In December, the students at UCSD get Christmas Break. That means as a staff person who ministers to college students my primary job of investing in students on campus gets put off for a few weeks. However, there are many other parts of the job that we continue to work on during the holidays, such as fundraising, donor communication, Bible Study prep, planning for the next quarter, and staff training and development.
The first week of the Christmas break was spent in training and development at our EDGE Corps Summit. We have summits in the summer and winter. EDGE Summits are times when all the EDGE Corps staff from across the country come together and receive training, get refreshed, and learn and share about the different things God is doing all across the country on different campuses. It's an extremely encouraging time! The summit took place at Glen Eyrie Castle, the official headquarters and home of The Navigators. During the summit we had different classes on the New Testament, relationships and marriage (more on this topic later in this post), intentional friendships, having a vision for the World, and more! This was a great time for refreshing after our first quarter of ministry for the year. It was also so fun to connect with many friends who are also doing EDGE Corps in other places around the country.
The break was a really neat time to be with my family. All of my sibling were able to come out for break. 
Unfortunately, my brother Dave and his wife Stacy got delayed in Seattle and had to stay there through Christmas, but they were able to make it out the day after 
Christmas. This Christmas was also the first Christmas that Tess got to spend with my entire family. I also got to spend a lot of quality time with my close friends back home, whom I had left and had not seen much of over the previous four months. It was really fun!
And there was one other reason this Christmas break was so amazing! The Big News...
I GOT ENGAGED!!!!!
That's right! Tessica White, who I have been dating since last year, and I got engaged this Christmas! December 23rd to be precise. For a long time now I have been praying about Tess and I and our future together. Over the period that we have been dating, God has really melded our hearts together more and more and has led closer and closer. Spiritually and emotionally of course, due to us being in two different states at the moment, I in California and she in Colorado. From the 
start we both saw God working in our lives and our relationship. One thing I loved about how we started dating was that God brought Tess into my life in a way that I could not and did not try to put together or make work myself. Before we had met, God had taken us both through trying times that made us rely upon Him more and more and begin to surrender our lives and futures to Him. And for some reason, he found fit to bring us into each others lives. 
We have both been extremely grateful and excited at what God had done in our lives and who he had brought into our lives. Little did we know at the time he would slowly bring those two lives closer and closer together through Him. Though we have had hard times, God has always seen us through them and used our relationship to remind us of His awesome love, grace, and to see and try to personify his character. Especially when our dating relationship changed gears into long distance mode, we have had to trust him even more with our future together. More and more, time and time again, God gave resounding confirmation that this relationship was one that honored and pleased Him. And honestly, it has been more than a pleasure for us, and I am truly honored to have the chance to know Tess!
I am so excited to be engaged to Tessica White. She is a godly woman with such a servants spirit. One of the first thing that really made an impression on me was how much she tried and extended herself to my parents and my friends. She just seemed to fit perfectly amongst both groups of family and friends. One of the first talks we had together was about our similar heart to have ministry be a part of our lives in whatever fashion God would call. That was something I had not seen in a whole lot of girls I had been around in the past and it energized me to be sharing hopes and interests with someone who felt some of the same ways. Tess comes from missionary parents who Pastor a church in France. In this way we have been able to understand a little bit of where the other is coming from, both having ministry parents. Another thing that I found so attractive and intriguing was the knowledge and experience Tess had in the world. Growing up in France, she has experienced many parts of the world that I have only seen in movies and read in books. The fact that she was fluent in two or three languages was pretty impressive too ;) I know it is such an encouragement to both of us that we both come from parents and families who love the Lord. Honestly, I could go on for quite sometime about all of the things I love about Tess and what has attracted me more and more to her, but I should probably stop there. If you would like to know more about her just ask. Oh, did I mention she is the most amazingly beautiful woman I know? God has blessed her with a truly natural inner and outer beauty. How did I get so lucky and blessed? I thank God everyday for Tessica.
*****This next section is for those who would like the detailed events of how I proposed. If you know the story or would prefer to skip this section, I have placed a few pictures at the end of this post.*****
On December 23rd, 2008 I picked Tess up from her work with a bouquet of roses. I told her I wanted to take her out on a nice date, because I don't get to take her out often, due to living in another state. Tess suggested that maybe we could try out the Jack in the Box fast food restaurant that recently opened near her house :). I said, well we could go there, or I made reservations for Biaggis if you like. She was more than happy to go to Biaggis instead. 
Biaggis is a nice Italian restaurant and the first place we ever went out to eat. It was fun going back there and talking about the first time we hung out and got to know each other. After having her favorite dessert, tiramisu, I suggested we drive around town and look at all of the Christmas lights. Before we checked out lights around town, we got come coffee. I took her to the first place we ever met, Starbucks. We got our favorite drinks, sat, and talked for a while. We reminisced over all the things God had done in our lives and relationship since first meeting. We got back in the car 
and I suggested we check out the castle at Glen Eyrie. This is where I had planned to propose and share different things God had laid on my heart having to do with Tess and I, and show her places where I had spent time praying for her and us. However, this is where the comedy of errors begins. We pulled up to the driveway of the Glen and discovered the property was blocked off with cones and signs saying closed. They had just shut down the property that night for Christmas. So, it was on to plan B. We 
turned around and I suggested we head down to the Broadmoor. The Broadmoor is a nice, old hotel and resort in south Colorado Springs. It's a very beautiful location with a lake that runs through the property. While trying to get down to the Broadmoor we took a wrong turn and ended up in a completely wrong location. After turning back and correcting the turn a few miles back, we finally reached the Broadmoor. :)
We got valet parking and walked into one of the two main hotels. The hotels were all decked out with Christmas lights, a huge gingerbread house, fireplaces, and Christmas trees. 
After checking out all of the neat things in the first hotel we walked outside to check out the pond and walk to the other hotel. It was fairly cold outside with snow on the ground and the trees all decorated with lights and ornaments. We walked around and took a few pictures together. Looking around I saw that it was perfectly quiet and calm outside and it would make it the perfect location to 
propose. I decided we would walk to the other hotel to check it out inside and when we returned back outside, I would propose in the stillness of night. We walked into the other hotel and right away Tess could smell lilies everywhere in the main lobby. Unfortunately, she is allergic to lilies. So, we quickly moved to some side rooms and halls to look at the rest of the venue. Knowing we were heading outside I began talking a little more deeply and intentionally about our future. However, right 
after walking outside a family with cute little kids exited behind us. The little kids followed and walked next to us. For some odd reason, all of a sudden there were a lot more people outside. It was pretty funny how it worked out that way. So after walking back over to the first hotel we walked around for a few minutes trying to find somewhere to sit and talk. With a little convincing I suggested we venture outside once more to look around a little more ;) I pointed out a spot we had not gone to yet, which was off to the side with a 
few sweet lampposts and snow all around. We stopped and talked a for a minute. I looked at Tess and kissed her. I told her I wanted to give her my Christmas present a little early this year. She said OK. I got down on one knee and 
asked her, Tessica Lanelle White, Veux tu m'epouser? I asked her to marry me in French. She said Oui! Yes, of course. :D I put the ring on her finger and we had a long embrace. It was an amazing time! And yes, she cried. After taking some 
pictures and enjoying the time and joy of the moment, we headed back my house, where my parents and sister were waiting with Champagne to toast our engagement. It was a joyous time! And it continues to be today.
WE ARE SO EXCITED TO GET MARRIED. It will have wonderful times and hard times, but we will be together through it all and have God to trust in and rely on. Please pray for us as we prepare for our lives together. I will continue to update you all with what is happening in our relationship and in the plans for the future! We love you all.
Here are a few of our engagement photos:
