Back in 2022, Alissa and Christopher were both separately planning moves to the UK, but they did not yet know that the other existed. Alissa arrived in England on September 8 (the day the Queen died!) to help serve with an international church plant and participate in a human rights law program. Christopher was also accepted into a London-based grad program for documentary photography that would have begun a few months later. But when the program was cut unexpectedly, he pivoted and moved to Ketchikan, Alaska for a job with the local newspaper. Fast forward to the summer of 2023: Abigail ("Abby") Watrous, a mutual friend, felt a nudge to introduce Alissa and Christopher, despite their locations on different continents. Abby and Alissa were once part of the same international church community in Beijing years ago. Abby and Christopher met in 2019 while working for NGOs in Uganda. When Abby called up Alissa and asked to introduce her to Christopher, Alissa's response was "Sure! Why not?" When Abby asked Christopher to meet Alissa -- some strange girl in England -- he was less optimistic :) Alissa and Christopher added each other as friends on Instagram, but said nothing. Alissa decided to start the conversation before too much time passed. She fired off the first message ("Hello from the UK!"), and Christopher responded ("Greetings from Ketchikan!"). Because of the 9-hour time zone difference, Alissa still believes he waited three days to reply back, while Christopher claims it was only two :) From there, Alissa and Christopher penned long text messages back and forth for the next several days, getting to know each other. They wrote while the other was asleep on the other side of the world and awoke the next morning to read what the other had written back. At the end of the week, they were both online at the same time and agreed to a phone call. That first call lasted 4.5 hours. (Alissa stayed awake until 3 a.m.). Thus began Alissa and Christopher's long distance relationship. Alissa called first thing in the morning at 7 a.m. UK time, and Christopher set aside a few hours before bed starting at 10 p.m. Alaska time. For Alissa's birthday in September, Christopher surprised her with a special delivery of cupcakes, pink roses, and a personalized birthday card. Alissa couldn't wait any longer to meet this amazing man, so in early October, she flew from London to Ketchikan to meet Christopher in person. They spent nine days together in Ketchikan - hiking, exploring the island, living in their own small town Alaskan Hallmark movie - before sharing a tearful goodbye. Alissa returned to England only for another 6 weeks to pack up her life, say more tearful goodbyes, and officially move back to the States. She and Christopher prayed that she would find a lawyer job and apartment in Ketchikan. God quickly answered those prayers by providing a job offer with the Alaska Public Defender Agency and a studio apartment in the same building as where Christopher lived! Alissa moved to Ketchikan in November 2023. Christopher proposed five months later. He planned an incredible Indiana Jones-themed scavenger hunt with a treasure map and clues hidden across the island. Midway through the afternoon, they went for a helicopter ride, too! After finding where "X" marked the spot in front of a waterfall, Alissa dug for buried treasure and found an empty ring box. Christopher pulled the ring out of his signature black trench coat pocket, got down on one knee, and asked Alissa to marry him. Of course, she said yes to life with her adventure partner!