My Loves and Our Story

Hello everyone. I know it has been several weeks since the last post. Many of you might even be on the edge of your seat waiting to meet the one that I love with all my heart and hear the story of how we met. Here we go.

​Here is Maricel Marfil. She is a wonderful woman of God. She is currently 26 years of age and is one of seven children in her family. She serves as a missionary with Child Builder in Bukidnon Providence, Philippines. She is very active in her church and ministries.

How did we meet you ask? Well, take a seat and I will be glad to tell you. It was early May 2015 and I was in Malaybalay City, Philippines. I was staying at a camp and orphanage and that Sunday night we were going to have leader orientation for the week long youth retreat we were hosting. This is where I first saw Maricel. We had a few things to do as leaders before bed and preparing for the next day. In the morning we did a prayer walk and I was charged with taking photos. I have no idea why just something about her kept catching my eye. I later found out her friend that I knew, Rizza, had invited her to be a camp counselor.
Needless to say that didn't last long. Over lunch I broke a tooth badly and I had to get to the dentist quickly. I spent my afternoon and evening at the dentist getting fillings and teeth pulled. When I returned to the camp I was useless and took it easy for a couple days spending time with the orphans that where to young to be at he camp. 
Eventually, I returned to the camp. I had sat with some of my friends and Maricel during meals and I was always around taking photos of all the events of the camp. Over the days I started to develop a crush on her. Some of the guys I know found out. Mainly my friends PJ and John John. They kept telling me to talk to her, get her number, sing to her. In the closing days of the camp I did tell Maricel my feelings. I shared with her my apple and grapes as I was the only one there that has access to those wonderful fruits. I sang songs to her and I helped her and her cousins go back to the bus station in town.
I would say the hardest part for me was being called kuya, this means big brother. I figured if she was calling me this it was her way of telling me, I think of you as my brother and nothing more. When she left she had a trip into the mountains without cell reception and a few days later I boarded an Asiana Airlines flight back to America. We slowly lost contact and my life moved on.
In November 2015 my life fell apart. I just found out that someone had been using me for several months. I was heart broken and depressed. It was a hard time. One evening after work I was laying in my living room surfing facebook. Then I saw it. It is Maricel’s birthday write on her timeline and wish her a happy birthday. I was like, I remember her, I will send her a message. So I sent her a message wishing her a happy birthday. Just trying to be a nice brother. It took a while but, eventually I got a response from her. I guess her birthday was listed wrong on facebook because she went on to tell me it was not her birthday yet. 
We spent the next several days chatting on facebook thanks to her being able to “borrow” her younger sisters cell phone. One day the facebook chime that changed everything rang out. I looked at my phone and could not believe the message I was reading. Maricel was asking, “Kuya, what happens if you fall in love with me?” I was a little speechless. I responded that I would first pray to God and maybe fast, then eventually tell her. She said she would do the same. Of course, I started to pray right away.
On the chilly morning of November 21, 2015 (it would be her evening) I did something crazy. I set up a way for me to call an American number and have it forward to her phone in the Philippines. I placed the call to her and she picked up not knowing who it was. I said hello Maricel and she was quickly filled with excitement. 
This is the moment our relationship started. This is where we knew we where created for each other, we are to be together. We knew that God was at work and everything leading up to this day was preparing us for each other. Are we perfect? No, and I am sure we will get around to talking about some of our hard times and what we have learned. But, no matter what, we will not go to bed angry or upset. We will work it out always, and being on different sides of the world that usually means we work it out fast before the other goes to bed. We also know that God is going to use this relationship to bless other marriages around the world. 
Stay tuned as we share about our immigration process and some of the things we have had to adjust as we build a relationship from different cultures and backgrounds.