Stephen and Tiffany met in a Thai restaurant on a Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville, GA. As Tiffany was waiting for her parents to arrive at the restaurant, she overheard someone talking about a ship that had just been to Asia. Tiffany’s dad had just recently been to Asia visiting the Logos Hope, a missions ship run by Operation Mobilization. She wondered if the man talking could possibly be referring to the same ship her dad had just been on and she decided to ask. Sure enough, it was! The man talking was Stephen, who had just returned home from serving on the Logos Hope. This was a cool coincidence but neither Tiffany nor Stephen thought they would see each other again. Little did they know that God had a few more "coincidences" to come :)

It turned out that Stephen's parents attended the same church as Tiffany and her parents. Their paths started crossing more frequently. Stephen moved to Florence, SC in June 2015 but would sometimes see Tiffany when he was back in town for holidays. In December 2017 Tiffany bought a piano that needed tuning and Stephen (who tunes piano's professionally) just so happened to still be in town for the Christmas holidays. He came and tuned her piano and when he had finished, he began to play a song from one of Tiffany's favorite childhood movies, unbeknownst to him. A few days later the two families got together for a New Years worship and prayer night. Stephen and Tiffany sang together for the first time and after that special evening, they began corresponding through email while Tiffany was in Chicago being trained as an ESL teacher with plans to work overseas. Shortly after her training, Stephen told her of a missions opportunity that had come up in Florence at OM Ships where he worked. It was exactly what she had been trained for and she decided to go to Florence for 3 months to volunteer before heading overseas. Little did she know, Stephen had been praying for her to come to Florence. In February, Tiffany arrived in South Carolina where the two acquaintances became better friends. And over Easter Break while they were both visiting home in Georgia, Stephen secretly took Tiffany's dad out to breakfast and asked for his permission to date her. And on April 20th, 2017 the two friends became a little more than that...

Stephen proposed to Tiffany in Victor's Restaurant, located in downtown Florence. It was a complete surprise!

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:7 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13