John + I spent the entirety of the summer of 2023 working together at Camp War Eagle in Rogers, Arkansas....yet never spoke. We each knew who the other were due to being on staff together, but nothing much past that. Fast forward to the summer of 2024, and things changed. We both returned to camp, John as a counselor, and I as a top staff/year-round intern at CWE. About halfway through the summer, as we were sitting at a table in the chow hall eating lunch with other staff members, people started to get up to leave for their time off, leaving me alone at the table. John noticed this and, not wanting to leave me to eat by myself (among other reasons), decided to stay back and strike up a conversation. "So what's God teaching you so far this summer?" From that point on, I knew John was different. Conversations throughout the summer continued, feelings grew, but we decided to wait until after summer ended to pursue dating. In early August, we went on 4 dates in 2 weeks before John had to go back to school in Texas. We continued to stay in contact, and after John got his act together, we started dating in September of 2024. After 9 months of long-distance, silly FaceTimes, and lots of trips to Texas because John's car broke, he knew he wanted to marry me. He decided to move back to Northwest Arkansas to get a job and work towards buying a ring. He came back as a top staff at camp, and I continued in my position on full-time staff. Through the Fall of 2025, I navigated some major losses in my family, losing both my mom and my dog of 10+ years in the same month. John & I's relationship was stretched, yet also flourished in some unexpected ways through this. He has stood by my side as I have navigated deep grief, + been a constant source of love, silliness, and Christ-like sacrifice. To throw some much-needed joy back into the mix, he proposed in February of 2026, and now we get to spend the rest of our lives together, chasing after Jesus as He has so faithfully chased after us time + time again. We are so expectant to see what the Lord does in our marriage. He has already been so faithful to pull us through some very hard times, and we know + trust that He will continue to amaze us as we walk with Him together. We are so grateful that you have chosen to celebrate our new marriage with us. Thanks for contributing to our new life together. We can't wait.