I cannot adequately express my gratitude towards the Lord in bringing Danny and me together. Danny and I met through our church in Jacksonville. Our first couple times hanging out included beach volleyball, Mshack burgers, and conversations about our favourite things. I was struck by his humility, devotion to Christ, and his fun-loving attitude. From the beginning, I was interested in Danny but knew nothing would ever happen because I had just signed a contract to move to northern Iraq to work as a nurse and be involved in a growing church. Over the next 2 - 3 months I got to know Danny better through our church and time with mutual friends. In November, I received a text from an unknown number that said “Hey Sarah, this is Danny Rose. Are you free for a call?” My heart rate skyrocketed. We talked on the phone and Danny asked me to go on a date! I was absolutely thrilled! On our date, we talked for hours and it was so fun to get to know Danny better one on one. We spoke about my move and dating long distance and started officially dating about a week later. I moved to Iraq in December and we got to talk on Facetime every day! We grew in communication and our understanding of one another. My favourite part of the day was waking up to talk to Danny. I fell in love as we talked for hours about our lives, the gospel, and every topic in between! There was no doubt in my mind that Danny was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Long before Sarah returned from Iraq, we had planned to spend a full day together on Memorial Day. We had decided to find somewhere to watch the sunrise and the sunset, with activities planned throughout the day. I suggested that I plan our “date day” and proceeded to instead plan the day of our engagement. The night before, a knot formed in my stomach as I was struck with the weight of the approaching morning. “Was I able to take on such a task as marriage,” I thought. “Was I worthy of a Godly woman such as Sarah?” Yet in this moment, I found comfort in the peace of Christ. He upholds my life and sustains my faith, and he will continue to do so in marriage. On the morning of May 27th I picked up Sarah for the last time as my girlfriend. We drove to the beach in Ponte Vedra to watch the sunrise, my hands shaking. We carried our chairs and a guitar out to the beach away from people and sang a few songs of worship. Throughout our time apart, I had written Sarah a number of letters which I was unable to send to Iraq due to the non- existent mail system of Erbil. I took this as an opportunity to give to her my writings. We read one of them as well as a passage from Job 38. In the passage, God speaks of his unrivalled power in the creation and the sustainment of the universe. As God had laid the foundation of the earth and commanded the meeting of the land and sea, so he also ordained the intersection of our lives in that moment. Finally, I shared with Sarah that the first time I put her name in my phone, I accidentally put it in as Sarah Rose. I told her that I really thought it was a nice name, and I asked her to marry me. Thankfully, she said “yes”. We proceeded to spend the rest of the day together, enjoying St. Augustine, riding (and falling off of) bikes, and eating dinner with friends and family. I could not have asked for a better day or a better fiancé. I am so excited to imagine a life with Sarah and am overjoyed to know that she will one day be my wife.