Kim’s side of the story
In March of 2023, I joined a dating website called Holy. This was during a season where my desire for marriage was continuing to grow as I cried to the Lord to bring me a helpmate. In many ways this felt like a Hail Mary. Finding someone to join me in ministry in the Middle East was my desire and prayer to the Lord. Just a few days after joining I came across the page of a handsome man, whose profile pic was of him playing a guitar, IYKYK! Jackpot, I swiped right. We began to chat and it was quite apparent he had a genuine faith in Christ. It also became clear that he had no intentions of moving overseas anytime soon as he was a father to two beautiful little girls. Instead of kindly sharing with him how I felt, I simply disappeared into the busyness of my life. That summer the Lord made some things very clear to me. Though I desired marriage and recognized this as a desire that came from Him, I was demanding the Lord to do it my way, “bring him here”. I was broken as I recognized this and repented and gave it to the Lord. Soon after in August, Andrew popped back into my mind. I got on the app, but He was gone, no trace of any of our convos. In October I received a message on Telegram from an unrecognized number. I googled the zip code. Texas?? It had to be the guy from Holy. I responded with a hello and the rest is pretty much history. In December during a trip home, we met up in person in Florida and spent about 2 weeks together with our families. In January, right before heading back to Iraq, Andrew came to visit me in Northern Virginia where he got to stay with one of my pastors here and met my best friends. That was a difficult visit but we survived it. I have seen the Lord’s kindness as we continue to grow in understanding one another and as we seek to be led by the spirit. I have seen Andrew grow in so many ways during these last 9 months and love how he encourages my faith in the Lord and my trust in His goodness. Long distance dating has not been easy but I am grateful we have been given the chance to get to know one another in really deep ways. In June I spent a month with Andrew and the girls in Texas, which is when he popped the question (Story to follow!). It was such a sweet trip and I am most grateful for the time to be together daily and I look forward to the days the Lord has ahead for us!
Andrew’s side of the Story
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord.”
Proverbs 18:22
We were 7063 miles away from Irbil, Iraq to Ft. Worth, TX, but that didn’t stop me. She was that beautiful! She had a face and eyes that would make my heart sink. All I knew was that I wanted a girl who loved the Lord more than me. We swept right on each other and then eventually off our feet!!! However, online dating had its challenges. It wasn’t long after first interacting that I heard about this new buzz word called “fizzing out” which I noticed her doing. Sometimes she responded back to me in a minute, in an hour, a day, and then a week. Pshhh… ghosted! At this point I got tired of the games of her “ghosting” me and Homey don’t play that! So I deleted her! (Turns out she was very busy). I thought it was my bathroom selfie or my bad dad jokes which I thought were great! Lol. 7 months went by and I see her little face on the Telegram app in my contacts list right after she had just popped into my head. There she was again! We reconnected again to my joy and amazement! We had a spiritual and soulish connection. We discussed, disagreed and agreed at times about topics like theology, Donald Trump, my conspiracy theories (which were true!) , and her denial of her love for the NY Yankees. But after all, our long distance relationship stood the test of time! 9 months went by and she came to see me in the blistering Texas summer heat (and her family too!). I proposed to her by playing a couple of cheesy songs on my acoustic guitar. I caught her off guard with the words of a song you might know that goes “it’s a love story, baby just say yes!” I popped out the ring and she said “This isn’t real! This isn’t real!” And she eventually said YES! Wooohooo! So now we journey soon into the wildest ride of our lives we call marriage. Although, after only a few visits in person we are now back to long distance using FaceTime. I feel encouragedwhen I see this parallel of when Jesus told his disciples: “in a little while you will see Me and then see Me no longer.” “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:3, 16:16
Until that day comes we wait with patience and endurance!
Cheers!
Our Engagement
On June 23, a random Sunday, Andrew popped the question. After taking a nap on the couch, the girls asked me to join them as dada wanted to do a concert for me. I wasn’t too surprised by this as Andrew knows I love when he plays the guitar. Vail asked to shoot the concert which I thought was totally normal. I was told to close my eyes as I entered the room. I have a tiny bit of a rebellious streak, and kept opening my eyes, LOL. I was seated surrounded by some candles. Andrew started playing, “Call Me Maybe”. I sang along and thought, Ha that’s a funny song to play and quite random. He then started playing “Love Song” by Taylor Swift. At this point, you’d think I’d suspect something, but NO. He played quite, interestingly….:o) I could tell he was quite off, but it didn’t quite hit me until he got up with a box and went down on his knees, butchering the lyrics! I didn’t believe it. My mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening! He put the ring on my finger, we hugged and danced and the girls joined us! It was a sweet day!! In typical Kim fashion, I didn’t say Yes until after we called my family to tell them we were engaged! A delayed yes, but an emphatic one!
