David:

"For me, its all started in Feb 2020. Although it was a small moment at the time, I first noticed Tarah at a conference our Church was hosting in Miami. She had recently become a Christian in a different region back in November in 2019, so this was the first time I had seen her. Just as she does today, she caught my eye as her beauty radiated through the room. But outside of that and us talking for a brief second on the dance floor at the banquet, that was the extent of our interaction. Slowly but surely though, Tarah would continue to capture my attention, and soon my heart. As I would eventually get to know her more on dates where we would create songs together and on hangouts where I got to see how unique and funny she was, and (most importantly) how much she loved God. I remembered seeing her share her reading times with God on Instagram and we also went on dates where we got to read and pray together. I got to see just how much her love for God was. Not much longer, I got the privilege to ask her to be my girlfriend in December of 2021, but although that time was special, fun and my love for her would further grow, sin had gotten into our relationship as my love for her would supersede my love for God after embarking on a Church planting to LSU in August of 2022. Upon realizing this, and out of reverence for God, I made the decision that we should break up since idolatry had got into our relationship. Though it was tough, I knew it was going to honor God and also protect both me and Tarah. And by God's grace, and much digging and exposing of my heart, I got the opportunity to ask her to be my girlfriend again in Jan of 2024. But this time, I had plans of making her my wife. And on August 10th of 2024, I had the honor of asking the most beautiful, incredible and radiant woman I know, to be my wife... and she said YES! I eagerly await the the day in January, where you and I will be able to watch Tarah and I become Mr. and Mrs. Mareno! I pray our example of patience, fighting for absolute purity (physical and emotional), and our love for God, has impacted you by our testimony. Much love and let the countdown, begin!"

Tarah:

"What attracted me to David was that he was always serving. Every time I would see him at Church or a hangout, he was always lending a helping hand. If he wasn't serving, then he was around a crowd of people laughing or making jokes. This was my observation of him from a distance because we didn't talk much since we were in different regions at our Church. We first met on the dance floor at a Church conference, spoke briefly, and then COVID hit in 2020. But ironically, that is when our friendship started to grow. We would comment here and there on each other's post or story on IG, usually at something funny, something we both were interested in, or about my Quiet Times. Eventually we went on a virtual group date and that's when I got to see a different side of David. On this date we had to pick a scripture and make a song out of it, and David started to lose his mind lol. He was nervous because he never did anything like that. But good thing I was a born professional :) But in all seriousness, I was able to see David go from being nervous, to being fired up after some encouragement and us working together as a team. Ever since then, we started to grow a great friendship and I started to see more sides of David. The guy with deep biblical convictions, the talented football player, the undercover singer, the Chef, the friend, the Stevie Wonder lover, the Dad joke maker, the match maker (lol), and so much more. As we continued to grow a great friendship, to my surprise, David asked me to be his girlfriend on December 19, 2021. So many great memories were made, including us moving to Baton Rouge with ten others, to help start the Baton Rouge International Christian Church. Many more great memories were created, but there was an end to it when David and I broke up. David and I unknowingly had fell into emotional idolatry (putting our relationship above God), and once David was made aware of it, he took action. Although this time in my life was hard for me (life was life-ing!), I got to see another side of David; a man after God's own heart. After many hard cries, deep prayers, and just working through my heart, I eventually started to heal and I was also able to see things spiritually instead of emotionally. Even though David and I were not together, and we barely talked for a year (this was another battle, but a different story for a different time lol), I was very proud of David and inspired by his fight for his relationship with God. A man who is willing to cut off anything that hinders his relationship with God (even if it hurts), is a man you want... is a man I always wanted. Someone who puts God above any and everything. In the end, we needed the time apart to strengthen our individual walks with God, and God blessed it on January 6, 2024, when David asked me to be his girlfriend, and then 7 months later I became his fiancée, and Lord willing, in January, will be his wife!

In this beautiful journey God has me on, I have learned and I am still learning incredible lessons that will forever shape my future. But one thing I want to encourage you with today is to trust God, his timing, his plans, and his love for you, because he is sovereign. There were many scriptures that helped me on this journey, but I'll leave you with this one: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6 <3"