William and I met at Cal Farley's Boys Ranch (BR), the ministry where we are both currently serving. As some of you know, William has been serving on staff here at BR for almost four years now. I just joined in June of this year. Before committing to a year of service here at BR, I visited for a day in April and met many of the chapel staff including one of William's good friends, Sol. After I left, Sol and several other staff told William that they had just met his future wife and then proceeded to pray that I would accept the position and meet William.

Well God heard their prayers, and I felt strongly called to accept the position and come to BR. William and I met for the first time at a community meal which Sol urged him to attend saying that if William went, he would meet me, his future wife. William scoffed at the idea saying that I would just be another girl and turned Sol's invitation down. But Sol kept urging him and finally convinced him to come just to spend time with Sol and his wife Ceciley since they hadn't been able to hang out in a while. Due to a sudden heavy rainfall, the roads were flooded and Sol and Ceciley were unable to make it, but William did. So he had dinner with us and we spent the evening together looking at his gardens and playing pickleball. I could tell that he was giving me more attention than one might usually receive, but little did I know that after that first meeting he prayed to God that he would marry me!

After that first meeting, we continued to spend a lot of time together riding bikes, working in the garden, and hanging out with friends. We learned that we have much in common and most importantly, both of us are dedicated Christians who love the Lord with all our hearts and have very similar beliefs. He came to visit my family during Fourth of July and asked my dad for permission to formally court me, which of course he received. I then went to Mongolia on a mission trip for about a month during which we kept in touch through texting. A month after I came back, William visited my family again. This time, he asked my Dad for permission to marry me, which of course he received!

A week later we went to Palo Duro Canyon to compete in a four mile race. After we had a nice break to catch our breath, we went on a six mile hike to one of our favorite spots in the canyon, lighthouse rock. William took me out for a very nice dinner and then we went on a trail ride to "Edge of the World", a lookout point on BR property which holds a lot of meaning for both of us. There William sang me one of my favorite songs without even knowing that it was such, and then he asked me to marry him. I was sure he was going to ask me on that day and had been planning all week what I might say in response. I wanted to say something meaningful in response, but all I could manage was "Yes!" It was a wonderful day and both of us hold it dearly in memory.

We are both so happy and are very grateful that God has brought us together. We have complete peace about our upcoming wedding thanks to the Lord.