Our Stories

how we met...
Stephen was already a student at Golden Gate Seminary and I was a fresh new student coming in. Our stories differ from when we first met. I remember his room before I even met him. I saw that he had a bike hanging from the ceiling and thought to myself, "hmm...wonder who this guy is." Well a few mins. later as some of us were gathering by the steps, here he comes this guy named Stephen and the conversation among the group was about the book, I kissed dating goodbye by Joshua Harris. However, he was mocking the book more than anything. I was then just a bit curious about who this boy was. The next moment of us meeting is what Stephen would consider the first time. The dorms were having a new student orientation cook-out before the big orientation for the school the following day. They planned for us to have an amazing race, going around campus, solving clues, and taking pictures. Apparently, me and my roommate at the time, Lindsay stood out amongst everyone. (only because we were being a bit ridiculous and loud) However, this was the beginning of Stephen getting curious about while he tried to confide in my roommate.

will you be my girlfriend...
We started hanging out on and off through out that whole semester and it wasn't till February, when I came back from being out of town, that Stephen finally asked me to be his girlfriend.
That was a fun memory. We decided to go for a walk and get some coffee. We went to one of my favorite places in Sausalito, and sat in back. It was a beautiful warm day. He gently leaned over and said... "if I happened to ask you to be my girlfriend, what would you say?" and I remarked in, "why? what are you trying to say or ask?" in a smart kind of way. He then he cheesed it up and asked me to be his girlfriend. We walked around the docks smiling and holding hands.

the bumps in the road...
Every relationship goes through difficult times, and we did to. There was a point in our relationship where we needed to communicate. These were hard, but God gave us the strength to get through them just as I believe he will continue to do in the future. We must trust in him first and place all of our thoughts and fears in Him. For he has overcome the world. Take delight in him and our trials.

the engagement...
We were serving on a mission trip to South Africa. The second to the last day, we got an opportunity to hang out with a translators and such before journey back to the main city. That is when our dear friend Deli noticed a ring that I had on my right hand. It was just a simple ring that I had always worn. However, she just found such delight in this ring that I decided to give it to her as a token of my appreciation for everything she did for us. It was a remembrance that I will always remember her as well and that we will be praying for her and her country. However, the next day, we were in the market shopping for little things to take home with us, and Stephen mentioned, "why don't you find a ring take to back with you since you gave yours away." I thought that was a grand idea, who wouldn't want to buy something for themselves. So I was looking around, and Stephen asked if I found any that I liked. I showed him the one that I was looking at, and after we bargained with the lady, he suggested that he would buy it for me. This wasn't something out of the ordinary, he always buys me small gifts. So as he is getting out his money, I started to complain about my fingers. I had a bunch of small bumps that I thought was from a heat rash. However, Stephen would not pay any attention to it, instead he was handing stuff off to a friend of ours. But the next thing I knew, was Stephen was down on one knee. I don't remember much of what he said, I just heard, "I love you." Apparently he didn't say much because I was already hysterically crying and he knew I wouldn't remember him anyways. So he stood up and we hugged while our team joined us in the celebration around us. Then a group of guys in the market started to play the drums, and shakers singing a Zulu wedding celebration song. It was such a sweet moment.

the ring...
Well, Stephen kept saying that it wouldn't be till March until he would get a ring for me. So on the plane ride back to the states, Stephen makes a comment, "now we can go look at rings together" Sure, I was excited. The next morning at his parents house, we decided to do Christmas gifts because we never got a chance to do it before Christmas. I started opening up my box knowing that it would be pj's, at least that is what I wanted and I was convinced I was going to get. To my surprise, there were no pj's but a scarf that was Gap RED to support AIDS and as a remembrance of our trip. There was another box in there too, a small what would seem to be a ring box. I opened it and there was a small ring made out of string tied in a sweet bow and perfectly sized to my finger. Stephen said that it was in case he couldn't find a ring in South Africa. I laughed and then out of nowhere, he pulls this box from behind him with a gorgeous ring in it. I was so surprised. My expressions we quite ridiculous. I pulled him towards me in a hug and then I pushed him away because he tricked me, then I pulled him in again and then pushed... after a couple times of that we finally hugged and embraced the moment. I then stated to him, now I have to call everyone again and tell them the news!