Our Story

So there I was one day, sitting in church, when a nice lady walks in and sits next to me. We share the bulletin I have in my hands - it was the last one. Halfway through the service, I noticed I don't have my bulletin any more. She's now sharing it with the lady on the other side of her. I decided right then and there to talk to her after church (for me, that's like a drunk saying he's going to try to walk down stairs - it can only end badly).

Low and behold, she was a senior college student from La Verne, and a very nice & friendly one at that. We had already established that she was a Christian - that being by the far the most difficult part to get out of the way - so, from out of left field, I had the strangest idea: why not ask her out?

Before long, she gave me her phone number by leaving a message on my cell - which I had left in my dorm - with me standing right next to her. I decided to whip out one of my brand-new business cards - very professional! - and gave it to her with a flourish. Little did I know that this was one of her qualifiers for dating men (they should always have business cards), as I would find out later. Upon hearing a description of my schedule and my life, she declared that I should have some more fun. I had always wanted to meet more underclassmen as a senior - she took it upon herself to make sure this would be the case.

There was one final test. I asked, as we walked out to the parking lot, if she liked Chipotle (I live by the stuff). Lo and behold, she gave a definite 'yes'. I walked her to her car and heard - and this was definitely the icing on the cake - Norah Jones from her stereo. She was a Christian, a nice person, AND we shared musical tastes? This was by far too good to be true.

One lunch at Chipotle later, I asked her to dinner that Wednesday. I had never asked anybody out on an actual date before - I felt kind of nervous, and excited, and... well, who knew what was going to happen? I had actually asked someone out - and, as it turned out, I hit gold the first time I tried. A year-and-change later, the rest is history!

Well, we kind of "met" twice, but Brian tends to forget the first time.

First meeting - I was living in La Verne about to start my Senior year at the university. I had spent all summer on campus, as a resident adviser, but I was itching to meet non-ULV students. I figured the best place to look for morally grounded friends would be a church. However, there were no Lutheran churches in the city. So, I decided to do an online search. The next day I arrived at St. Luke's in Claremont.

Being summer in Claremont, there was only one other person of college age in the pews, so I decided to sit next to him. He was very nice, but a bit rustic, so I immediately thought to myself , "He's an engineering major". I was right, he told me he went to Harvey Mudd, but he liked ULV because of the athletic track. We got to chatting a bit, but then parted ways to go back to our respective campuses.

Second meeting - school had started, so Sunday was really my only day to sleep in. That being said, I arrived for church about 15 minutes late. It must have been a church holiday or something, because the pews were full and all the bulletins had been taken. Just when I thought I was out of luck, I immediately recognized the kid from Mudd and sat down next to him. He kindly offered to share his bulletin with me, which I accepted. As the Lutheran hour went on, the sharing of the bulletin quickly turned into me confiscating the program to share with the woman sitting next to me.

After church, I proceeded to the "fellowship" (aka, free cookie) area, where I saw my fellow collegian enjoying the free refreshments. He said his name was Brian, and we exchanged business cards. I asked him how the classes were going, and he said he'd already been pulling all-nighters. Shocked, as it was only the second week of school, I asked him what he did for fun, to which Brian replied, "Fun, I don't have time for fun, I am an engineer!".

In true Mercy-Faith fashion I said, "Well, Brian, we're going to be friends; I am going to bring a little more fun to your life!". I said this with no hidden agenda, I honestly just wanted him to go to a few more campus events and enjoy life to the fullest. He asked me to lunch after that, and we immediately hit if off.

From that point on Senior year was filled with road trips, soccer games,stints on homecoming court, impromptu tennis matches, drives to Balboa Island, Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority functions, lantern-lit walks in Pasadena, Ice Cream at Bert & Rockies, and two graduations. Being with Brian has been a blast from the very first (or second depending on who's counting) day we met. As the years go on, I hope to continue to find ways to, "bring a little more fun" to his life.