I had just moved to Sioux City with my family in July of 2020. When I started going to Siouxland Christian School that same Fall, I met Sam. We didn't have all that much in common except we both didn't want to lift the heavy weights in our weight lifting class. We got to know each other while doing jumping jacks, planks, burpees, all the easy stuff. Next thing I knew, it was 2 days before the homecoming dance and Sam asked me if I would go with him! Of course I said yes... and then went home and asked my parents for permission. They didn't know what to think considering he is 2 years older than me and they had never met him before. But they said yes, and I scrambled to find a dress in time. Somehow we matched perfectly even though we had 1 DAY to figure out a plan. When Sam told me he didn't go to church anymore because he didn't know where to go, I said "well you can come to my church!" And that Saturday he had texted me and asked what time it started! I can only imagine what everyone at church thought of us, and years later people told me what they thought! "Oh it's that Siouxland Christian kid!" and "is that her brother?" or "that girl is way too young to be dating someone." But we weren't dating yet, just friends. A few months went by... Sam came to church with us every Sunday and he was there at Regiment, our church's youth program. Then on April 16th, 2021, he asked me to be his girlfriend. Then it was official! We spent all of our time together in high school! He came to my volleyball games, I went to his Cross Country meets, we played basketball and ran track together. We went to all the dances and went to church together. He taught me how to hunt and got me out of my comfort zone a lot... and I mean a lot! He taught me how to snowboard which probably took more patience than he's ever had in his life. And he also changed my tire on the side of highway 20 a couple of times for me. When he graduated from high school, at the same time I decided to finish high school online. Sam decided to go to SDSU to study math and data science, while I worked a part time job and finished high school. We were 2 hours away from each other for 3 1/2 years. I went up to visit him a few times but he committed to drive to Sioux City just about EVERY WEEKEND to see me and come to church of course! When that season ended in December 2025 we were both so glad our long distance was over! At that time Sam started working for my dad at Equipping the Persecuted, where I also work and have been for 2 years! I was so excited to be able to see him everyday. Although my dad might have been even more excited to see Sam everyday. It was only a couple of months later that Sam proposed to me on a rock in the rainforest of Puerto Rico. And the rest... is history.

It was just another first day of school when I saw her. The new girl walked down the hall with a tall stack of books in her hands on the way to class. I relinquished any hope of seeing her in any of my classes as she walked away, but fate sided with me. That same day, I ran into her in weightlifting class.

"Hey can I join your group?", she asked.

I obliged as any gentleman would. Her group had to disband since they were constantly talking instead of exercising, and she chose to join my group since my gym partner and I were the only others doing jumping jacks instead of lifting weights. We talked about everything in that class since there was not much else to do. When she asked where I went to church and found out I did not go anywhere, she invited me to her youth group, and I totally read way too far into it. I was convinced she was into me.

Only about a month later, I found myself with no date to homecoming, and I was considering asking her to the dance. Her best friend at the time had told me that she was rooting for me but thought I had no chance. Conflicted, I waited for the opportune moment. When that moment never arrived, I put on my big boy britches and asked her to the dance. She said yes, and our first dance was in two days.

Two days later when I rang her doorbell, her mom opened the door to let me in. I waited in the living room in awkward agony while her little sister watched TV on the couch. She finally walked up the stairs with her hair curled and dressed in a blue floral dress perfectly matching the tie I picked out the day before. At that moment I thought I had to have had the most beautiful date to the dance, and I could not have been more right.

After that, we did everything together. I went to her volleyball games, and she came to my cross country meets. We went to our basketball games and track meets together, and she even watched my archery tournaments. I started going to church with her, and we hung out all the time. Those two years flew by incredibly fast until it was time for me to leave.

I was going to South Dakota State to study math and data science, and she still had two more years of high school. I promised to come back and visit, but she was convinced she would not see me at least until Christmas. Over the next three and a half years I would be at college, I only missed a few weekends of coming back to visit. That time tested us, but we both knew that when I had to leave again, it would not be long before I came back.

When I did come back, we made sure we spent as much time together as possible. I took her deer hunting in the fall, and she took me to her grandparents' lake house in the summer. Every activity one of us did, we found a way to include the other.

In July 2024, her dad took us to Nigeria for the very first time. I was being told that travelling with someone will reveal who they really are, and whoever said that was completely right. I found out that she was perfect. We brought gifts for the orphanage and spoke to the college students together. We worked as a team with everything we did. We never got annoyed with each other, even when we both got sick from eating questionable goat leg before leaving.

We always talked about getting married, but I always said it had to wait until after college. That line I drew became real when I finished classes in December. College was officially over, I moved back home, and I was fresh out of excuses. Only a week later, I was at the store picking out a ring.

Her family was planning a vacation in Hawaii which I was invited to tag along on. I mapped out every detail of how I was going to do it. I planned to propose in front of a huge waterfall with exotic trees and plants in the background. My plan was perfect, but disaster struck. Natural disaster.

Two weeks before we were to leave, Hawaii received statewide floods forcing us to rethink the trip. Somehow, the lot landed on Utah. Of all places, they chose the one place with no trees or water, the two things necessary for a forest waterfall proposal. Crushed, I found the best hikes at each destination. I planned to propose on the route of the most beautiful trail in Utah. That is, until her parents came to their senses and refused to go to Utah.

This time, they chose Puerto Rico. The perfect proposal was back on the table. This time, I was not met with changing plans, but a rotten attitude. She had been so excited for Utah and was crushed when she had to go to the beach instead. I convinced her that everything would be okay if we just went to Puerto Rico, and reluctantly, she agreed to go.

El Yunque Rainforest was a short drive from San Juan, and I made sure it was the first place we went. Before long, we found ourselves at the end of a trail at a rushing stream. Huge rocks weighing thousands of pounds made a dry path to the middle of the stream. Her dad had his camera at the ready while I fumbled around trying to get her to turn away from me while I pulled the Walnut ring box out of my back pocket. When she turned back around, I presented the ring with the biggest smile I have ever had.

I asked Jaylin to marry me, and she said yes. With another five days left in Puerto Rico, Jaylin spent every free moment thinking of the wedding and answering her phone which was flooded with questions from friends and family.

I never imagined when I saw Jaylin walking down the hall on the first day of school, I would be asking her to marry me on a rock in the rainforest in Puerto Rico. I have never been more in love and excited for the next adventures we get to share.