Olivia's Version: Reece & I met at the very beginning of 2023. He was at school at MCC, and I was at Southern Miss. I had come home to serve at Northcrest's Disciple Now weekend where Reece had also been asked to serve. We talked some over the course of the weekend, & as I was pulling out of the parking lot to head back to Hattiesburg, Reece ran over to knock on my window & ask for my number. After that, he sent me a text letting me know he'd like to get to know me more. That same week, he drove to Hattiesburg to take me on our first date to Ed's & then to college ministry at my church. From there, Reece pursued me with his sweet, gentle, & pure spirit and quickly had me swept off my feet. We started dating within a couple weeks, & within just a few months of knowing one another, we both knew we'd love to enjoy the blessing of marriage together if God were to allow us. We finished out that semester & did one more school year apart- with Reece playing basketball at Meridian & me at USM. Reece asked me to marry him during the spring of 2024 at Northcrest, where this all started. Following that school year, God allowed us to both serve Him through summer missions with our respective BSUs. Reece & I spent 8 weeks apart as he served in Hamilton, Canada, and I served in Bogota, Colombia. Last summer was one of the hardest, yet blessing-filled & eye-opening experiences of both of our lives. Serving in two different continents stretched us like we had never been stretched before, yet God continued to show His favor to us. Through serving & being thrown into areas of darkness & lostness that we had each never before experienced, our eyes have been opened to the vast need across the world to fulfill The Great Commission (Matthew 9:36-38; Matthew 28:16-20). As we prepare for marriage, God has allowed us to be at the same school with Reece joining me at USM. We plan to marry a couple weeks after my college graduation. Reece is the biggest blessing that I didn't even know to pray for, & marriage is such a sweet gift we have to look forward to. We pray that our marriage is rooted in His great love, shown through the Gospel, & that we may be a picture of how dearly Christ loves the church & how the church reveres Christ. Reece's Version: Olivia and I met at Northcrest's DNOW in February of 2023 where I was asked to serve by Tyler Smith; I was only available because I had suffered a season-ending injury in basketball that year. Since I was injured, my coach did not make me come to practice that weekend. As group leaders, we had the chance to visit and talk some over the weekend. Through our conversations and watching her serve, she made such an impression on me that as the weekend came to a close, I knew it couldn't be the last time that we saw each other. So, as the weekend concluded, and I was getting in my truck to head back to the dorm and potentially never see Olivia again, I jumped out and knocked on her car window and got her number. We started dating soon after. It quickly became apparent to me that Olivia was the woman of God that I needed to marry. After about 9 months of dating (November 2023), Olivia and I started seriously discussing marriage. I bought a ring the following January and then I started to plan how I would propose. I knew I wanted all of her friends to be there, so I created a group message with them, and we all devised the plan for me to get on one knee. Except one problem - my knee got infected in February and had to be in a stabilizer after surgery. We had set the date for March 16, and I was banking on my knee being able to bend and the basketball season being over by then. Fortunately, God’s hand was over it all and everything worked out. Her friends were able to coerce Olivia into the dress she wanted to be in, and she had no idea about any of the plans I had made with her friends and family. This story is just a glimpse of how Olivia is an amazing example of God's faithfulness and perfect timing in my life.