09.21.2024

Ryan & Karissa had known each other for years before starting to date. They went to the same church (Ryan for over 13 years, Karissa for almost 8 years) and were in many Bible studies together. Ryan was even in a Bible study with his parents and Karissa's parents before getting to know her and her parents were always very impressed with Ryan's maturity and intelligence. Despite being around each other for awhile and having many conversations in group settings, they had a very different view of their relationship haha! Ryan considered Karissa nothing more than a passing acquaintance, yet Karissa considered Ryan a solid friend, as their definitions of "friend" differed greatly! Karissa always knew that Ryan was an intelligent, mature, wise, and humble man who loved the Lord and put His faith in God first! For Ryan, however, it took consistent one-on-one conversations in a growth group he led that Karissa joined, as well as both of them being in their friends' wedding (shoutout to Josh and Jordan Wine), for him to see not only her genuine love for the Lord, but also what a kind, compassionate, considerate, and selfless woman she was! It was for this reason that one night on a Tuesday at their College Group, a couple weeks before their friends' wedding that Ryan turned around and started an intentional conversation to put himself on Karissa's radar. She, of course, was completely and utterly oblivious, but thankfully their college pastor, AJ Hoffman, was not. AJ noticed Ryan's intentionality and so later that night, he pulled Karissa aside to encourage her to place Ryan on her radar. In his exact words, "I saw you two talking and I didn't hate it," which, for AJ, really means that they would have his full support in dating! The Tuesday following the wedding, at College Group once again, Ryan took Karissa aside and asked her on a date and she said yes, though surprised! June 04, 2023 was their first date, June 10, 2023 they were official, and a little over 9 1/2 months later, Ryan proposed on March 29, 2024, and Karissa said yes, once again!