8.18.23

Julian and Keann’s story begins long before they started dating. They first noticed each other in 2019 while serving the homeless in Seattle for a church event and Julian was struck by Keann’s beauty and charm. During this time, he was pursuing intentional singleness so he tried his best not to think about the gorgeous woman he had just met. The two of them continued to see each other at their church’s college group and on Sundays when Julian would intentionally stop by the coffee table to say hello when he saw Keann serving there. Keann would see Julian drumming on the worship team and try her best not to be distracted from worship. During this time, when Julian would interact with Keann, he assumed that, because of her striking beauty and Christlike kindness, she must surely be in a committed relationship--maybe even married and certainly not single. When the world shut down in 2020, Keann and Julian didn’t see each other for a while, until the end of the year when Julian reached out to Keann and asked her out. After a late-night meetup for some one-on-one soccer with the loser buying tacos, (Keann won and Julian didn’t deliver on that bet for probably another full year), the pair realized they had feelings for each other and decided to pursue each other. Julian and Keann spent the first three months of their relationship seeking to deepen their friendship before they pursued each other romantically—something neither of them had ever done before. The two of them then decided to date and spent the next two and a half years loving, growing, laughing, crying, dreaming, praying, worshiping, being in community, working through conflicts, seeking counsel, pursuing God, and so many other things that wouldn’t fit into just one sentence. Keann was a steadfast source of support for Julian during some incredibly difficult seasons and her fierce loyalty and commitment to loving him through it all was something Julian had never experienced. Keann’s love, kindness, care, and compassion continually reminds Julian of the everlasting love of Christ and His continual pursuit of His children. Julian's ability to bring depth and honesty to relationships was something Keann quickly began to admire. She loved how his energy could light up a room and saw his empathetic heart towards others. As their relationship grew and matured, Julian realized there is no one else he would rather spend his life with, and on January 20th of 2023, Julian concocted a surprise proposal and asked Keann to marry him.