October 2023: Suan and Shanielle matched on a Christian dating app. Suan had "super liked" Shanielle, and she figured she would see what a conversation held if he reached out. Suan took a step out of his comfort zone and initiated the conversation, and they are both thankful he did!

November 2023: They had a phone call while Shanielle was driving back from a trip visiting family in AR. Suan shared that he would really like to talk to Shanielle again. Shanielle mentioned a time she would be available again to chat and left it up to him if he decided to call. Since it was a couple weeks out, she figured he may not actually call, but sure enough, he called while she was driving back from a women's retreat. That conversation went well enough to warrant a coffee date. After postponing a week due to Shanielle feeling under the weather, Suan and Shanielle met in person on Nov 19, 2023. Shanielle was pleasantly surprised at how well coffee went, and was interested in learning more about him, so a second date was set.

December 2023 - February 2024: Suan continued to pursue Shanielle through a variety of dates and thoughtful gifts (p.s. the succulent he gave Shanielle in Feb 2024 is still thriving and the flower earrings he gave her as a birthday gift are in her frequent rotation). Shanielle had no question about his feelings toward her, but she was still taking time to observe before making any decisions. Suan met a couple of her friends and twin sister and brother in law for a triple date!

March -April 2024: After becoming officially exclusive at the end of February, Suan and Shanielle continued to meet each other's friends and family. They started reading "A Sacred Search" book together (what a valuable decision!).

May 2024: They spontaneously went ring shopping together while running an errand and found the perfect ring! A true provision from Jesus...even though Suan tried to convince Shanielle not to get her hopes up on that specific ring. That week, he couldn't keep from sharing with her that he had gone back to the store to buy the ring.

June 2024: Suan and Shanielle experienced a month of long distance dating while Suan was in TN visiting his godfather. They diligently kept reading and discussing the book questions together via Zoom.

July 2024: They took a road trip to TN, KY, AR, and TX to meet various family on both sides! They made plans to return to Shanielle's parents for Labor Day weekend in order to get more time to know Suan.

September 2024: They returned to Bay City. Suan wasn't feeling 100% and Shanielle was going in with low expectations to try to prevent being disappointed. BUT, Suan had brought the ring (he had a good feeling about the weekend). Shanielle's older sister was already coming to visit, and her twin sister and brother-in-law made a last minute decision to visit as well. By the end of Sunday night, through multiple side conversations, Suan received her dad's blessing. Since Shanielle's immediate family was all there already, Suan and Shanielle decided to do a sunrise proposal at the beach the next morning before traveling home. After literally RUNNING through hundreds of attacking mosquitos, they had a quick proposal, followed by rain (supposedly a sign of luck haha). Her sister and brother in law came shortly after to take some post-proposal pics and then headed back to the house for brainstorming and vision casting for the wedding.

The past several months have been filled with continued dating, wedding planning, marriage preparation, and transitioning seasons. We know Jesus has been with us in the process and will continue to be, and we are thankful for each one of you who is joining alongside us!