In November of 2023, we met for the first time at the International Conference on Missions. Although we had spent an entire semester together at our small bible college in Tennessee, it took driving 18 hours to Oklahoma City for us to cross paths! Our first meeting was just a passing conversation, but Max would never forget it. He would not forget about how beautiful Ana was, and how she had said she wanted to go ice skating.

Over the next month or so, we continued to bump into each other around campus. Finally, during the last few weeks of the fall semester, Max asked for Ana's number, and we began to get to know one another. From the very first time we hung out, something felt different. Our passions, our callings, our interests all lined up so well; we were both enthralled. The next week, we went on our first date. Max had remembered what Ana said, and he took her ice skating.

Coming back together at Johnson in January, we had begun to date regularly. Over the next few months, spending so much time together, we began to fall deeply in love. Our passions, interests, hobbies and more complemented and aligned in such a beautiful way, it was such a joy to get to know one another.

Fast forward to May, Max graduates and starts his residency program in Louisville, KY. We began to do long distance dating, making trips between Louisville and Indianapolis to see each other. This was a very hard season at times, but through it, God taught us how to love one another more selflessly, and how to communicate to each other's needs.

In October, when it was announced that Max's residency was being changed to only one year, things began to shift. As he prepared for this next season of moving into a more permanent situation, he knew that he did not want to take that step without the love of his life by his side. In that moment he started making plans to marry her.

In early December Max asked for Ana's parent's blessing, and by the end of the month he had bought a ring. Max originally planned to propose at the end of January, on a special trip to North Carolina. Between his eagerness to marry Ana, and her putting the pieces together about the purpose of the trip, Max decided he did not want to wait another day. On January 11th, 2025, Max asked Ana if she would marry him.

That brings us to today. As we look forward to our wedding, we are filled with so much awe at what God is doing, and are so eager for how this season and how marriage will transform us into His image. Our deepest desire is to know and glorify God through our union and express our worship of him through our ceremony.