Jared and I officially met in 2019.
Before we met, Jared lived in Hollister, California. He worked full-time in his dad’s pump company in Gilroy and grew up with the opportunity to spend time working on his family’s ranch, which developed his love of horses that eventually led him into full-time ministry. He also earned a farrier certification in Oklahoma, and a Class A driver’s license.
I meanwhile worked as a part-time baker in my small home town of Julian, California. In the summer and winter, I served at Camp Julian Oaks, a Christian ministry reaching children who have been abused or neglected. It is where I developed a love for the camping ministry, and I served in that ministry for 10 years.
We found ourselves at Ironwood Christian Camp – a western adventure in Christian camping in the middle of the Mojave desert – at different points in our lives. We both attended Ironwood as campers and summer staff, Jared working two summer in their Leadership Live program and three in the Horsemanship program, and I serving one year as a teen counselor. It wasn’t until we started their Institute of Ministry and Ministry Bound programs that God brought us together.
Through our three years together at Ironwood, we quickly became friends. We shared a lot of similar interests, and enjoyed finding adventures in town, on quads, and during work hours. Ironwood provided a place where we not only grew in our work ethic and knowledge of ministry, but also grew in our friendship and knowledge of one another.
Jared and I graduated and left the Ministry Bound program in 2021. I returned home to continue being a baker and staff member at Julian Oaks, and Jared found his calling at Wolf Mountain Christian Camp and Conference Center. We kept our friendship going despite the long-distance, and reunited in May of 2022 at my best friend’s wedding where I was the maid of honor. It was there that Jared explained he wanted to pursue something more. Communicating through texts, letters, and Skype calls, Jared and I officially started dating in December 30, 2022. A year later, on January 1st, 2024, we were engaged.
During our engagement, we navigated through the exciting waters of planning a wedding long-distance. We ultimately decided to get married in late August, after our respective summer camps ended. On camp breaks, we would travel out to visit each other, and continued to send letters, texts, and spend hours talking to each other on Skype. Jared flew out four days before the wedding (after a very scary moment where we realized we both had to be present to pick up a marriage license – oops). The extra time together was a highlight right before the wedding.
Finally, after six years of friendship, we were married August 24th on a perfect late-afternoon. From there, our adventure had only begun.
Lenhert Family 