It was a Sunday morning. Anna & Dan both found themselves in a class at church designed to spur engagement with other church-goers. Anna was enjoying her introvert time sitting quietly at a table waiting for the class to begin when a friendly, dashing young man with a big smile walked over to her table and proceeded to introduce himself to everyone. Anna was a bit taken aback by Dan's kindness. She'd been to plenty of awkward classes in the past where the single men seemed scared of the single women, so Dan surprised her :) Dan’s parents were also in the class. Because they found out Anna worked at the church, they caught up with her after to ask more questions about church involvement. At that point, Dan’s dad took note that Anna was glancing over at Dan. He secretly thought, "She must have eyes for him," but he kept that speculation to himself. Anna eventually started a conversation with this intriguing guy named Dan and made sure to slip into the conversation that she hoped to see him at the church's singles group sometime. As it was a big church with multiple service times, Anna & Dan parted ways that day not knowing if they’d ever see each other again. Since she worked at the church, Anna decided to send Dan and his parents a follow-up email the next day with all the details of the classes and groups they may want to get involved in. Much to her surprise, Dan immediately wrote back and said he’d love to check out the singles group. To this day, Dan teases Anna that she used some extra emojis in that initial email. He says, “Don’t you realize that emojis mean you’re flirting??” Anna didn’t realize she was, but now is grateful Dan took it that way. Haha. Anna & Dan started emailing back and forth for a couple of days before Dan asked for her number. Since then, the texts haven’t stopped :) It’s funny because Anna & Dan have both honestly said that, at first, they really didn’t have any intentions with one another with the emails, texts, and friendliness. They had both had difficult past experiences with relationships, had to sort through some things, and weren’t really looking to date at the time. In fact, in some of his texts, Dan told Anna, “Dating is terrible. I never want to do that again!” He said he didn’t think he could ever be in a serious relationship again. So, Anna thought, “Certainly, this guy must not like me or have any intentions. He's just being nice, and we can be friends." Dan wound up showing up to Anna's singles group, but much to Anna's confusion, Dan would hardly even look at her or say more than a couple of words. She found out later that, apparently, she just had an effect on him, and he was tongue-tied! The second time they saw each other at the singles group, neither of them could eat the dinner provided. They confessed later to one another that they both had too many butterflies in their stomachs to be able to eat :) Anna & Dan's texts continued more over that couple of weeks and then turned to calls and sitting together for the first time in church. Just a few weeks after meeting, Dan texted Anna not to freak out but said, "I’ve been praying for my wife for a long time! I can’t say it’s you 100% but I have so much hope it is.” (Yes, Anna has a screenshot of that text to prove it!) Anna was shocked as she felt she barely knew Dan. After a couple months of a beautiful friendship filled with many laughs and deep conversations, though, Anna started to believe the same as she became attracted to Dan's heart of gold, and, most importantly, his heart for Jesus. Anna & Dan went on their first official date to the Chianti Grill in Burnsville and then volunteered together after sorting clothes for a back-to-school community event at the church. The rest is history! So, what started by attending a class to help people get engaged in the church, ultimately led to Anna & Dan’s engagement and the start of a new adventure. They’re so thankful God led them together!