iisa’s Version i remember seeing ryan at church one day and feeling this really heavy weight of significance, although i had no idea what it meant at the time. i didn’t even know his name, but i couldn’t stop thinking about that moment where i saw him. later on, i learned he was a drummer (a really, really good one), and i ended up asking him if he could play drums for a worship session i was leading at a college retreat in sunriver. i continued to hear about him from other people, and i had never met someone who had such a good reputation of being so kind and loving of people. after that we had brief conversations here and there, and when we finally got to play music together i was a lost cause. a couple days later, i remember praying to God, and telling Him that if nothing happened between me and ryan that day, i would let go of it all. little did i know that he would ask me out that evening, and we would start the sweet adventure together! Ryan's Version The first time I saw iisa was when she sang one of her own worship songs at our church. I was moved by the sincere passion for God she displayed, and the maturity she carried herself with. A couple weeks later at our church’s college group, I felt God telling me to go talk to her as she was about to leave, which was a surprising thought for me! I was typically very reserved in pursuing relationships, but as best as I was able to understand, I felt like it was the Lord. So, I approached her, and we had a great conversation about music (a common passion of ours). That conversation led to others, and after about a month we started dating! Looking back on things, it seems clear God brought us together, and knew we were right for one another before we did ourselves. I am so grateful iisa is in my life!

we were planning to spend the whole day together after many, many months of insanely busy schedules. ryan suggested we go to lincoln city and hang out since i love the coast so much. we spent hours and hours just talking and laughing together all day, both recognizing just how grateful we were for the other. we got picnic supplies and hiked God’s Thumb that overlooks all of the town. we set up the picnic, ate sandwiches, and drank martinellis, watching a beautiful sunset over the ocean. ryan made up an excuse to go use the restroom in the woods in order to rendezvous with a surprise photographer who is a good friend of ours. i waited for a while, wondering where he had gone (the photographer was lost). ryan ran back, breathing hard. i was trying to open a pack of dried mangoes, joking about how i thought he had been eaten by bears. i barely had time to get the joke across, when i heard ryan say my name in a way that carried so much joy and peace and the weight of years of knowing and loving each other. he asked me to marry him, and we spent the rest of the evening soaking in the sunset and thanking the Lord for being so, so good to us.