Kate’s version- Josh and I met in early August of 2024 at White Sulphur Springs, where both of us started our year long internship. I remember the moment I first saw him and thinking “wow, why is he so tall?” He was really quiet (as Josh is) so my first impression of him wasn’t amazing. But then everything changed when all us interns went on our 3 day long camping trip. Within the first day of our camping trip I immediately developed a small crush on Josh, and by the end I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was still quiet but super funny, and he really loved to tease me so I figured he might have some feelings too. The only issue with our little romance was that our EXSEL Director, Col. Berge, had just gone over all the rules about dating and how we were not permitted to date for the first half of the year. If anyone knows me pretty well, they know that I’m not very good at hiding my feelings, which turned out to make things very difficult in the beginning. Everyone could tell by the third day that something was going on, and at a picnic I noticed Col. Berge pulling Josh aside and talking to him about something. I had a thought that it could be about me but I wasn’t sure. Afterwards, we went from teasing each other to him withdrawing and trying not to interact with me. I was confused and a little hurt. This pattern would continue for the next month, where we would be close and then Josh would ignore me again. I had no idea he was getting in trouble, silly me. Eventually I got the nerve to ask him one night why he goes through these phases of ignoring me, and he finally told me the reason. After that we addressed the fact that we had feelings for each other, and there was no more confusion in our relationship. It was still difficult to pretend we weren’t interested, but we didn’t start dating until January 13, 2025. We spent every single day together last year, seeing the good and the bad in each other, and making fun memories. Josh proposed September 7th, 2025, and since then he’s joined the Air Force and is currently going through tech training. As much as we hate the long distance, we are trusting on God to guide our steps and prepare us for the next season of our lives. We are looking forward to the day that we can become one in marriage and hope you can all join us to celebrate!