We met on a mission trip to Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Max first remembers losing to Jill in basketball games of Lightning, as well as the group game called Mafia. It wasn't love at first sight, but serving and worshipping together created the initial bond of friendship during our sophomore year of high school.

The following summer our youth group went on a life changing mission trip to New York City in relief of Hurricane Sandy. One night of this trip, during a foot washing service and while Max was being prayed over, he made the decision to let Jesus into his heart, surrender to Jesus as his Lord and accept Him as his savior. Jill was actually one of the few people praying over him at the exact time this happened. In the months that followed the trip Jill and Max started to notice they both loved spending time with one another. Their friendship grew rapidly, staying late after youth group to talk about life and discovering connections and shared interests. They began to feel like they had a special friendship, and over time it grew deeper and was mutually cherished.

In August, before their senior year of high school they met outside Shepherd of the Valley Church. Sitting at picnic tables in the sun, they both considered and asked each other if they should date each other. Both parties felt a strong bond of friendship and immense care for the other person. Jill and Max knew they had a special type of friendship, there were many factors, including each of their senior seasons in Tennis and Wrestling, respectively, along with the knowledge that college was looming and they were committed to schools 400 miles apart. Despite the strong feelings in each others hearts they decided to "just be friends". They had a lot of fun together that year, but when they said goodbye at church and social events there was always a slight sense of questioning if they made the right decision. Throw in a few times they hung out together that could be viewed as dates to an observer, and they were left with a deep friendship and an unclear future. All the while, they cherished each other's company and made many memories worshipping at church, playing ultimate frisbee, sharing music, planning parties and camping with friends. Along came the summer before their freshman year of college and they departed for school with best wishes for the other, and a gratefulness for the friendship they had.

Jill went to Bethel in Arden Hills, MN and Max went to Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. They both were collegiate athletes with busy schedules, but communicated every once in a while to keep in touch. Jill invited Max to attend one of the Bethel dances, "as friends" and they had a great time tearing up the dance floor! Max was able to make it to one of Jill's tennis matches, and afterwards all of her teammates asked "who was that guy cheering so loud for you?" saying: "He must like you." Jill shrugged it off, and told them they were just friends. During winter breaks they would see each other at New Years Parties and always had fun. This period of time they both dated other people and found that there were great ones out there, but none of the relationships were quite the same as what they shared.

After each of their graduations, Jill and Max were both living in the Twin Cities area for the summer. It wasn't long until they were reunited together again. Jill had a plus one for a wedding of one of her best friends from Bethel down near the Wheaton area, so she figured Max would be a great person to invite. She picked him up from his home in Hudson and the six hour drive flew by. Filled with laughter and retelling of stories about their college experience, they were enjoying the time so much Max remembers wishing that they had a longer journey to spend more time together talking. They had a fantastic time celebrating at the wedding and upon the return Paula asked Jill if there could be anything more between her and Max. Jill replied: "Max is just a really good friend." She believed it too. It was shortly after on July 3rd, 2019 that they were together celebrating with music, dancing, and roasting hot dogs on a rooftop in downtown St. Paul. Hosted by Karilyn and Sam Johnson they once again were at home in the company of the other. At different moments throughout the night, each of them felt stirrings in their hearts and feelings of affection for each other, but failed to mention it at the time. Fast forward to August, with busy schedules and less frequent communication, Max found himself on a date with another girl who had asked him out. Upon arriving to the restaurant and to his great surprise he encountered Jill and her cousins sitting at a table together. They greeted him warmly, and were very polite, but Max was not excited about the fact that they were all there together. Although his date was a very great girl, he discovered in his heart that he longed to be sitting at the table with Jill. However, Jill's understanding was more so one of relief. She saw that as a sign that they could move right back along as being friends and the romantic feelings she had back in July could be laid to rest.

One day in August of 2019 it all finally clicked for Max. He thought about every single girl he's ever met and his journey in seeking to find the woman that he would commit to serving in love and spending the rest of his life with. He reflected and discovered that Jill was the thoughtful, selfless, deeply loving and noble woman his heart was after. Max consulted his mom and best friend and they both were overwhelmingly encouraging for him to pursue Jill. After realizing how clear it was that Jill was the one his heart was after he had a distinct sense of urgency to tell her and ask what she thought. The only problem was that he had to let the girl that he went on a couple dates with know his intentions to pursue Jill, and not her. After that conversation, he called Jill to find out where she was at. Jill was just returning from a camping trip and had recently moved to St. Louis Park, MN. He called to subtly find out how to get to her apartment and drove to see her. While still on the phone with her, he asked if the apartment complex had a pool, and when she confirmed he asked her to go down there. Unbeknownst to her, he was there waiting. She was unsure, thinking he was pranking her, was shocked that he was standing there grinning. "What are you doing?" she asked, and he said "I have to tell you something." They stood by the pool, while Max told her that he had to come to her immediately and share how wonderful he thought she was and the beauty that he saw in her. He recalled their history, and how the timing might be strange, but his certainty of where his heart was at could not be denied. He closed by saying "so, Jill will you go out with me?" Jill was not expecting any of that. She had decided she was already moved on from the feelings she had felt in the past, but was not sure what all of this meant. So she gave him a hug and told him she would pray about it. Max felt good to have opened up to her and they decided to meet up in a week.

Max and Jill met up at at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden a week later, and she expressed a lot of concerns and hesitancy. Max was certain she was about to turn down his request to start dating. Delightfully, when he asked "So is that a yes, or?" she said yes. So a few days later they had their first official date. Jill made a delicious salmon dinner with roasted vegetables. They had a wonderful time and spontaneously decided to catch a movie. Arriving 15 minutes past show time they saw a forgettable movie, but being together with Jill was so special that it was one of the best trips to the movie theater Max could remember. Soon after, Max left for four months to go to BOLC with the Army at Fort Lee, VA. They wrote letters and called each other, but it wasn't until they were reunited again that their love really took off.

Max arrived back home from Army Officer Training in Virginia around Christmas time to an invitation to a Weinzettel family dinner. Eating delicious leftover prime rib was a great start in knowing the family as Jill's boyfriend. The next few months before COVID were increasingly exciting as Max and Jill grew closer and closer. They went to concerts, hungout with friends, and led High School students at their youth group together. After COVID hit, they spent a lot of time with each other's families. Deciding early on that it was worth the risk of exposure to spend time together. As time went on and summer approached they had fallen in love. They learned more about each other and the ways to build their relationship up while maintaining the strong friendship they cherished. Max had been given his Grandma Bonnie's wedding ring, and he knew in his heart that he wanted to marry Jill. Jim Weinzettel's eyes popped as Max notified him of his intentions and asked for his permission to marry his daughter. Jim's assessment was correct, it was happening fast. They discussed the meaning of marriage and Max received his blessing. Wanting to get ahead of the curve, Jill and Max began looking into wedding venues. After touring a few places in May, they decided on the Mendakota for May 22, 2021.

The very night Jill and Max picked out the dinner options for their May 22nd wedding, they received a notification that Max was being transferred to a different Army unit and he would be deploying in October, 2020, until August of 2021. Jill and Max were totally caught off guard by the news. There was fear, uncertainty, and some tears shed at the impact of the deployment. They had some decisions to make, and some difficult conversations to work through. Ultimately, Jill and Max found God was faithful to them at every turn, and when they placed their trust in Him, it was the safest place they could be. They cherished the time that they shared while preparing to send Max off overseas.

After the news and deciding they still wanted to get engaged before the beginning of the Deployment, Max was left to plan how he could propose. Looking at the calendar with a little over two months before he left, he set his sights on one of the places Jill loved most, the Superior Hiking Trail. Max consulted Jen, Jill's sister and Trail expert, asking which of the trailheads would be best to propose on. It just so happened that they had a camping trip already put on the calendar with some of their closest friends. Max called them up and let them in on the plan to propose on Oberg Mountain. The only problem he could foresee was trying to keep it a surprise. To ensure she wasn't expecting it, he made sure she would have her nails done for the fancy dinner date to Murray's Steakhouse in Minneapolis that they had planned for the Tuesday after the weekend of the camping trip. Jill guessed that with all of his concern surrounding their date in the city, that he would propose then. When the time came around and they drove up past Duluth to get on the trail Max made sure he had the ring safely stowed away in his backpack. Saturday morning was a blur of excitement, with all five friends knowing what was about to happen, but Jill was totally unaware. Walking up the mountain on the trail, with the ring box tucked in the waistband of his underwear so Jill wouldn't be able to see it in his pocket, Max was a little bit nervous. Jill questioned: "why do we have our packs on if this is a loop trail and we will just come back to the cars at the end anyways?" Nobody had a good answer so they didn't say anything. At the first overlook, it didn't feel right, so they went on to the second. Max alerted Jackson the photographer and pulled Jill off the ledge to ask her to marry him. After an unrehearsed speech, he got down on a knee and she said "Yes, of course I'll marry you!" They popped the champagne they hauled along and celebrated with hugs and cheers.

After a the proposal they drove back to Stillwater for an engagement party with their immediate families. Along the ride they read letters they had written to each other of the significance of being engaged. After the jovial celebration they looked to the remainder of time they had before Max was to deploy. They spent as much time as they could together before he left on October 8th to Fort Hood, TX before he would fly to Saudi Arabia to serve as the Officer in Charge of movement control operations at the Prince Sultan Air Base. They said goodbye with deep sadness and anticipation of the pain of separation. Max and Jill both were hopeful for the ten month deployment, but nervous for what it might bring. The deployment months were very long. They consisted of FaceTime calls whenever possible, YouTube music videos, and letters sent 7,500 miles back and forth. Jill and Max have persevered through each trial and setback of the deployment with maximum efforts towards maintaining unity and love while apart. They couldn't have done it without the love, prayer, and support of all of you. Each day has been another step back towards seeing each other and the level of anticipation for their reunion is immense. Max is set to return around the first week of August, and he is proud of the service and sacrifice both he and Jill have made.