alaskan • surpr1se of a lifetime To go on a spring break mission campaign and to speak the truth of God's word, you must have love. To ask a woman to be your wife on that campaign, you must have love and a ring. While working on a spring break mission campaign in Ketchikan, Alaska, senior David Mosher knew it was time to ask senior Monica Russell to be his wife. Mosher and Russell knew each other in high school and decided to go to Harding, where they started their relationship their freshman year. This put the couple two years, six months and five days into their relationship upon engagement, according to Russell. With a ring ordered, Mosher thought it would be 12 weeks before he would get a chance to pop the question, but the ring came in just four weeks, giving Mosher the element of surprise and the opportunity of a beautiful proposal site. "I was trying to throw her off the scent a little bit," Mosher said. Though friends and family were supportive and helpful, there were still details to be ironed out once in Alaska. Mosher entrusted the ring to a friend during the flight to Alaska, ensuring its safety and guarding it from Russell's notice. In Alaska, Mosher had to find the perfect spot to ask the most important question. Mosher discussed possible sites with Gary Souza, the preacher of the church where they were volunteering for the week, and found little bits of time to sneak away and check things out. Mosher had packed a case of 32 floating candles hoping to find a spot next to a body of water in which to set the floating lights. Sadly, the week was rainy and snowy, and proposal venues were restricted to indoors. On the final night in Ketchikan, the group met for a devotional at Totem State Park ,in a cabin with a totem above the entrance. Mosher had surveyed the scene earlier in the day and knew it was right. After some distraction was devised for Russell to keep her out of the building, the candles were set in a heart shape in the middle of the room with rose petals making a cross in the middle and the rest of the group singing "I Want to Grow Old With You" from the Wedding Singer a cappella as Russell walked into the building. Russell gasped as she took in the scene and found Mosher standing among petals and candles, motioning her towards him. "The whole time I was thinking, 'Oh my goodness, this is really happening. This is really happening,"' Russell said. Russell said she did not expect a proposal on the trip, focusing instead on the people she was serving, but in the end it was everything she could have hoped for in that moment. Russell, who loved weddings and proposals, said that she had heard of great proposals, but her own surpassed them all. "I couldn't have imagined it any better," Russell said. "For me, it was perfect." After the excitement had quieted, Mosher addressed the group and made a statement about their new relationship. Mosher told the group he wanted their life together to be like a mission trip, God-focused and full of service to others, which made the time spent with the Alaskan community mean even more to the group. Chaney Mitchell "Everyone knew about the engagement except Monica. We had to keep it a secret from her almost the entire trip. Going to Alaska to share God's word and see two people share their love for each other was the experience of a lifetime," junior Victoria Tyer said. 14 I Student Life r.-!«•:•:-!• ~·---·-·· .. ·:· .... ... ~ ..
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