Ellis and Kiara, from prayer to proposal

We all experience people, places, and things that have significant impact. For us that place was the Urbana Missions Conference in 2018. Friendships developed, prayers were answered, accountability was realized, and God-fearing marriages were formed. We did not meet in person at this conference, but a thriving online community from students who attended the conference was formed and we’ve stayed in touch all these years. This is how we met, praying with the students who attended Urbana on early morning zoom calls. After months of late-night prank calls, facilitating Sunday service zoom calls during the pandemic, and talking every day in the group chat, we finally met in person in the summer of 2020. Kiara drove from the suburbs to visit Ellis in Chicago and we wrote songs together. We were both aware of the chemistry we shared, but timing wasn’t on our side as we were seeing other people. We were both put into the friendzone. The significant thing in our story is a lost wallet. This is where our love story begins. Weekend of July 1st, 2023. Remember that early morning prayer call? Chris and Jasmine met on that call and 2 years later were getting married! This would be an Urbana reunion of sorts. Chris asked Ellis to be a groomsman. Back to the lost wallet. Ellis was supposed to book the hotel for himself and the groom but now couldn't. Ellis and the groom were basically taken in from the streets by a group of friends in town for the wedding at an Airbnb. Ellis walked in the Airbnb and hugged Kiara, and they were happy to see each other but Ellis wasn't looking to shoot his shot with the woman of God. Everyone at the Airbnb was telling him to, but Kiara had a date planned the next week with a guy she had just met. If you ask Kiara, she’ll say Ellis was trying to be near her the whole night of Chris and Jasmine’s wedding…which he will neither confirm nor deny. After the wedding, everyone at the Airbnb stayed up late. Ellis and Kiara burned the most oil that night. They reminisced about the songs they wrote, the hangouts they had, the future they wanted for themselves. I think she even mentioned Dave Ramsey. That was the hook line and sinker for Ellis. Kiara stayed up with Ellis talking until 6 am when he left for his flight back home. She said, "bye buddy” as she finally went to bed and Ellis thought that he was permanently friend zoned. What Ellis recalls from that night was being in awe of the woman Kiara had become over the years. About a week after the wedding, Kiara stopped talking to the guy she just met, hoping she and Ellis could be together. The group from the Airbnb became a strong community for them to get to know each other better in a group setting. Ellis asked Kiara to hang out August 19th. Ellis soon realized he didn’t want August 19th to just be a hangout. In a letter, Ellis asked Kiara if August 19th could be a date, their first. It was the best first date ever. They wrote songs together and went to a concert. Soon after, Kiara went to Michigan with Ellis, and he asked her to be his girlfriend on September 3rd, 2023. On September 4th, Ellis took Kiara to meet his pastors. That’s how you know he was serious. Ellis, Kiara, and their community knew the relationship was moving towards marriage. Ellis proposed to Kiara on March 9, 2024. It’s amazing to reflect and see all of the moments that led us to being together. This story shows us approaching the starting line of our lives together. Together we will experience people, places, and things that have a significant impact. Together, we will have a significant impact on people, places, and things. Together may we run this race well. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2