We cannot wait to celebrate with you!!

As a barista at Da Vinci’s Coffeehouse in Enid, I interacted with hundreds of customers every week. Little did I know that through God’s wonderful sovereignty, one of those customers would end up being the love of my life. As a non-coffee drinker, Anna visited Da Vinci’s for a change of scenery while studying for her OT National Board Exam. At the sight of someone so beautiful, I immediately became uncomfortable, but as Anna’s study visits developed into daily and weekly events, my familiarity and comfort level increased, as did my feelings for her. The breakthrough for both of us came when we discovered that we were both believers and members of Baptist Churches in the area, but...I still felt like I had no real chance. God had other plans. After a series of deep conversations in the “safe” environment of Da Vinci’s (Seriously, I knew her views on salvation, eternal security, and predestination, before I knew her favorite color), we began to test the waters outside of Da Vinci’s. On our first water testing experiment, we went for a run (or Anna went for a run, and I went to my funeral...Oh the things we do for love). Through long walks, texting conversations, and yes, even some running, we began to discover and understand more about each other and slowly but surely, my thought process went from “There’s no way” to “Well God, this is crazy, but sure!” Then August 2018 happened. God opened a job opportunity for Anna in Lawton, OK and He led me to Roach, MO for a missionary training program. Thus began 9 months of long distance (boy am I glad those days are over). But God was not done working (Picking up a theme yet?). Through a series of events, in May 2019, God led me to Lawton to live close to Anna and have the opportunity to do life together. Over the next several months, my girlfriend became my best friend. Now in a few short weeks, I have the privilege of joining with my best friend in marriage. An OT and a Barista MK at a coffee shop in Enid, only God.

First, the backstory. Anna has always wanted a destination beach wedding. Unfortunately, for many reasons that was just not feasible. However, due to the generosity of her brother, Joshua Megli, Anna was able to enjoy her engagement on the beaches of Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. Now, the story. We (Joshua, Anna, and their parents, Steve and Becky Megli, and I) arrived in Turks and Caicos on Friday evening. While my romantically anxious heart wanted to pop the question that evening, after a brief conversation with Joshua, I decided to postpone the event until the next day. Now the difficult part - how to leave the group without attracting undue suspicion. Fortunately I was able to devise a solution and decided on the opportune time to pop the question. On Saturday morning, as we gathered our stuff to go to breakfast and then directly to the beach, I put my plan into motion. First, instead of wearing my swimsuit to breakfast like the other four, I "accidentally" forgot to put it on. Then as we finished breakfast, I excused myself to go "grab my swimsuit" that I had "accidentally" forgotten. This gave me the opportunity collect the engagement items that I had prepared (a photo book, a letter in a bottle, a swimming towel, and of course, the ring). Now, I needed time to set everything up on the beach. As a result, I texted Joshua and asked him to stall the walk to the beach to give me time to get organized. Boy did he do a good job. After I set everything up, it felt like I waited for them forever. Of course each second felt like a minute and each minute felt like eternity and with each passing eternity my heart rate increased. Finally, they came and the time had arrived!! (According to Anna, when she saw me, I was swinging my arms like a monkey. Hey, I can't help it if I was nervous.) Anna and I sat down on the towel, she read the book and the love letter, and then with much nervous joy, I asked the question of a lifetime! And of course, she said "YES!!!"

Our long term goal is to one day serve as missionaries in Africa for however long the Lord will allow. At this point when, where, and what that will look like remain undecided. In the mean time, we hope to remain in Lawton for the next several years. I will be continuing to work as an Occupational Therapist. Tim plans to continue pursuing his Master’s Degree in Theological Studies online through Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as his journeyman electrician’s license with Willmar Electric Services in Lawton. At this point, he has about 2 years of study remaining for his Master’s and about 3.5 years of needed hours and experience before he can take the journeyman electrician exam and apply for his license. As we pursue these short term and long term goals, we hope to continue developing relationships in our community and our church while serving the body of Christ as we are able.