The Stars Align - Becoming Teammates

Joey met Leslie when the two were preparing to go on a missions trip.

Leslie, who is Korean, had been preparing to lead a missions team to China . Somehow though, not one of the one billion native Mandarin speakers in the world had found their way onto the all-Korean team. A dilemma when the missions was to occur in rural China.

As she looked for someone who could communicate with the natives, Leslie's small group leader, Peter Hsin, suggested Joey (who was Taiwanese and one of Peter's former small group members) as a possible candidate for joining the trip. Joey, who speaks Mandarin with an accent that makes Taiwanese people wonder if he's from a remote part of China and Chinese people to wonder if he's Korean, quickly became the team's only and leading candidate. Joey loved kids and decided to join the all-star team.

Long Emails - The Way to Any Person's Heart

Going from teammates to more than teammates was surprising for both Leslie and Joey.

It happened in March 2015 when the team was preparing for their upcoming missions trip in August. Leslie, being the organized team leader she was, prepared the team well using many meetings and long emails. Joey, on the other hand, was a busy consultant and had no patience for either of those. So, after probably the 10th essay from the fearless leader - Joey finally cracked and wrote his first letter back to Leslie. He still remembers the exact wording to this day...

"Unsubscribe"

Luckily for both of them, Leslie thought it was a joke and, much to Joey's initial dismay, decided to increase her communication with him. Simultaneously, Joey decided to get to know his teammates more since he didn't really know any of them. The first one on his list... that lady from the emails. There must have been something in the calamari and drinks that first hangout because Joey realized right away that Leslie was to be "the one". Leslie too must have felt something stirring deep within because she ended up letting Joey pick up the check that night. After dinner, Joey got his car and drove Leslie to her car since it was raining. He wanted to talk to Leslie more that night, but not much else was open at midnight in Deerfield, IL.

He may have failed to continue the date that night, the two quickly started dating - going to film festivals, watching the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, and going on walks around the parks and forest preserves.

Though the two were starting to date, they didn't want it to be awkward for the missions team and kept it on the down low until missions was over in August (sorry!). Many teammates claim alternative facts about seeing the relationship coming, but the bride and groom only clearly acknowledge that Linna Kim Sommers was in the know. This selfless teammate switched seats with Leslie on the flight when she recognized that the two were in the midst of a fight (their first). Because of that act, Leslie and Joey made-up and ... (by the end of the trip) decided that they wanted 2 dogs and a modern-styled house with pastel colored furniture.

A Ring - The Engagement

After dating for a year and a half, Joey asked Leslie, her family, and his best friend to join him in Galena, Illinois for Christmas Eve. There, he proposed to Leslie in an inn which the two had previously visited and greatly loved. Leslie cried and finally...

... she said YES

The two really wanted to get married in a rustic location surrounded by their friends and family. So, we hope that you can join them in becoming KangaHsu at the Haight in Elgin, IL for the big day on August 20, 2017!