About Us
Hello Friends!
We are Alex and Tara Payne!
We live in Alabama and have been married for ten years! We live with one dog, Legend, and two cats, Dillinger and Nelson. We absolutely love the church and ministry, traveling, reading good books, camping, music, and drinking as much coffee as possible! We are so excited that you’re here!
Our Story Begins in Israel
Our adventure started in a very unique way. We both grew up in Alabama and we lived within thirty minutes of each other our entires lives but we did not meet each other until the fall of 2010. At the time we were going to different churches but those two churches joined together to take a trip to Israel. Alex and I both signed up and were very excited about this trip. We had no idea what a truly amazing trip it was going to be for both of us.
On the 7th day, we went into Jerusalem. We went to the Western Wall to pray before we explored the rest of the city. If you are not familiar with the Western Wall it is the only part of the temple that is still in Jerusalem. People go there every day to pray. There are thousands of pieces of paper with prayers on them in the cracks in the wall.
My Pastor had told us to write down what we were believing God for and after we prayed we could leave the paper there. There were several things on my list but one of them was for God to give me a godly husband. I had been praying for a husband for several years now but nothing seemed to be happening.
I prayed, placed my piece of paper in the wall, and returned to the group ready to go to the next location. We left the Western Wall and went to the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the lame man. (John 5:1-8) We spent time there praying as a group and for individuals.
I was standing over to the side when my Pastor brought this handsome man over to me. Pastor looked at me and said, “Alex is going through some of the same things you are, I think he needs to pray for you.” With that statement, he joined our hands together and just walked away. So there we were holding hands staring at each other not entirely sure what to do next. Alex did what Pastor told him too. He prayed for me, we side hugged (because that is what Christians do after we pray for someone), and then he walked away.
It was a seemingly simple little interaction but when we hugged I had the strangest moment. I noticed that we literally “fit” perfectly together. I tried to brush it off but there was also something that Alex said in the prayer that stood out to me and I really felt like I need to talk to him about.
A Peek Behind the Scenes
From Meeting...
This was our very first picture together. It was taken in Jerusalem the day after Pastor asked Alex to pray for me.
...To Marriage
This is from our wedding day.
The Story Continues
After we left the Pool of Bethesda, I could not shake that feeling that I needed to talk more with Alex. After lunch, I mustered up the courage to ask him if we could talk and he agreed. Honestly, the rest of the story is a whirlwind. We spent the last three days of the trip together talking and getting to know each other. On the plane ride home, we exchanged numbers.
Once we got home we started dating. I learned that Alex had the same “we fit” moment during our hug but had brushed it off as well. I also learned that while I was praying for a husband at the Western Wall, Alex was on the other side praying for a wife. The Lord had brought us to Israel to draw closer to us and to bring us to each other! In six months we were engaged, and in ten more months, we were married. Once we found each other we did not waste any time.
Our Mission
Our relationship was founded on an adventure. The Lord literally took us on the adventure of a lifetime to introduce us to each. It is a part of the DNA of our relationship. We love being married and believe the Lord intended it to be a beautiful adventure, between a man and a woman. Our mission is to shine a positive light on marriage and help couples experience their own beautiful adventure through marital encouragement, recommendations, and Biblical truths.