Erin and I met at UC Irvine, at a campus ministry named Crossroads Campus Ministries (CCM). During my 3rd year and her 2nd year, I sent her an email because I was interested in getting to know her more. Unfortunately, she did not respond and months passed by before I would get to hear from her again.
Week 1 of school came around and CCM had its annual “beginning of the year bowling event”. To my luck, Erin and I happened to be on the same bowling team. It's funny because, I was the one assigning the teams... but I promise I did not rig it! Anyways, after some “study sessions” at the UCI Science Library and some “incidental" run-ins at Starbucks, our friends started getting suspicious.
Erin, being the godly woman I always knew her to be, quickly approached me and apologized. Why? Erin said, “Matt! I’m so sorry that there are rumors being shared among CCM about you and me. I did not mean to discourage you in any way and I hope you don't take it the wrong way!" Wow. I just got rejected from the girl I liked, and I wasn't even the one to bring it up to her. My luck ran out, and I thought to myself, “Well, what is there to lose?”
I confessed to Erin my feelings for her and she was shocked! But long story short, a few rejections and couple months later, she said yes, and that is why I get to tell you this awesome story here on this website 3.5 years later. Thank you all for your love and support! We look forward to seeing you all August 29th!
P.S. I love telling this story so don’t be shy to ask :)
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A few weeks prior to our engagement, Matt surprised me with tickets to a "Firework Show" taking place on November 8th at 5PM. The show was in Corona del Mar – Newport Beach, the beach we always used to visit during college. At the time, I was really excited for this because we hadn't gone out on any dates due to his busy school schedule. Little did I know that behind the scenes, Matt had begun planning a huge surprise engagement party with the help of our family and friends! Looking back, I can't believe I fell for it... Firework show at 5pm? Really Erin?
November 8th arrived and that morning, I had breakfast with a friend. Afterwards I felt tired and told Matt that I'd probably stay home with my parents that evening instead of go to the show. Matt was unusually calm... He told me to rest and said that he would see me at church the next morning. But being my usual indecisive self, twenty minutes later, I found myself in the car driving to South Coast Plaza. Matt and I planned to meet here before we went to Corona Del Mar together.
An hour before the proposal, I was still as clueless as ever. Matt made sure that we picked up food to eat during the show and eventually, we arrived at the beach and took a familiar stroll down a path that led to the beach. There I found two chairs that were neatly set up in the middle lit lanterns. Matt began leading me towards the chairs into the center of those lit lanterns. He opened his bag, pulled out a notebook and began reading a note he had written to me on the first day we started dating. I stood there shocked as he got down on one knee and asked, “Erin Soh, Will you marry me?” After a long pause of disbelief, I replied, “YES!” and we hugged.
A couple minutes passed and Matt said we had to hurry to the car and drive to the engagement party. We walked back up the pathway and to my surprise, saw our family & friends lined up forming a bridge with sparklers! That was the best “firework show” of all time.
We appreciate your prayers during this engagement process as we prepare to become husband and wife.
1. Pray that by God’s grace and through Jesus' example, we would grow an unconditional, sacrificial love for each other that seeks to honor Him in all that we think, say, and do.
2. Pray that during wedding planning, we would be reminded of the gospel. With all the details that come with planning a wedding, it’s easy to lose sight of its true purpose. We want our main focus to be on Christ.
3. Matt is currently finishing up his second year of dental school. He needs physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to lead the family while also working hard to graduate from school. Please pray that God would train Matt to adopt a servant-leader's heart.
4. Erin is working at UCLA health. She also needs the physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to come alongside and be a helper to Matt. Please pray for Erin that she would grow to be a helper that encourages and supports Matt despite the difficult circumstances.
