Cassie was sitting in 7th period her sophomore year of high school when a friend started telling her about a young man who went to the local public school named, Aziz Muinde. Apparently he was sweet, funny and very handsome. Another friend who knew this gent chimed in to echo what the first girl was saying. By the end of class they shared Aziz’s contact info with Cassie - his myspace and AOL screenname. It was 2007 for crying out loud.


Cassie and Aziz began chatting on the phone and they consistently talked about wanting to do things to make the world a better place, like building a homeless shelter on Skid Row. One day Aziz rode his bicycle (yes, his bicycle) to Cassie’s house and she realized that the girls from 7th period werent kidding - he was super cute! While it seemed like they were on their way towards budding romance, it came to a screeching halt when Cassie invited Aziz over her house without informing her parents. (Yes, friends. In a Haitian household - SMH.) Cassie’s mom and step-dad had their first introduction with Aziz that evening.


After that encounter it would be reasonable for their relatively new friendship to die pretty quickly but, in God’s kindness, it continued for several years.


In 2015 Aziz was preparing to move to California and Cassie began reading her bible for the first time as an adult. She would often call Aziz because he was one of the few people she knew who professed to be a Christian. He invited her to the church he went to with his family growing up, Covenant Fellowship Church, which is where Cassie eventually came to know Jesus. After Aziz moved to California, they would often video call (on ooVoo, then Skype, then eventually FaceTime). Cassie visited Aziz in California for the first time in October 2015 and they went to the beach in Santa Monica - the same place where Aziz brought her again this summer to propose.


Their friendship continued to grow through the years with the foundation being their desire to know Jesus deeply and see others come to know Him. That is primarily what has drawn them to one another.


While both Aziz and Cassie have thought about being in a relationship in the past, it was in the fall of 2023 when it became clear to both of them that God was calling them to do life together as husband and wife. Who better to marry than your best friend?!


God is so kind!