How did your love story begin?

Edita was my Sunday School teacher when we were teenagers in the 1980s. I had a huge crush on her but never found the courage to tell her. Then one Sunday she arrived at church with a handsome young man. Certain he was her “boyfriend”. I was crushed. I rushed to the church office, wrote my very first love letter, and slipped it into her hand after the service. That “boyfriend” turned out to be a visiting relative- and that letter began our love story.

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

Our favorite memory is our wedding day as it celebrated both our marriage and our first home. At our wedding, we honored our parents with plaques of gratitude- a rare wedding tradition, Afterward, instead of a typical reception, we held a house blessing for the house we had built while still engaged. We cut a gold ribbon to match our wedding motif- to a great surprise of our family and friends. Then food was served for a joyful celebration. What fun we had in our unique wedding!

What would you do with $20,000?

One chapter is still missing from our love story: I never got down on one knee to ask “Edita, will you marry me?” We just mutually decided to get married. If we win, I’ll buy Edita the ring she never received, get on one knee after 43 years of marriage, and ask “ Will you marry me….again?” - and hoping she’d say “Yes”. The rest of the prize will support God Is LOVE Ministry, a non-profit organization we established to support students who answered God’s call to Christian ministry.