this is a long story. 2016 was the year. Kyla moved into the Saddleback-Irvine Turkish group to further her ministry, which is where she met John. At first, they weren't really friends. Actually, they don't even remember meeting for the first time. Kyla thought John's name was Kevin. John thought Kyla's name was Esra. And neither of them spoke Turkish. They began pioneering at the same time, so not long after Kyla moved in, doing service together became a weekly occurrence. They soon learned that what little they had in common at first stood out to them as special. Music was one of the biggest things, but also their sense of humor and budding language skills made them good friends. Later in 2017, once they discovered that there was more to the friendship, they also realized it was the wrong timing. So began the waiting game lasting nearly 2 years, consisting of 'almosts' and 'what-ifs'. After a year and a half, Kyla left to go back to her previous congregation. It seemed like the end of a relationship that never really was. Finally in July 2019, they realized this was something they still wanted after 3 years of uncertainty. And they started dating! A year and a half later—with half of it spent in quarantine—John put a ring on it. And now they have five (short) months to make it happen.