Ryann and I (Nathan) first crossed paths at a college club called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship gathering on Zoom in 2020. However, it wasn’t until a year later that we finally met in person at InterVarsity’s retreat on Catalina Island. Through brief conversations and dancing alongside our friends, God began to carefully design our relationship to come. We were among the few IV students not local to CSUN. However, a week later, Ryann invited me to join an online Bible study that she led with my best friend Dennison, helping us stay connected to the community. Though I was tired from just getting off work, something (the Holy Spirit) nudged me to join. After exchanging numbers, we began to grow closer to one another, sharing our testimonies, doing Bible studies together, and listening to music. Our love for singing, playing instruments, and Christ allowed us to bond in ways that we couldn’t explain ourselves.

This led to me asking Ryann to be my girlfriend through a song that I wrote for her on November 1st. When we were finally back on campus, we continued to serve at InterVarsity together, found a local home church, and continued to build our relationship on the foundation of Jesus. After two years, we went through premarital counseling and were discipled by a married couple to prepare ourselves for this very moment. On September 30, 2023, our last IV Catalina trip, with faculty and friends beside us, I proposed to Ryann in the same place where we met, on the beach, in between on-and-off rain, ending with everyone gathering around to pray over our journey together through engagement and marriage!