Karen & Josh
Our Story
Contact:
Email: info@karenandjosh.net
I did the 11-week Summer Missionary Program (SMP) in Western Alaska in 2007. My team ended up at the camp that Josh was teaching at, and when he heard that we were headed to 3 villages that he had had campers from but had never been to, he asked to join our team. Basically, he tricked me into saying all kinds of nice things about him to our team leaders back at SEND so that our team of 3 girls could have a guy on the team. But seriously, he was/is a very talented Bible story teacher and turned out to be a very valuable team member. Neither of us “liked” each other then, but somehow over time we ran his first 10k race, our first 8-mile, first half marathon, and first full marathon (26.2 miles).
We started “going out” two years ago, and we’ve been engaged since New Years. We’ve had way too much fun together being in Alaska, hiking, biking, running, shooting, kayaking…
Our Story
Our lives since then have been very busy but we hope to move to Hooper Bay, AK when Karen finishes dental school. I currently work as a paramedic in the county surrounding San Antonio, but I find my actual full-time job to be waiting patiently for December 18th.
He has also been extremely supportive through my time in dental school, just being there for me and believing in me.
I have been up to Western Alaska for 4 summers now, and Josh has been there for 6. We plan on living there, growing in Christ with our Native brothers and sisters after I graduate (May 2012).
Karen
Josh
Karen and I met in Alaska and during our first summer served on a VBS ministry team together. I honestly can’t remember talking with her that much but I remember I was impressed by her sincerity and heart for the kids. As the summer came to a close, several people asked me if I was interested in her, and I always self-assuredly responded, “No.” When I moved to Texas to be closer to my niece who was in the hospital, Karen coaxed me into running, and I found that I really liked it.
As we ran more races, we began to hang out afterwards, and I truly enjoyed it. Around that time was when I assured my mom that Karen and I were and would always be friends. When I left for South Carolina to go to Bible College, I found that there were more people in Texas who I missed than I had anticipated. Before I left, there were several occasions in which Karen would say I “tried” to talk about the future of our friendship, and each time she very politely informed me that she was not interested. After the 3rd time, I got the hint and told her that I would not ask her again, and we would just be friends. When I went to Bible College, I found myself comparing other girls to her and thinking, “Well, this girl is nice, but she’s not like Karen.” It was really frustrating since I knew nothing would ever come of our friendship. I found it was hard to be friends with somebody I liked more than a friend, and I decided to ask if we could not communicate for a while. I set a date when I would tell Karen, but imagine my surprise when during the phone conversation that was supposed to be our last, she said that she was willing to give a relationship “a try.” I didn’t know what to say but after we prayed about it for a few weeks, I felt like God was asking me to trust Him with His plans for us. The rest, as they say, is history, which is good because God always writes His stories the best. The next semester saw me on the phone with her a lot and doing more Facebooking than studying. I’ve discovered a girl who is way more special than I had ever dreamed. We got engaged 14 months later in Taiwan while visiting her family.
