The story starts at God's Bible School and College, as many stories before this one has, with a young woman and a young man. Of course, there were many other women and men present, but for the sake of a simpler story, let us focus in on a young Rita Goins, from Troy, Missouri. Rita had never ventured too far away from home before for any extended period of time, and the dorm life came as a bit of a culture shock. Sharing a room with a stranger is hardly something that comes easy, and what a roommate she had! Seth and Jonathan strode into Rita and Amanda's dorm room that one fateful afternoon. "Good afternoon," they greeted from the door... "Were you the one that called about the comp....."

SHRREEEIIIIEKKKK!!!

A rush of red hair and accompanying curdling scream came from the roommate as she fled the room. Apparently her state of undress (short sleeves, gasp!) was a cause of much consternation to the fragile freshwoman, and she was not expecting male guests, much less a couple six foot cousins, who just happened to be on that floor working on computer requests.

Jonathan Bartolomeo, in his second year at GBS, had become the "Go-To Guy" for all things computer-related in the dorms after becoming the computer assistant that year, and his cousin Seth was along to assist and also to keep him out of possibly embarrassing situations. Just like.... This one... For Amanda, anyways. Rita seemed perfectly content to have guys around.

"We're really sorry. We can come back later, if you'd like."

Assured by Rita that this was a good time, we went on about the job at hand, and took a look at the computer that had been built by Rita's brother, Jeremy. As a fan of people who build their own computers, I asked her several questions. Pleased that she had a head on her shoulders and knew a few things about computer terminology, a friendship formed that day. (Amanda never returned while they were there)

And that's all it was when she was at GBS: a friendship.

They got along pretty well, and they hung out in similar groups for a large portion of the time while she was at GBS, but due to other people, situations, and interests, the time spent together was never anything but friendly. But it was the kind of friendship that got better with time. She always had his back, always understood, and he always listened, always helped.

Over the years that followed, they stayed interested in each other's lives, helped each other out, gave each other dating advice and hung out when she visited. But they remained just friends for quite some time...

Fast forward to May, 2009. They were both single and not looking. Amanda was graduating, and Rita was here with friends. It was Campmeeting season On the Hilltop and they finally got a chance to catch up. They spent nearly the whole weekend with each other, completely on a fluke. As they caught up on each other's lives, gossiped about mutual friends, and got to know each other, they started looking at each other in a new light. Maybe, just maybe, there was something there. But did they dare risk losing their friendship?

Obviously, just by the title of this website, you know the rest of the story. It sort of just happened. It was a whirlwind romance, and in less than 8 months of 6.5 hour drives back and forth between Troy and Cincinnati, something very special came into existence: love. True love. Not the gooshy, sappy, silly love of the freshmen that peaked and fell all around them, but a mature, giving love unlike what either of them had ever experienced before. They finally saw what it truly meant to be in a relationship, and on the evening of January 16th, 2010, after a day filled with Omnimax, Benihana Japanese Restaurant, and professional bull-riding, a nervous Jonathan asked Rita to marry him via a custom iPod application.

She said Yes.

And now, happily engaged, we present our story and our life to you, our friends and family, as we pursue a Godly life together in perfect harmony. Thank you for investing in us and we feel the best years of our lives are yet to come!

Sincerely,
The Bride and Groom