Anton and Lisa went to UCLA for their undergraduate degrees and were both a part of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship - a community of faith on campus. But that's not how they actually met. In fact, they never met in college even though they were often in the same room together for fellowship events. While Lisa was deeply involved in InterVarsity and growing in her faith, Anton was on the fringe of the community, often partially attending InterVarsity's events before heading off to his next rave or college party. Needless to say, Anton and Lisa ran in different circles, and they're pretty sure, had they actually gotten a chance to meet during college, they might not have fancied one another quite as much. It seemed that the timing wasn't right, but thankfully, through God's grace and initiative, Anton and Lisa got their second chance 7 years later...
Fast forward to 2017, Anton and Lisa's paths finally crossed with a bit of help from Lisa's boss and the internet. During a season of personal trials, Anton found deep healing and purpose in God unlike he ever had before, in part because of the support and direction of Lisa's boss, Sam, who was a mutual friend at the time. Sam was so impressed by Anton's growth, character and maturity over the years, that he thought he'd play matchmaker and try to set Lisa and Anton up on a date. Unfortunately, Sam's matchmaking skills were a bit rusty at the time, and he severely undersold Anton in his pitch to Lisa, who was less than impressed and dismissed the idea immediately. Months passed and the prospect of meeting seemed dim, but a final opportunity to meet arose...via eharmony.
Lisa and Anton had both tried online dating without much success and both of their accounts were about to expire. Lisa decided to look at her account one more time before ending her subscription, and noticed a message in her inbox. The sender's profile picture looked familiar to her and she also noticed this person went to UCLA and was the same age as her. Curious as to whether she had met this individual before, Lisa asked her boss Sam if he knew the person, since Sam had worked at UCLA throughout Lisa's college years. To Lisa's surprise, Sam responded: "Yes I do know him. That's the guy I tried to set you up with almost a year ago!" This time, Sam successfully convinced Lisa to go on a date with Anton, and they finally met on February 26th at Paper or Plastik, a hipster coffee shop in LA. What Lisa thought would be a 30 minute date ended up lasting 3 hours. Anton and Lisa were both struck by how at home they immediately felt with one another, and how easy it was to connect over their mutually held faith, passions and values. It was clear to both of them they had found something special, and something worth holding on to.
Over the next year and a half, their relationship blossomed. They both found a best friend and partner in each other. They began to share a deep connection and alignment in their purpose of seeking God together. They discovered the great joy of being their weirdest, silliest selves together, all the while going on exciting adventures and savoring simple quiet moments of every day life together. They have also wrestled through their share of trials and have seen God strengthen their relationship through them. Through all this, they realized that spending the rest of their lives together would leave them better together than apart.
So, on September 25 2018, Anton proposed to Lisa at their second date location in San Pedro and she said YES! They are now both so excited to celebrate this special day with all of you as they walk into this next season of marriage, their biggest adventure yet!