Our Story
Brandon
I was born in Kingman, KS in 1985. I am the son of Calvin and Tammy Clark and have three brothers and one sister. We lived in Kingman for six years before moving to Georgia for four years, then Ireland for two years, and finally back to Kingman my fifth grade year until I graduated high school. After I graduated, my family moved to Germany and have been there ever since. I have really enjoyed living in different states and countries as I have gained many experiences from our travels. My parents have been the best parents I could have ever asked for. They have kept Christ first in their lives and have set a great example for what it looks like to love God and to obey his will. After I graduated high school and came to Kansas State University, I lost focus of God and began to live my own life as my parents moved to Germany. It took a few years to realize that I could not do things on my own and needed Christ in my life. I turned my life around and began to get involved in a campus ministry called the Navigators. This ministry really challenged my faith and made me into the man I am today. I have spent two summers down in Jacksonville, FL with the Navigators for a summer training program. Those two summers really helped to give me a vision for advancing the gospel of God and laboring for him for life. My relationship with Christ has continued to grow and I am excited to see what he has in store for the future. I am majoring in Elementary Education and hope to graduate from Kansas State University in December 2009.
Amanda
I was born in Smithville, Missouri back in 1986. My parents and I lived in Kansas City for a year, and then moved to Council Grove, KS where we lived for a couple years, before finally moving to Hope, KS where I began preschool. It was during my preschool year that my parents gave birth to a beautiful little boy. I was super excited to finally have a little brother. When Harley was a year old, and I was 6, he became really ill and we were in the hospital with him for 6 months before he passed away. This was a very rough time for my family and it caused me to grow up really quick. However, 2 months later a new joy came into our lives, my little sister Kylan was born! I attended school in Hope from kindergarten until I graduated high school. During this time my parents separated and later both remarried. Right before my junior year of high school I moved to Abilene, where we have lived ever since. I went to college up at Kansas State University in the fall of 2005 where I began a degree in Elementary Education. At this time in my life I was really lost and confused on what life was all about. I quickly realized that life without Christ was pointless and unfulfilling and began to get involved in a freshman bible study with the Navigators. It was the second part of my freshman year that I decided to turn my life over to Christ and have been pursuing him ever since. He has been the number one love in my life and has taught me and blessed me in so many different ways. During college I attended one summer training program with the Navigators and had the great privilege of leading a bible study for some amazing women. I am now a senior in college and am getting ready to graduate in May.
Us
We first met at Amanda’s apartment after Navigators one night when they had people over for a Root Beer Float party. We found out immediately that we were both going to Jacksonville, FL for a summer training program and this is where our friendship began. That summer, we carpooled down to Florida where we got to know each other even more. It was during that summer that I (Brandon) began to take notice in Amanda. After the summer had ended, I began to pray about pursuing Amanda and decided it was not the right time. She was a great Godly woman who was sold to giving her life to Christ, but I knew neither one of us would be ready to pursue a relationship with each other at that time. For the next year, I was in constant prayer over the situation and sought council from friends and family. During this time, we both continued to grow in our relationship with the Lord and making him the number one priority in our lives. We started hanging out with each other more and more in group settings and would carpool together whenever we went on trips, but our friendship was just that, a friendship. I chose to go back down to Florida for another summer training program and continued my prayer over the situation. I only wanted what God wanted for me and I felt as though he was drawing me closer to pursuing Amanda. I (Amanda) spent that summer in Manhattan taking a full semester of classes. I had no idea that Brandon was interested in me and was content with where I was at in life. I knew that someday God would bring a Godly man into my life but I thought it would be later on in life. Once I (Brandon) returned from Florida, I felt as though God was leading me to pursue a relationship with Amanda and continued to pray every day about it.
We had a leadership conference with the Navigators in Kansas City, and it was at this conference that I (Amanda) noticed there was something different about Brandon and I began to take interest in him. However, I tried not to think about it because I knew that God would provide for my future and I didn’t need to worry about it. After the weekend was over, we started hanging out more and more and we both felt that God was bringing us together. One day when we were in the library, Brandon asked me to have lunch with him the following weekend. This really made me nervous because I knew what he probably wanted to talk about and I wasn’t sure if that’s what God wanted for my life. I prayed the whole week for God’s hand on the situation and trusted in him to guide my feelings. We had a great lunch and I was right, Brandon expressed his interest in me and told me he had been praying about it for over a year. This really comforted me because I knew it wasn’t a spontaneous decision he had made, but one that he had been praying about and seeking the Lord on. We decided to take a while to pray about it to make sure it was what God wanted.
After a month of prayer and council, we began dating on October 6, 2008. We both entered the relationship knowing that this could possibly be the person we would marry. While dating, we really enjoyed getting to know each other more and pushing each other towards God. During Christmas break, I (Brandon) started looking towards the future and knew that God had brought Amanda into my life to be my wife. I spent a lot of time in prayer about the situation and talked with my parents about it. Towards the end of break, I bought an engagement ring with the intentions of asking her to marry me when I got back from Germany. When I got back, I got permission from her parents to take her hand in marriage. A few days later, I went to visit Amanda and took her out to her family’s cabin. We started a fire to stay warm and sat down to talk. I pulled out an iPod player and played a few songs that we danced to (our first dance!). While dancing, I pulled out my bible and read some verses to her that I had been praying over. After this, I got down on one knee and asked Amanda to marry me. She said yes and we both cried for a while as we hugged each other. God has brought us together and soon will unite us for life. We are extremely excited to labor for God with each other as we begin a life together.