Our Story
Our story is quite interesting and unique, which many people don't know. Only God could orchestrate everything that happened, so we are so thankful for his gracious faithfulness and patience with us when we tend to screw everything up.
The First Sighting
Definitely not love at first sight
Carly transferred to UNL after her freshman year of college (where she spent at Wayne State College). During the summer between schools, she went on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ called Keynote where she played violin in a touring worship band made up of other college student musicians. When she got to UNL in the fall, their Crusade was hosting a band made up of Keynote staff on East Campus instead of their usual weekly meeting.
Carly went with a couple guys from down the hall and was eating dinner with them before the show, when in walked this loud and obnoxious guy. Carly, being the quiet introvert that she is, immediately dismissed this guy and decided they weren't going to be friends. He introduced himself as James Pruch, and continued on his conversation with these guys that apparently were mutual friends.
An unlikely friendship unfolded between James and Carly, but ever so slowly. Almost painstakingly slow. It took them almost an entire year before they actually had a real conversation. Somewhere along the lines they became friends enough to where James offered Carly a ride to the airport to say goodbye to some international friends before Christmas break. This car ride has become infamous in their relationship. Carly was sad to say goodbye to her friends, so she was rather quiet, which made James incredibly uncomfortable, so in typical James fashion, he started talking. They both discussed how they both wanted to be single forever. James mentioned to Carly that she just needed a man that she could follow to Africa, and he described the woman that he would need to marry as a very harmonious and positive person, even tempered and calm. Carly found this intriguing because she definitely saw those qualities in herself. There were many more awkward conversations like this to follow in their friendship.
Intrigued
An unlikely pair
Every January, Campus Crusade for Christ hosts a winter conference for area universities, and at Denver Christmas Conference 2008, James and Carly talked a little more as James tried to get Carly to come on the South Africa summer project that he would be going on that summer as part of his internship with Campus Crusade. After a session about this opportunity however, they both decided they really wanted to go on STINT (Short term Internship) to this country for the year of 2009. By this time, Carly couldn't get the statement that James made in the car out of her head. "Carly, you need a man you can follow to Africa." But she couldn't date him or like him if she was going to be spending a year with him doing ministry there!!
When they got back home, Carly was preparing to leave for a semester internship in Japan, but kept in pretty good contact with James mostly through facebook and e-mail. He encouraged her and talked her through different facets of the STINT application process. While she was in Japan, they talked on a pretty regular basis, which only increased an interest in Carly's heart but she tried desperately to deny feelings, and she refused to believe he had any sort of feelings other than friendship towards her.
After the long application process, Carly decided not to go on STINT and finish college first. When she came home from Japan, she was oddly excited to see James. They hung out a few times, and always had a really great time. She house sat for a family and James would come over and they'd cook dinner and hang out. He even helped her with the lawnmower on several occasions. Carly couldn't get him out of her thoughts, but for some reason decided there was no way he liked her, and was only treating her like he liked her.
Well, you know what they say happens when you assume things? Lets just say that a few days before James left for South Africa for a month, there was a bit of a confrontation. He left for Africa, and just a few days before he came home, Carly left for Austria for a month, so they spent two months without talking to each other, and then came back just as school started, and boy was that awkward.
A Love Story Unfolds
When school started, Carly became very distracted and was constantly drawn back to James in her thoughts and prayers. She continued to pray about him and asked/begged God to take away the feelings that seemed to only keep growing inside her, despite their awkward coldness towards each other. Eventually something happened and they began talking again. Carly kept reminding herself that he was leaving for Africa in January and there was no way he could possibly like her, especially when he basically ignored her every time he saw her.
Carly was a senior at UNL at this time, and began to really seek the Lord about what to do after school. She was also incredibly distracted and just wanted to seek God's face above all, so she entered into a time of prayer and fasting. Throughout this time, she and James began talking more and more, mostly through e-mail, with a few conversations on the phone. James asked Carly if they could hang out before he moved home to Omaha in preparation to leave for Africa. She agreed and tried desperately to kill hope rising inside her that he might like her after all. They went to coffee after her Bible study where all her freshman girls decided they were going on a date (which Carly desperately and embarassedly denied). The next day James e-mailed her and asked if they could get together after an even that Crusade was hosting for Juniors and Seniors. Carly was incredibly confused and was trying desperately not to assume she knew what he was going to talk to her about. That day was also going to be the last day of her fast. Ironic? Nope, just a God thing.
After this life-options night, James awkwardly asked Carly if she was ready to go and "hang out". They drove separate cars, and both prayed out loud the whole way. When they got to the coffee shop, they sat down and James started to make small talk, which Carly would have none of and just stared at him until he finally got to what he wanted to talk to her about. He took a deep breath and unloaded his feelings for her as her eyes got wider and she continued to take deep breaths.
After he finished saying all of these romantic things to her and pretty much sweeping her off her feet, all she could think to say was "I agree with everything you just said." Yeah, pretty un-romantic huh?
They began their relationship that night, on November 21, 2009.
Proposal!
After dating for a mere 5 weeks, Carly was finally ready to talk about getting engaged. James had brought the subject up several times, but he patiently waited as Carly worked through issues and fears she had. Then over Christmas break, they talked about it, and even looked at rings (something Carly thought she would NEVER do pre-engagement).
James came to Carly's house on the day after Christmas, but didn't want to exchange presents with Carly right away. James rode in the car with Carly's parents on the way to visit her grandma in the hospital while Carly and her sister Bekka drove separately so that he could talk to her parents. After spending some time in the hospital with her family, James, Carly and Bekka drove home and James was completely silent the whole way.
After they exchanged presents, James said he had one more present for her. Carly was pretty sure she knew what was coming, and while he was upstairs she tried to calm her nerves. However, when he walked down the stairs holding a CD case, her heart dropped ever so slightly. He told her that he made a CD of songs that reminded him of her so she could listen to them while he was in Africa. She was noticeably disappointed. He went on to tell her that he wrote a little description about each song as to why he chose them, so she opened the case and didn't see a CD. After looking at the empty case for a second, she realized there was the ring around the center hook. As James took the ring from her hand and knelt down, tears came to her eyes. Being a man of many words, the only ones he said were "Carly, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Her only reaction was to put her hand over her mouth and shake her head yes!
