Cameron and I decided that it would be fun to write our stories seperately from our own perspective. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as we did reminiscing on our story that led us here today.

Maddie's POV:

I met Cameron when I started my freshman year at Ozark Christian College in 2019. I thought he was hilarious, very cute, athletic—just someone I loved being around. But I wasn’t in a place to be in a relationship, so I considered him one of my best friends. He supported me through some of the hardest times in my life. He was such a good friend, I had no clue he had feelings for me. When I found out, I was shocked—and then I started to avoided him. Not because I didn’t like him, but because he was so different from anyone I’d ever been interested in. He was too good to be true.

At the time, I wasn’t a Christian, and the idea of a Christian guy liking me scared me. I figured once he knew more about my past, he’d be out. But then it hit me—he already knew so much of it and never once left my side. He even asked me on a couple of dates. I said yes… then panicked and bailed last minute.

A semester later, the timing finally lined up. We started dating on March 20, 2020. COVID hit right after spring break, and even though he lived in Iowa, we made it work—I drove up so many times we were basically inseparable. During that time, Cameron started asking about my faith and what I believed. Through all my stubbornness, he stayed patient and kind. He helped me understand what it truly meant to trust Jesus with my heart. Even though I was afraid to say it at first, I fell hard for him.

I fell in love with his gentleness, his kindness, and how he lived out so many traits of the Jesus I was just getting to know. I loved how he never raised his voice at me—even when I definitely deserved it. I loved his humor, his sarcasm, and how we could spend hours laughing at absolutely nothing. He told me he loved me more than once, and eventually I found the courage to say it back. I was baptized later that year.

But starting fresh in my faith, I realized I needed to find my identity in Christ—not just in our relationship. That led to a hard breakup after almost a year and a half of dating. We stayed apart and even dated other people for two years. But no matter what, I kept praying for him. Even during that time, he still felt like my best friend—it just looked different.

In May 2023, we reconnected after going to a play together that featured his best man, Colter (who’s basically family to me). Afterward, Cameron took me out for ice cream, and it felt like we picked up right where we left off. A little while later, he asked me on a date—he made me dinner and we watched Star Wars (which, let’s be honest, says everything because I would never watch Star Wars unless I really wanted to spend time with someone). I was so nervous and overthought the whole date, so I downplayed the date and showed up in a t-shirt and athletic shorts… meanwhile, he was in nice summer shorts and a black button-up. Oops.

That summer, we took our time and worked through the past before committing to a relationship again in October 2023. I was living in Arizona and he was still in Iowa, but we knew it was worth it. We knew what it was like without each other in our lives and we weren't doing that again. A year and a half later, he’s now in Arizona too, and we’re working and serving at Christ’s Church of the Valley—on different campuses for now.

Then, on March 20, 2025—five years after he first ever asked me to be his girlfriend—he proposed. He read the story of the Last Supper and washed my feet, just like Jesus did with His disciples. He promised to love me like Jesus loves the Church—with selflessness, humility, and grace. And I promised to love Cameron the same way, to the very end.

It’s been a long road, but God has had a plan for us from the start. I'm excited to see what God has for us in our future together.

Cameron's POV:

Maddie and I met her first day on campus at Ozark Christian College, in August of 2019. I was returning for my second year there, and she was beginning her freshmen year, when we met in Mama Kim's apartment. I was hanging with one of our best friends, Colter, when Maddie walked in with a couple of her friends and we were introduced. The introduction was short, but impactful, as we spent many nights with other friends those next few weeks playing basketball, studying, and hanging out together. Fast forward a few months and we had become each other's closest friends. We ended up going to a worship concert with a few of our other friends at the beginning of November in 2020, and it was there that I realized my feelings for her. They weren't reciprocated at the time, but I spent the next few months just trying to be a good and supportive friend to Maddie, while subconsciously hoping one day she would have feelings for me too.

Fast forward to March 20th, 2020, and her and I began our relationship together. Maddie wasn't a Christian at the time, and it was the greatest honor and privilege for me to able to help her navigate and think through all of her questions and hesitations about following Jesus. It was such a blessing to be able to see her wrestle through things, and eventually give her life to Jesus and be baptized in October of 2020.

Although we walked through that, and many more things together, we eventually decided that our relationship was not healthy, nor was it honoring God and we decided to break up in July of 2021. It was not an easy decision for either of us to make, but looking back now it was almost definitely the right one.

After a couple years of growth and mistakes (mostly on my part), and learning apart from each other, Maddie invited me to join her at one of Colter's shows, which led to us starting to spend time together again. We went on our first date (part 2) on May 10th, of 2023, and officially got back into a relationship on October 15th of the same year. During that time we navigated the difficulties of being 1,500 miles apart, all while working through a lot of our baggage from our first run at the relationship. In August of 2024, I began my Residency program at Christ's Church of the Valley, where she is a Student Pastor, which allowed us to be about 1,440 miles closer to each other.

Since we've both been in AZ, we've definitely still had our troubles, but we have been able to continue growing together, until we both got to a point where we were comfortable with taking a step in our relationship that we've dreamed of and talked about since the summer of 2020. And, on March 20th, 2025, 5 years after our relationship began, I got on my knees and washed Maddie's feet, just as our Lord modeled for us, and asked her to marry me.

On that day, I told Maddie that I promised to love her by humbly serving her for the rest of our lives. Marriage has always been a scary thing for me for a lot of reasons, but Maddie gives me a confidence in marriage that I never knew I could have... John 13:1 begins the story of the Last Supper by saying, "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." and just as I followed Jesus' example by washing her feet, I feel so grateful that I will also get to follow his example by loving Maddie until the very end.

M&C

Wedding Day

4:30 PM–5:15 PM

Ceremony

5:15 PM–6:15 PM

Social Hour

6:15 PM–10:00 PM

Reception