Josh here: I come in ready to set up for Sunday night service per usual, and I spot this girl rehearsing for leading worship that night. I couldn't help but give a double take when I saw just how effortlessly beautiful she was. It was Super Bowl Sunday and we watched the game as a group of young adults after service. I saw her and another future friend hanging to themselves and made sure to talk to them both. I remember thinking how easy it was to talk to Ana. Ana here: I always get him to tell the story because it's way cuter than my version lol. I actually remember meeting him briefly at a young adult event the year before in October and thinking that he was definitely cute, but didn't see him again until I went back to Midtown. Super Bowl Sunday was the first time I remember having a conversation but I didn't think into it too much because I knew that he was always the first to introduce himself and make others feel welcome.

Josh here: To be completely honest I didn't try seeking Ana out after the Super Bowl. However, over time I got this urge to want to hangout with her and get to know her better. I was friends with her roommate Toria so I would make sure to invite Toria to group hangs while making sure that Ana was invited as well (Toria I promise I wanted to hangout with you too). We spent some time together in group settings, but eventually I realized I really wanted to get to know her more personally. I settled in my head at the very start of May that the next time I had a moment alone with Ana I was going to ask her to coffee. Not a date! Just coffee to get to know each other better because I didn't feel like I knew her well enough to ask her on a date yet. Surely enough after a young adult night I asked her to coffee and she responded with a smile and a yes. Praise God am I right? That Friday we went to a coffee shop where I got hot chocolate because I don't drink coffee or tea and just like before, it was so easy to talk to one another. We talked for a couple of hours. We even walked around downtown after the coffee shop closed just to keep talking. When I got her back to her car I asked if she would be down to go on a date. Thankfully she said yes. I seriously couldn't wait to take this girl out to dinner and just be with her. Ana here: See! So much cuter! The funny thing is that I was totally oblivious to the fact that he was interested until right before he asked me out to coffee ( which definitely was a date by the way). In fact, it took a close friend of mine giving me the heads up that Josh was interested for me to realize that he was lol. Not long after the heads up, Josh asked me out to coffee and I was very happy to say yes! Just like Josh said, talking came super easily and I never felt like there was a pressure to be anything but myself. So of course when he asked me on a date, it was easy to say yes.

Josh here: I took Ana to Cafe Bossa Nova for dinner and Loblolly for dessert, which I found out was her favorite place in Little Rock. Conversation felt much more than us trying to ask the "Top 10 Questions to Ask on a First Date." We were sincerely getting to know each other and we were telling each other very real things in our lives like we had known each other for much longer than we had. I had no idea what to do after getting Loblolly, but I just wanted to keep being with her so we drove over to the Big Dam Bridge. We walked up and found a bench where we sat for a while. We would talk some, but for the most part we sat in a comfortable silence with one another. I looked at her after a while and said to her a phrase that has been true in our time together. "This feels so easy." I was absolutely terrified that I had said it out loud, but she felt the exact same way. It wasn't long after the first date after hanging out with each other a couple more times that I found myself asking her if she would be my girlfriend May 24th. She said yes thank God. Ana here: Y'all, when I tell you I was NERVOUS before our first (official) date. I took my time getting ready, but as the time got closer to him picking me up, I was having to remind myself to breathe lol. It was very unlike me to get that nervous before a date, but I think it was a mix of knowing that this was something special and also being excited to get to know Josh more that made me feel so jittery. As he mentioned, we went to eat and get dessert at Loblolly (my favorite) and it seriously was just so easy to be with him. It felt safe enough for silence and for goofy stories. And it just felt natural to be together. Like Josh said, it wasn't long after (actually before our second date lol) that he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes!

Josh here: I tried my hardest to surprise her, which was truly the only reason I found myself nervous. I was not worried about getting down on a knee. I just knew that she would love the proposal so much more if she didn't know it was coming. I planned for some of the most important people in Ana's life to be a part of the day where I would ask her to marry me. I had friends from out of town, close Little Rock friends, and family all meet her throughout our church to read letters they had written her to affirm and encourage her. While she was doing that I was sitting in a closet in our sanctuary waiting to hear the music that would be played when she walked in. Talk about the longest twenty minutes of my life. She walked in and I met her at the front of the sanctuary. She looked as beautiful as the first day I saw her on the stage I was about to propose to her on. I had asked a member of the band Dawson Hollow to send me a video of him singing a song he had written for his fiancé and he came through for me. We slow danced and just held each other close. I took her on the stage and asked if she would spend the rest of her life with me. I mean you already know this part, but she said yes. We spent the rest of the night celebrating with friends and family getting excited for this next season of our life. Ana here: The question everyone asks once you get engaged is "did you know?" And my answer is: kind of? I had some idea but the way he proposed was definitely a surprise to me. Shoutout to all of the people that knew and were able to keep the secret for as long as they did haha! Every part of the proposal was so sweet and thought out and it made me feel so known and loved. It is one of the moments in my life that I can remember seeing how "immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine" God's plan for my life is. There were so many happy tears shed and it was so exciting to be able to say Yes to Josh Clark. God has been in our story from the beginning and I am so excited to see what he has in store for our future.

And this is where you come in! We are so excited to celebrate this moment and have you be a part of our story! See you November 12th!