the couple
in ashley's words...
T-mo and I have known each other since 2003 when we entered as
freshmen at Washington University in St. Louis. We served alongside
one another as student leaders in Harambee (a Black Campus Ministries chapter of
IVCF), and in 2007 we both served as
ministry interns with IV, where our friendship and love for
Jesus continued to grow.
After being friends for almost 8 years,
Thomas mustered up the courage to ask me to be his girlfriend (after
which I told him I needed 40 days to think and decide – he’s a patient
man y’all :)). We talked again about a week later (see, I didn’t make
him wait too long!) and began dating in January 2011, and on Oct. 15th
he asked me to be his wife (and I said yes!).
I never expected that
God would bring us together the way He has, but I wouldn’t trade it
for anything in the world. This was true during our student leadership
days as well, but T-mo has a unique way of bringing out the best in
me, and helping me feel safe simply being who God has created me to
be. We both know that Jesus has called us to something much bigger
than ourselves, and we’re excited to follow Him into a lifetime of
sacrificial love for each other and for those around us. There’s no
one else in the world I’d rather share this adventure with than him.

in tmo's words...
Since Ashley talked about how we met, I'll talk about the proposal.
If anybody knows Ashley, surprising her isn't the easiest thing in the world because
she's too smart and too organized. It took a community effort involving family and
friends hustling behind her back.
As we knew that engagement was an appropriate next step, she would ask cornering
questions like "So, do you think we should live in the same city before or after we
get engaged?" or "So, would it be helpful if you knew what kind of rings i liked?".
There was no way I could answer those questions without sounding too disinterested or
giving away my hustling in the background, so I would mumble some kind of response.
The actual surprise involved my wingman Adam Leong as a diversion upon his return flight
to St. Louis from Seattle as I too came to St. Louis on an earlier flight on that day.
I had Adam have Ashley pick him up from the airport while I went to her house and her
roommate Elizabeth let me in. Awaiting her arrival, I was posted on her stairs
until she got home. When she finally opened the door and saw me, her response was
"What are you doing here?",
marked with a mixture of confusion, curiosity, and a tinge of anger :-)
I grabbed her car keys, and we went for a ride. Our first stop was WashU, where we walked
around campus, stopping at a few significant spots from our time in college. Our second
stop was at the Art Hill basin in Forest Park, where I did the actual proposal (and, yep,
she said yes :-). The last stop (as she started asking even more cornering questions)
was my parents' house, where both of our families and some mutual friends were expecting
our arrival.
Later that night, we went out to celebrate on our own for a bit, which turned into about
an hour of me confessing all the ways I lied and deceived her over the past month to pull it
off. Her response this time was
"You did good",
marked with a beautiful smile, an honest chuckle, and a shiny ring.