Our Story

Chaerin Grace Kim

Back then, I really wanted to meet my future husband “naturally.” So over the years, whenever my friend, John asked if I wanted to be set up with one of his friends, I would say no. Until one year, I made it my New Year’s resolution to not turn down any dating opportunities. That year, John connected me to David.

I actually had a couple of encounters with David prior to this set-up. I knew of him when I was younger because he would lead worship occasionally at the Korean School that I attended for 7 years. I also met him and his friends at the beach a few years prior and played flag football with them. And lastly, he was one of those people who I always saw studying at Bean Square cafe (iykyk). So yes — even though this was an arranged date, it felt natural to me and almost like fate…

It wasn’t a k-drama though and we didn’t hit it off right away in our first few dates. But I think around the fifth date, David shared his vision for his life and his testimony behind it — His desire was not to live lavishly, but to live selflessly by helping the under-served with his career and his resources. I can’t express in words how at that moment, I just knew that this was the man God wanted me to be with.

David Taehwan Kim

I’ll never forget the first time we met in-person because we almost ended up having to reschedule! We had just started talking as the pandemic restrictions were being eased up and you can imagine my surprise when somebody had to do a last-minute swab right before our lunch 😂

Of course, I wasn’t going to let some virus get in the way of us meeting and so we grabbed our first meal together at Nippon-Cha right on Bell Blvd. It’s a shame I hadn’t asked her what her favorite food was cause had I known she wasn’t a fan of Japanese-style ramen, I definitely would’ve picked somewhere else.

But the thing I remember more than what food we ate or the awkward jokes that didn’t land was the comfort I felt sharing about my faith. My relationship with God is something I’ve always been open about, but always only to an extent. This initial spark only grew as we dived into our testimonies and began to learn more about each other.

To this day, we continue to remind ourselves that being able to meet each other was truly God’s answer to our prayers!