Our story begins on July 23, 2012 which happened to be our first day of medical school at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. During orientation, Alayna and her friends meandered around the room introducing themselves to surrounding classmates including a handsome man named Jonathan Prest. Two months later while hiking, acquaintances became friends. As friends, we spent hours and evenings studying in the cadaver anatomy lab, at coffee shops, or with Pizza Hut on the couch. On January 6, 2013, Jon arrived at the airport to pick up Alayna, who happened to be crutching from a recent procedure, to begin our second semester. Absence made the heart grow fonder as that evening became the official start to our forever story.

Since then, we have been dating, learning, growing, sharing and loving one another. We spent hours in class touching feet for time together or sitting with headphones in and backs to one another to complete our separate schoolwork. Despite our hours in school, we have managed to adventure and experience life together. Our favorite trips include going home to Idaho and Michigan, San Diego, Northern California, a road trip from Montana to California, a 1 month road trip around the Midwest and we are excited to be going to Thailand soon! We've been blessed to walk hand in hand through life over the past 3.5 years.

On November 21, 2015, Alayna finished working a 30 hr shift and Jon picked her up for a surprise trip. He drove straight to Yosemite National Park while she slept the whole way. A wonderful weekend ended with Jon on one knee asking to marry the woman he falls more in love with everyday. The sun was setting on our beautiful day of hiking and with coffees in hand on the cliffs in Northern California, Alayna said yes to the man that she is completely in love with.

And now, Jon and Alayna are counting down days until they are officially husband and wife - partners for the rest of life. We get to continue to search where God leads us next, stretch ourselves to be more like Christ in our marriage, learn to give and receive grace and wake up each day knowing that we have an encourager and supporter there to share with. God is good all the time.