Our Story[Part 1]....

it's a little long....
NOW before you read this….remember don’t judge me:) We’ve all made mistakes....

In college, I dated this guy[not Kaz]. We broke up right before Summer Beach Project…Now in college, I was involved in Campus Outreach. Every summer we had a summer beach project usually in Cocco Beach, FL where 100+ students from The Collge of Charleston, The Citadel, Francis Marion University, and Charleston Southern University would attend. We worked during the day at local places and then at night had different trainings to help us grow in our walk with the Lord. So, I knew it was going to be a difficult summer because this guy was going to the beach project and we were both room leaders[We lead a room of 3-4 girls/or guys]. It just so happened that Kaz was in his room….. SO of course, I didn’t talk to Kaz and honestly I could have cared less about him. I had 2 really good friends who was head over heels for Kaz but I had never talked to him…That summer we had 2 interactions:)

1. I had very bad knee problems that I found about that summer…I was told to stop running[at that time I was running about 5 miles a day]. I couldn’t stop so every morning I would get up when it was still dark and go about a mile away from the hotel so no one would see me running….WELL Kaz loved running too so HE saw me every morning and never said a word:)
2. I asked to borrow some of this camo clothes for a 4th of July party we had! This is a picture of me wearing his cloths:)

So the summer was over, and I was back at school. My best friend Logan was dating Kaz’s roommate. A friends wedding was coming up so Logan and her boyfriend[Kaz’s roommate] talked Kaz into asking me….I didn’t know anything about Kaz. A lot of people always talked so highly of Kaz but I still associated him with my old boyfriend because they were roommates for a summer so I just didn’t know about him….Kaz called and asked me on the date. The date turned into a whole weekend date…See the wedding was in Charleston so me and Logan stayed with friends and since Kaz lived in Charleston we ended up going out a couple of times. We went to the wedding, went on a date to marble slab, and out to dinner….He was SO SWEET. He paid everytime….NOW, let me just say. Kaz had never had a girlfriend so he was really really nervous…It was cute!

After the dates, he ASKED if he could call me. Of course.. so he started calling and to be honest I liked him, I just wasn’t ready for a boyfriend….I told him and we still talked every now and then but not everyday…..The next summer we had the opportunity to go to South Africa with Campus Outreach[a group of about 18 students]. We had to raise support for the trip so we knew about 6 months out that we were going[Kaz was one of the guys]. So we started talking more and more, he asked me on a couple of dates, and I REALLY REALLY liked him. Now, let me just say….I NEVER felt like I DESERVED a guy as good as Kaz. He was such a sweet, pure, loving guy and the guy I dated before was completely different….I always felt guilty because in the previous relationship we had a very bad breakup and I never knew what Kaz knew…OR what he thought of me….Since he was roommates with this guy I had no idea what he knew about our relationship and so I always felt a little guilty….Mine and Kaz’s relationship started getting more serious and the week before we left for South Africa he asked if we could go on intentional dates while we were over there…[we were still just friends…we hadn’t had a define the relationship talk but I knew he wanted to date..]. WELL, I had never fully gotten over this other guy and a week before the trip he approached me and wanted to date again….I fell for it AND HURT Kaz for the 1st time[I say 1st time because as you will see there will be a LOT of these…].
South Africa Summer….
I didn’t talk to Kaz the first 3 weeks we were in South Africa..I completely acted like nothing had ever happened with us BUT at the same time didn’t tell him I was back dating this other guy BUT he knew….I can’t imagine how much I hurt him..
The couple[Cory and Shannon] that lead the trip had a trick up there sleeve[see we all lived in the same house for 3 months SO it was obvious there was tension]. I had planned to have lunch with Shannon one day, and it just so happened Kaz had planned to have lunch with Cory the same day. Instead of us driving separately, they decided we would ride together and eat at restaurants close by….AKWARD….It was the first time me and Kaz had to confront each other….

After around week 3, I felt really convicted about the relationship I was in…See it was always something that I wanted and never what the Lord was calling me too SO I did what I wanted most of the time. I called the guy and broke it off….Slowly, Kaz and I started talking as friends…He was over all the techincal stuff and at the end of the summer was in charge of making a video, so he took a lot of pictures that summer...One of the ways he started talking to me was by asking to take pictures of me:) I knew what he was doing though....HaHa...He asked me on a date middle of the summer and I was so excited and nervous I couldn’t even fix my own hair. I made my friend Taren straighten it for me:) We went ice skating and out to dinner and had a blast! Like I’ve mentioned before Kaz was very very sweet. He always would write me little notes of encouragement, buy me little gifts, etc…BUT THIS ONE topped it off…My parents decided to visit while we were in South Africa. The day they arrived I got extremely sick…SO sick I had to be taken to the ER and have fluids injected in me…It went on for about a week and at the beginning Kaz did everything he could to make me feel better. He would go to the store[without me asking] to get me medicine…My parents stayed at a house right down the road from the house we stayed in, so Kaz would go in the mornings and pick my parents up so they could come see me….or go with my dad to get medicine or food for me…He really really cared! The last week in South Africa, Kaz asked if we could continue going on dates when we returned to the US. I said yes…..Below are a few pictures from South Africa...

when my parents visited...

one of the pictures Kaz took...

I DON’T know what came over me but on the flight back home I was so ready to be at home I didn’t even tell Kaz goodbye….I left the Atlanta airport without even speaking to him or telling him bye…I completely ignored him…..He said at that point he knew…….

To be continued…..