangers.

Both Kayla and Samuel were looking forward to seeing how this week would play out and see if there was a true mutual desire between them. If the week confirmed that mutual desire than perhaps by the end of the week, those feelings could be shared and confirmed. Things didn’t quite go as planned and within the first two days of camp, those feelings were revealed in full. Kayla and Samuel had yet another amazing, meaningful conversation that would provide another strong piece of foundation for this new relationship being constructed. The next night, Samuel was deeply struggling internally and couldn’t articulate or comprehend those feelings. He confided in Kayla and attempted to share what he could make sense of. This is when Kayla ended up praying over Samuel and for him in this hard moment. Kayla knew she couldn’t provide all the help Samuel needed and entrusted him to God, who could help and comfort Samuel. The same God that brought these two lives together! Samuel was incredibly moved by this act of love and surrender. He felt confident that if this is what lies ahead, then Kayla was going to be his person.

The rest of the week was bliss as the camp experience combined with the two growing closer together made it almost like a dream. Friday, the last day of camp, was a special day for Kayla and Samuel. The drive home was amazing and so deeply impactful as an hour drive back to the Des Moines area turned into a few hours of scenic stops and more meaningful conversations (and some Chick-fil-A, yum!). At the end of the drive Kayla and Samuel agreed to make it official (even Facebook official)!

K&S

Wedding Day

3:00 PM

Ceremony

5:00 PM–8:00 PM

Reception