Life Before

Some love stories begin when boy meets girl, and some love stories begin a little later than that. For Mitch and Jojo, however, the story really starts three years before they even met.

The year was 2019. Mitch had just been through a painful breakup, and needed support during the recovery process. He felt impressed to call an old friend from college, who encouraged him that God would have a particular person in store for him, and that God is very much interested in playing matchmaker. It was the middle of the year when Mitch began praying for God’s guidance in his love life.

Meanwhile, 1000km away in Melbourne, Jojo was suffering in an abusive relationship. She had met her then-husband before she became Christian, and back when they got married at a courthouse they had not vowed to be exclusive. This resulted in continual problems, yet since giving her heart to Christ in 2016, she now had the hope that he too might be changed by the love of Jesus. Sadly, however, he was not receptive, and in mid 2020 she and her daughter had to flee due to elevated conflicts. We are still praying for Jojo’s ex husband and have tried our best to help him.

Though for many in Melbourne this was a dark time, the severe pandemic lockdowns formed an important safety barrier for Jojo and her daughter. Just like in the Bible, when God parted the Red Sea for His people to go through, and then the waters crashed down over their pursuers, God protected Jojo and her daughter as He was leading them into a new chapter in their lives.

Meanwhile, as Mitch prayed to God for guidance, he began having dreams about a woman he would fall in love with, which He believed were from God. They showed that he would meet her at a Christian conference called Adventist Youth for Christ (AYC), that she would be older than him, that they would get to know each other in a classroom setting, and go out to the shops together. In total there were dozens of signs that God showed us that He was leading us together, yet many of them we didn’t recognise as they were happening, and only understood when we looked back over our journey.

A Growing Bond

Fast forward to the middle of 2022, and just as God had foretold through dreams, Mitch met Jojo at AYC when the Holy Spirit let him to meet her in the prayer room. Then in the new year, more dreams came true as they got to know each other in a Bible school classroom in Melbourne, and went out to the shops together outside of class on a few occasions. The first of these occasions was when Jojo’s car broke down one day after class.

Without a car, she wasn’t able to drive herself home, and she ended up staying with the same family Mitch was staying with; this home was also where their Bible school lessons took place. That night, though they weren’t that close to each other yet, Mitch felt bad for her, and instead of hiding out in his room upstairs he came down to spend some time with Jojo. Another of their classmates, who also stayed in that house, was there too. Mitch played a few songs on guitar, and they had a nice time together.

The next day was a Friday, which was a day off for them. Jojo needed a lift while her car was getting fixed, and called Mitch to ask if he was able to drive her around, offering to shout him brunch. Mitch was tempted to sleep in, but the thought of tasty food lured him out. They had a nice meal together, talking almost non-stop, and they ended up giving a Bible tract to the Red Cross guy who was raising funds at the shops there.

But, it wasn’t just car breakdowns that brought them together — there were also emotional breakdowns. One day, Mitch was at the breaking point of exhaustion and stress, and had an embarrassing emotional breakdown, running upstairs to his room in front of the whole class. Jojo took pity on him, and ran after him. She prayed for him and comforted him, and within a few minutes he had settled down and was able to rejoin the class.

In the wake of that, Jojo suggested that Mitch should have a visit to his Nanna who lived half an hour away from him, and she offered to drive him there. Mitch was a little reluctant, especially as they weren’t able to find any other friends to join them, so it would be just the two of them. Still, in the end they went, and took Nanna out to a cafe together. Nanna was quite taken with Jojo, and told Mitch that she would have chosen her to be his wife. Mitch was embarrassed, as he was interested in another girl at the time; but the day would soon come that Nanna’s words were more insightful than any of them realised.

Hearts Ablaze

The end of their three-month Bible program came, and they had their graduation ceremony on a Sabbath afternoon. Mitch and Jojo sat right next to each other in the very front row, at this stage still only seeing each other as good friends. The day after, Mitch stayed in Melbourne one extra day to spend time with Jojo, turning down an opportunity to see that other girl he thought he liked. Somehow he still didn’t realise that his heart was more interested in Jojo.

They visited his Nanna together again, and sang hymns, and after a few tunes she burst into tears. Her outburst was not only because It Is Well is a beautiful hymn with a heart-wrenching story behind it, but also because she was sad that Mitch was leaving so soon. Mitch couldn’t bear to leave her like that, and was determined to give her a good memory of their time together. They went down to the Geelong waterfront, told each other their life stories, rode the ferris wheel at sunset, and shared veggie tempura at a local Japanese eatery.

If your first thought is that this sounds like a date, then you probably realised more quickly than we did, but before the day was over we started to see it. However, Mitch was confused as he still thought he was interested in the other girl. He sought God’s guidance, and prayed that God would open his heart to whoever his heart was supposed to be open to, and close his heart to whoever his heart was supposed to be closed to. He fully expected that his feelings for both Jojo and the other girl would fade away. Yet, he found his feelings for Jojo growing stronger and warmer, and he found himself caring less about the other girl. Concerned that maybe this prayer hadn’t worked properly, he prayed the same prayer a second time - but it still wasn’t working the way he thought it should. Exasperated, he prayed this prayer a third time, and at this point his heart was burning for Jojo and he had forgotten all about the other girl. It dawned on him that God might be trying to point him to Jojo.

The next day, Mitch needed to begin driving back to Newcastle, where he had already committed to serving as a Bible worker after the training. He longed to stay in Melbourne so he would be closer to Jojo, but he knew he had to leave even though this meant they would be a full 1,000km apart. They prayed together on the phone before he left, and though they weren’t quite sure what was next, they both expressed that they had feelings for the other.

Overcoming Distance

After some initial hesitancy, they began to regularly talk on the phone, and often had heartfelt prayer sessions, coming to God with humble confession and earnest petition, and lingering in His presence. Though they faced challenges and uncertainty, they felt a powerful connection to God through these seasons of prayer. God spoke to them in turn through their devotions, and though they were following very different reading plans, one day they were reading from the same passage — a passage about a man of God being led to his wife-to-be. Alongside the many other indicators, they took this as a further confirmation from God.

It was two and a half months before they next saw each other in person, which at the time felt like possibly the longest two and a half months of their lives. One Sunday in July, Jojo flew into Newcastle airport for a short visit. When their eyes met from across the terminal, the next thing they knew they were in each other’s arms. To this day they still have no memory of what happened between those two events; it is as if they teleported to each other.

Eventually, after numerous bumps along the road, 2024 rolled around and Mitch was set to move down to Melbourne so they could be closer together. With no job lined up, and no place to stay, Mitch was reminded that his Nanna lived not far from Melbourne. Though this was still nearly 100km away from Jojo’s place, he was able to line this up as temporary accommodation until he could sort out somewhere closer. Mitch then stayed in this “temporary” accommodation for well over a year, driving across Melbourne sometimes as many as three times a week to visit Jojo and serve together in their local church. In the end, his next move was to move in with Jojo after their wedding.

There have been many times along the way where it seemed they had an impossible distance to cross, as if they were trying to jump between tall buildings from rooftop to rooftop. Each time they are driven to their knees in prayer, and God reveals His power to work in their behalf. They remember that, through dreams, God showed Mitch dozens of details to confirm that He was the one leading them together, and one of those dreams showed them safely jumping from rooftop to rooftop, overcoming the fears before them.

Our God is a God of love, and in the midst of a harsh, cruel world, He still works to show His love to those who invite Him into their lives. Our prayer is that, by sharing our story, you may be blessed and encouraged that God is still active and has amazing plans for you too.

Blessings,

Mitch and Jojo

---

If you were blessed by our story, consider sharing the blessing with someone who might be encouraged by it. God bless.