[Her] Story
I loved my alone time, going to coffee shops to journal and write, and having all the alone-time in the world to pursue my dream. I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to live my life in any other way than on my own.

Then in 2015, the people and circumstances in my life inspired me to step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to try something new with my life, so I went back to school and gave teaching a try, and also skeptically ventured into online dating. I got tired of it towards the end of the year.

Just a few days before I was about to deactivate my account, a certain someone messaged me, a guy who wore a blue bow-tie. We set up a date. But when I started practicum, I considered canceling the date, and even went so far as to type out the message to him. I wanted to focus only on school. But good thing I decided otherwise. I told myself to give dating ONE last chance before calling it quits. A good way to close my season of dating.

On The Day, a chilly October afternoon, I went early to L'Espresso and saved us a spot. A few minutes later, he walked in, and I thought he was so cute. We spent hours chatting, and I could tell we shared similar values. I felt we could be friends. By the second date, I changed my mind -- I wanted to be way more than just friends.

It's funny. When I met Bosco, I didn't expect at all to fall so in love with him, to admire him so much, to find a best friend in him. I had no idea someone could love me, a quirky, crazy and complicated human being, with such depth and sincerity. I hadn't expected anything at all the day I sat myself down in the L'Espresso cafe. And that's probably the theme of my relationship with Bosco: he is and continues to be a wonderful surprise.

Life rarely goes as planned--and how grateful I am for that.


[His] Story
While I enjoy my alone time, I've always believed in love. As a "planner," being creative, romantic, fun, spontaneous, and adventurous comes almost naturally to me. Expressing that side with friends is good and all, but having someone I can always turn to for affirmation and quality time, someone I can express my love to through gifts, it's a constant craving in me. June satisfies that craving in me, and more.

I wasn't always like this though. I remember a clear time in my life when I was extremely self-centered, and looked out only for what I could get or feel from friends and relationships. This was before I met Christ Jesus. As I turned my eyes towards God, my definition of love was slowly transformed by the sacrificial love of God also. A huge turning point for me happened almost ten years ago through a sermon series by Voddie Baucham, on “Love and Marriage,” where he expounded on how Biblical Love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of the individual. This made so much sense to me, reoriented the way I approached relationships, and I knew that this is the kind of love that lasts, that’s stable, that stays, and can serve as a foundation on which a marriage can be built. Another big moment came in recent years when I stopped searching for “the one” (which often left me overthinking and confused) as “soul mates” don’t logically exist, but instead started looking for a “sole mate” – someone who would walk with me on this spiritual journey and live out with me the great purposes of God.

That’s the attitude I brought in when I decided to try “online dating.” Being a pastor at my church, I decided to not date anyone from within…and also realized at the same time how hard it was to find someone who would want the ministry lifestyle. Online just made sense. It took some time of trial and learning, a time of getting to know both myself and what I’m searching for, until I discovered June through OKCupid where we were a 99% match. We expressed interest in each other, and on Sep 30th, 2016 I sent her my first message, making a note about how I agree that “there’s so much to learn from studying dead people” (she studied history), and asked her what the best part of her week was. She responded that the best part of the best was that day, when she had small group and how she really appreciated the fellowship. Right then and there I knew this girl was something special. As we kept chatting, we moved our chat to emails, and June just got more and more interesting, and she was filled with passion.

I knew I had to meet her in person. The only time she was available was Thursday Evening…but I had work and Thursday Evening Prayer. Realizing that I didn’t wanna wait, I took what I could get, and we met up at a coffee shop opposite church. We only had an hour and a half, but what broke the ice quickly was the fact that her cousin, Gee, actually goes to my church, and in that short hour we talked about everything from church, theology, writing, UofT, TESL, family, history, and more. As we chatted, she got prettier…and prettier as we talked, as she got to be more and more herself. I took it as a good sign. We eventually got kicked out as the coffee shop was closing and I had to run to Evening Prayer anyways. We shook hands when we met and she gave me a high five when we left. That was new. Very quickly I knew I had to see her again, where time was less of a constraint, and so we did…and after being kicked out from at least 5 more places from staying and talking too long, we made it “official” after chatting overnight in her lobby and Tim Hortons on our third date. Not many people can stand my intensity, and somehow she is even more intense than I am!

We still talk a lot, we still get kicked out of a lot of places for staying too long, and we still go on random adventures, trying new things, eating new things. Having her support and love for me no matter what, and having someone I can support, love and celebrate with, is a huge bonus. To be loved is to be known and to be known is to be loved. Two playful people entering marriage, with very similar views on how God designed marriage to make us holy rather than just happy, desiring to know one another ant to know God…I can’t wait.