March 2023 is whenever Jon and I first met. We met at my pastors house (this was before he started coming to True Oak Fellowship) for a young adult Bible study group.
I never did get the chance to talk to him. Mostly because I was shy and he was new.
The next weekend comes, and we have another young adult group. I was running late (forgot why), and I was wearing sweat pants and an old t-shirt, and my hair was up in a messy bun, and he was their.
After the young adult group that night me, Jon, and our good friend Bennett stood outside looking at the stars. He and I had our first conversation! It was awesome, and I knew we were definitely friends.
April or May of 2023, I had asked him to have a one-on-one Bible study at the local park in Tuttle one day and we studied a little bit of 1 Peter, and afterward, we shared our testimonies. I could tell by the way his body language was that he was listening... like, genuinely listening. To get the testimony out in the open felt like a weight lifted off my chest, and it was so wonderful. But also listening to his testimony was so moving... he was genuine and passionate for the Lord. This is what drew our friendship closer. He had a genuine love for the Lord, and this is something that I admire even to this day.
Then, in July of 2023, we had a fourth of July freedom celebration at the church. At this point, we were really close friends going to IHOP in Mustang a lot, and we were hanging out a lot, and that night, it hit me. I actually like him. No doubt in my mind! I don't know if it was the fireworks in the sky or the fireworks in my heart (yes, I know it's cheesy, lol), but that night, I knew I liked him more than just a friend.<3
Towards the end of July, him and I went on our usual IHOP dinner, and we were just having a good time:) earlier that day, he had asked me to go to the movies with him (and it would be just me and him!) So, at ihop, we had a ritual where everything we got a receipt we would write little notes to each other on the back of it. This is how the conversation went:

Maile: I have a question
Jon: Yes?
Maile: So about the movies tomorrow... is it going to be... a date?
Jon: Idk, is it?
Maile: Perhaps?
Jon: Maybe?
Maile: It's a date then:)

Our first date:
We went to watch the sound of freedom, and then afterward, we went to McDonalds.
We were at McDonalds. THIS MAN brought a test of 36 questions to get to know me better!!! (It was the sweetest thing<3)
To this day, I will say that is the best date I have ever had<3
We went on a few more dates, and it didn't take long for him to ask me to be his girlfriend<3

He is the sweetest, most God-fearing, most genuine man that I have ever met, and I am so happy to say that he is the man that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I love you so so much, Jonathan

The first time me and maile met was back in March at the very first young adults meeting at her pastors house, while we didn't really notice each other much then, this meeting would turn out to be a pivotal moment in my life. In the following months, I started going to her church and being active in the youth group. As this went on, we quickly formed a close friendship. We would text and Snapchat each other asking about each other's day. This meant the world to me to have a truly caring friend. The moment I felt like I liked her was when she came to my workplace. The moment she walked through the door, my heart skipped a few beats, and I couldn't ignore that feeling. We became closer each week till a moment I will never forget (unless I have amnesia) one morning, I was doing my prayer time in a wooded area we call Ohio (not the state). While I was having my prayer time I got a text from maile asking me what I was up to, and I told her, she asked if she could have a Bible study with me at shrock Park in Tuttle. We met there, and I was so nervous. We studied 1st Peter for about 5 minutes until we began to share our testimonies. She was open about everything, and at this moment, with the honesty that the woman in front of me was displaying and a sense of true repentance and love for God, I quickly found the answer to the question I struggled with for months "is this a woman worth pursuing a relationship with?". The resounding answer to this question was yes. At that instance, I started to scheme. How was I going to catch the attention of this woman? Turns out I already had. We got closer as friends, and many times, I would meet maile after she got off work at 11. I would meet her at I-hop, and we would talk about life. I was there for her and was excited to spend any amount of time getting to know her more. We would stay up till 2 in the morning talking at IHOP and then part ways with a hug. One day I invited her to watch a movie with me and the night before we went to IHOP and on the back of a receipt we wrote back and forth, till she asked if the movie was a date, to which I answered yes. It was very exciting to be on a date with someone I knew was someone worth pursuing. Our first date was amazing. We did a test at McDonalds to learn more about each other, and after this, we dated for a few months until March of 2024, when I asked her to marry me and share our lives together. Now, I am excited beyond describing the future we plan to make, with the sweetest, most caring, and honest and forgiving person a man could ask for.