OUR STORY
OUR STORY
Born at opposite sides of the nation, but the Lord brought our stories together before the beginning of time. Our colleges only separated by a mile, but by thousands of students. We met at a young adult led ministry still going on today called Feast. It took time and revelation from the Lord to start dating. We never had any serious relationships in our lives, so this was big deal. We were up front with our intentions but wanted the Lord to truly lead our relationship. With that being said we ended up dating for nine months, being engaged for nine months, and getting married in 2020. We have always shared a love for people and ministry and right after getting married, we helped serve youth at our local church for a couple of years. Caleb was doing his job in full time engineering whereas Karena was working on her master’s in counseling.
The door opened to reboot Ignite at NC State in 2023 and pioneer as campus directors this expression that we were a part of as students. The Lord gave us grace to do it alongside our full-time commitments. Karena was more of the on-campus presence and Caleb helped on the weeknights and weekends. After a year of ministry, we were in a place of decision, Karena would not be able to be present in the Fall of 2024 due to her practicum. After months of praying we felt peace to become full time missionaries to NC State’s campus. The very day that we were going to announce to the family the Lord blessed us with the surprise of Karena being pregnant. We had been trying for years to have a child, and it was at this moment the Lord blessed us with one. This was a direct confirmation of a dream months earlier.
With one of the biggest decisions of our lives, Caleb left his job on August 9th of 2024, and our son was born January of 2025. We are trusting the Lord to provide each day, each month, and in every single way. We are honored and blessed that we get to do this together as a family. He is our sustainer, our firm foundation, and we are going wherever He calls us!