The Miracle of Love

I'm not so much of a writer (so please forgive me for any grammatical errors and etc)but I just want to share with you my version of our lovestory. What motivates us to write our story is the encouragement from our friends who told us that they have been blessed as to how God has brought me and my husband together. So, we want to share this with all of you. This is to testify God's goodness in our lives and to prove that indeed God has ordained someone special for each one of us and if we just wait and seek His perfect will, He will surely reveal it to us and direct our paths.

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Chapter 1

No To Foreigners

“ I will never marry a foreigner!”, I exclaimed. “ But, what if it’s God’s will for you to marry a foreigner?”, my foreigner classmate insistently asked while we were walking at the side walk to our training center with our other classmates at the back of us. “But God would never allow that to happen since He knows that I don’t like to marry foreigners," I answered so confidently with a smile on my face.

Little did I know that the same foreigner guy who asked me that question was God’s perfect match for me. Whenever I remember this scene, I always cannot help but smile and just be amazed at how God orchestrated events in our lives and even changed my heart to fit into His most wonderful plan.

I was one of the NBSB Club bonafide member. The NO Boyfriend Since Birth Club. Teenage years came until the mid twenties had passed and I never fell in love. “ Oh, why you still don’t have a boyfriend ?, seemingly millions of people would ask me. “ Because I wanted my first boyfriend to be my last ,“ I would suffice to answer. Some would say, “that’s good” but I think from the back of their minds they thought that to be too idealistic or maybe impossible. But God has preserved me and my heart for His man for me.

I could still vividly remember the prayer I prayed when I was still 14 years old. “ Lord, allow me to fall in love ONLY to the man that you have prepared for me. Preserve my heart and I allow you to only open my heart for that MAN alone and according to your perfect time.” Then years had gone by, until a decade has passed and true indeed I have never fallen in love to anyone. Friends have jokingly teased me that I maybe I have a heart of stone. Until there were times, I thought that maybe it's true that I do have a heart of stone or worst, maybe I’m meant to be single all my life! Oh no! But God had a plan. It's funny how God works unexpectedly at times.

Chapter 2

Love At First Sight?

It was not love at first sight. In fact, maybe it was love after a thousand sights. He was my classmate in a missions training center. I can still remember the first time I saw him since he was the one who opened the gate for me during our orientation at that training. He was wearing a blue checkered shirt, a small sized man with a meek countenance. “ Oh, this must be the Malaysian classmate they were talking about, but why does he look Indian?’ I wondered. I always thought that all Malaysians were of Chinese ethnicity. Oh how ignorant of me! The first time I saw him there were no sparks, no goose bumps nor lightning from the sky.

It was just a very ordinary meeting. I even thought that this Malaysian guy must be 33 years old and married with children but it turned out he was only 25 years old, very single and available. It was during the early days of our training when he asked my opinion on the possibility of marrying a foreigner. I thought it was an innocent question out of curiosity. Little did I know something was already happening in his heart that time. Little did I know he was already praying for me. But my answer was consistent, “No to foreigners”. I was like a walking slogan with this sign written all over my face. I was too patriotic I guess.

Weeks and months went by, I started to notice something different from the foreigner guy. He gave me special attention and worst of all our classmates began teasing us. “He said that God spoke to him and you are the girl for him ”, my classmate once said. “Yeah sure, if it’s God’s will then surely He will also speak to me too. But I did not hear anything from HIM”, I logically (?) answered. We were teased a lot to the point of my annoyance. Because of such teasing, I even dared not talk to this foreigner guy much. Being teased is one of the things I dislike most. ‘I was teased to my classmates from elementary to high school and now even I’m in a mission’s training?’, I thought in disbelief. But there was once I thought that, what if it’s God’s will for us to be together? I would just end up shaking my head and said to myself, ‘No,God would not allow that because He knows cross cultural marriage would be very difficult for me.’

Then our training was soon to end. Two days before our classes ended, he asked me if we can meet for a snack. I knew what he was up to, so I agreed because I was sure of what to answer him - a big “No to foreigners" again. Then the afternoon came, we sat in the small bakeshoppe. It was the first time that we really sat and talked for more than 5 words after the entire four months of our training. Remember, I’ve been trying to avoid him so as not to be teased. It was really an awkward time for both of us. With our untouched iced lemon tea in front of us,( I didn't bother to order anything else because I wanted this meeting to be short and concise), He started right to the point and asked me about my love life, about my idea of relationships and marriage. Then, he shared his feelings for me and asked me of the possibility of considering him for relationship. “I’m sorry but I don’t have any feelings for you,” I bluntly said. Then I reminisced and told him of my prayer to God several years back when I was only 14 years old.

Chapter 3

10 years before

(Flashback) Everything still seemed so fresh in my mind. It was a Valentines day. What’s in store for a 14 year old girl for Valentines day? I didn't have any clue about it on that innocent age except knowing that Valentines Day symbolizes hearts, roses and chocolates. But wait, we were going to have a Valentines talk from our youth leader. All of us youths 13 years old- 19 years old were gathered around our living room all giggling and very interested about our topic - Love, Courtship and Dating. Maybe somewhere at the back of our minds we thought that we were at the right age for relationships then Maybe that was what made us so interested and excited. “But am I not too young for that? Am I really supposed to be here?” I thought. As if our youth leader heard my thoughts, she pointed out that no one is too young to pray about God’s perfect husband for each one of us and so she encouraged us to start to pray that God will direct us for His perfect mate for us and our first boyfriend should also be our last.

So, that’s what I did. I prayed a prayer that will indeed lead my life to God’s perfect mate for me and I vividly remember adding something in that special prayer. I specifically asked God not to let me fall in love to anyone except the special person that He has in store for me and at the perfect time. I don’t know what made me add that specific request in my prayer but it did save me a lot confusion and maybe headache and heartache for the next 10 years. For true enough, even when some guys courted me but I never fell in love all the way from high school, to university and even when I was already earning and had a job.

Then, back to the bakeshope with my foreigner classmate. “..and since I don’t have any feelings for you, it must be a NO from God”, I concluded like a lawyer on the verge of winning a case.

“ Okay, I respect how you feel. But can we at least pray for each other?”, he calmly requested. He seemed calm and collected but I could still sense a disappointment in his eyes. ‘Was I too cruel?’, I thought. ‘But what can I do but say how I truly feel?’, I justified myself. “How can we pray for each other? What kind of prayer do you mean?”, I managed to asked. “ We’ll pray specifically for each one other, concerning God’s will.”, he answered. “ No, we can not pray for each other specifically”, I argued, “because we cannot dictate God to do what you or we want. Let's pray generally like, whoever God’s will is for you then she will be for you and whoever is God’s will for me then it will be done for me too.” I strongly said this to convince him that it’s not God’s will for us to have relationship. But he never gave up. “Okay, you pray generally but I pray specifically for you,” he confidently concluded. ‘Hmmm…’ I thought, ‘this guy is sure insistent. Well, let’s see.’ And that was the end of our so called “date”. Then we prayed and parted ways. That was the last time we talked about the possibility of a relationship then he had to go back to his home country.

Chapter 4

The Night of Realization

Several months passed by and I was faithful to my “general prayer”. As expected, nothing happened to my love life. I was still not in love with the foreigner guy nor to any other Filipino guy. Though, I admit I think of him at times and look forward to any emails or updates from him.

Finally, our Exposure trip to another Asian country began. This meant seeing the foreigner guy again since the whole class was assigned to go to the same country. The first time I saw him there, I could see the joy and excitement on his face. “Welcome to Thailand!”,he exclaimed. He was so excited with our team’s arrival that he hugged all my other classmates. When it was my turn to greet him, I quickly extended my hand, shook his icy cold hands and greeted him with a casual “Hi!”, then that’s all that has been said.

A week had passed and I was so excited for our training. We had classes in the mornings and reading assignments in the afternoons. Things had been okay, but somehow, I knew that God is doing something in my heart. First, is the country which I was supposed to serve. The land of T has not been my first choice, but I soon found out in my prayer times that it is the place that God is placing me. I was a bit unwilling because I really wanted to go to the place which I have been praying for which was different. “If I’ll be in based here , then it will also mean the possibility of seeing Mr. foreigner more often since he is sure to be based here too.”, I reflected.

Then, the night of realization had come. It was not like any ordinary night in my stay in the country. I could still remember the quietness of that night with the soft light illuminated from the outside. Everyone was asleep in our girl’s dormitory and I was up alone praying on my bed. During my prayer, I felt that God wanted to do something in my life but something was holding it back. It was my unwillingness to let go of many things. At that time I realized that I was holding to my own will, my own ideals in life. It was like I was dictating God what to do in my life, like asking Him to put me in the place where I want and forcing myself into it. In a way I was telling God that I want my own decision when it comes to long term plans and that includes my love life. So, that night I cried and completely surrendered all my will, dreams & hopes to God. It was like I scratched, crumpled and threw all my own plans and ideals then asked God for only His will for me. I prayed that only His will be done in my life even if it means doing something that I would not want to do, going somewhere I would not choose to go and even if it means not getting married or maybe marrying a foreigner. That was complete surrender for me and it was a very difficult thing to do.

Chapter 5

Is it LOVE?

The next morning, was like a new beginning. It was a start of seeing everything in a different light. I was starting to consider the land of T to be the place where I should serve. As I went through my journal, I noticed that most of my insights was about how God talked to Moses on going to the promise land and then Joshua in claiming the Land where his feet thread upon. I got excited and expectant that maybe just maybe God wants me to serve in this country. One more change that took place a few days after, was that I notice the foreigner guy more often. His love for children, his helpfulness to every people in need and all his kind and sweet ways somehow has drawn my attention to him. I knew his kindness has been there before but it was only this time that I took to notice.

One early morning, our team which consist of a Norwegian and 3 Filipinos were going to another province. This will be the first time all of us will be setting foot in that place. We all went down from our dormitory. To my surprise, the foreigner guy was already at the ground floor waiting in his white oversize shirt and light brown pants. Since he could already speak a bit of the language he woke up early just to help us get a tuktuk (taxi) to the station. I could still vividly remember that wonderful morning, the wind was cool, and the sun hasn’t completely come out yet. We all walked to the street corner as the shop grills were making that screeching sound of being opened by the shop owners. We all crossed the street and he stopped a Tuktuk and talked to the driver in Thai and asked us to ride. Then, he said goodbye to us all and wished us a good trip. It was supposed to be just that…But then, he looked at me and I said “bye”. For a moment we looked at each other’s eyes but to me that seemed like forever and from then on I knew in my heart that I too love this man. ‘I think I’m In love!’, my heart exclaimed. But still the cool me managed to look away and luckily the tuktuk went away.

The rest of the time at that province where we stayed for a night seemed so slow and uneventful. I was too busy gathering my thoughts and my heart and checking to see if what I’m feeling is right. Something inside me still fights back. But that was the time, I admitted with myself that yes, something is happening in my heart and my slogan for “no to foreigners” is like a wall slowly crumbling down.

I think I’m in love with Jsu, the foreigner guy but I was just too proud to admit it that time.

I was now confused and thought that maybe then it’s just my emotions playing tricks on me. So, I prayed to God and asked that if Jsu is the right man for me then God will have to confirm it through his Word, through the elders, in my heart and through circumstances.

Chapter 6

The First Test

Relationships was one area in my life that I never wanted to make a mistake. Imagine, I waited for 23 years and whoever he is must be God's chosen one. So, the mission was on : Finding God’s will though His word, through the elders, through inner spirit/heart and through circumstance.

One morning our field leader announced that our team has to go to Penang, Malaysia for an extension for our visa. Since our leader knew that Jsu’s hometown is just an hour and a half away from Penang, he strictly said, “ Just stay in Penang for 2 nights and no going out of the island.” “ It won’t be safe for you to go out since your passports will be submitted to the embassy.”, he added.

“Going to Jsu’s place would be nice. Then I could see his family and really observe him how he treats his family.” I reflected. I often heard from the elders saying that a person may only be kind when he is with his friends or when he is outside, but you’ll know his real character when he’s with his family. “Yes, maybe he’s only kind with his friends and not with his family.” I suspected.

Then I made a fleece with God. I prayed, “ Lord, if Jsu is Your man for me then let me at least see his family and how he is with his family. You make a way to change the mind of our field leader and let him allow us to go outside Penang and go to Jsu’s hometown.”

Three days later, our field leader announced that he’s now allowing us to go to Jsu’s hometown and be staying there for a night. He just warned us to be extra careful since our passports will be submitted at the embassy and therefore be bringing temporary receipts. The announcement made my heart skipped a beat. “Oh, uh! I can’t believe this.” I thought. “ So , I’ll really be seeing his family! Okay, let us see how he is like with his family”, I thought. But little did I know that the night that would be spent with Jsu’s family would completely change my heart all the more.

Chapter 7

Meet the Family

The trip to Penang was fun. Imagine, there were seven of us traveling together, different nationalities , different backgrounds and personalities in a foreign land. First, we applied for our visa in Penang and then set off to Taipng ( Jsu’s hometown) to spend a night there.

The bus to his hometown was so slow and seemingly uneventful but halfway the bus broke down at the middle of the road. So, the supposedly one hour and a half journey took us ‘forever’ to reach our destination and finally we reached at night and took a taxi to Jsu's house.

The taxi stopped right in front of his house. There were no people on the streets. Everyone seemed to be inside their houses. All the houses in that area looked the same except for each houses were painted differently. Jsu's house had a yellow paint and it was well lighted that you could see the things inside the house. I was a bit nervous and expectant at the same time as to what's going to be the outcome for this trip but I wasn’t prepared with the scene that was going to happen next. When we were coming out from the taxi and getting our bags from the trunk, Jsu was already running towards his house and I saw his whole family coming out to meet him too. Then they were all lovingly hugging and kissing each other. Although it was dark outside, but I could tell his mom had tears of joy. Coming from a family that doesn’t express affection so much, I was amazed with the scene. It was the first time for me to see such closeness in a family. “He must really be a good man. Look at how loving his family is.” , I thought.

Everyone in his family, looked so meek, gentle and kind. When we were coming towards them, introductions were made and then we entered his house. It was then that I felt like I was in my grandmother’s house. I didn’t know why. It must have been the coolness of the air, it must be the scent or maybe the feeling of being with family. All of us really felt at home. His family welcomed us and served us hot chicken curry with white rice for dinner. It tasted so delicious even if it was our first time to eat Indian food.

The next morning, after I took a bath from Taipng icy cold water which was very nice, I went inside our room.While I was combing my hair, just reflecting and thinking that maybe this will become my future family, a knock interrupted my thoughts. “ Yes, come in”, I called out. I was surprised to see Jsu’s younger sister, Racheal. “Oh hi!”, I said and smiled, still combing my wet hair. “ I’ll be going to work now, so I won’t be seeing you anymore this afternoon when you leave to Thailand.”, Rachel said. “Oh really, ok bye”, that’s all I managed to say and waved my hand. She was on her way back to the door but then she turned around and asked, “ Can I hug you?”. Then she hugged me tight, said her last good bye and immediately went straight to the door and finally closed it. It was good she didn’t linger on after the hug because I was already teary eyed and wanted to cry. I just felt so different after that. It was like all the walls built around my heart just melted away. I myself now want to become a part of this loving family. “ Is this really going to be my future family, Lord? Is Jsu really going to be my future husband, Lord?”, I asked again and again during the next remaining hours of our stay and still couldn't believe that my heart is changing.

Finally, when it was time for all of us to say good bye to the entire family, his Mom prayed for all of us. It was a beautiful prayer from a woman of God who’s so simple yet so true and so sincere. Everyone was in tears after that prayer. I held back my tears for I knew Jsu was watching me. “I’d rather not show my feelings yet.”, I thought, but deep inside I was greatly touched by his family.

On our way home, still eyes puffy from tears our Norwegian classmate put his arm around Jsu and said, “ I love your Mom, she truly has a heart of gold!”. That was exactly how I felt towards Jsu’s mom! I wish I could have said that to him too. I wish I could just have told him that I’ve grown to love his family in just a day of knowing them. But at that time I was still too proud to admit that I’ve already fallen in love with him and his family. And besides, the test for “Finding God’s will” was not over yet.

Chapter 8

2nd test – God’s word

Few days later, my classmate told me, “our brother ( Jsu) wants to ask you out but, he’s already afraid to tell you.” ( Note: Remember the 1st date?..he already got traumatized with that. - Jsu's version of the story might be coming next) “Will it be ok if both of you could talk? JN and I could go with both of you if you feel uncomfortable.”, he added. ‘Hmmm, why does he have to send a messenger to tell me of his plans?”, I thought with discouragement. But anyways, I just agreed on the so called plan. The ‘date’ was supposed to be on a Thursday night. Suddenly, I panicked. “ Wait! Why did I agree to have a talk with him? What am I supposed to say?” I muttered. My Mission was not yet complete. I still don’t have a clear answer from God.

Days passed by..and nothing happened. No angel appeared from Heaven and told me that Jsu will be my lifetime partner. ;) Tuesday night, I prayed to God and told Him my 'dilemma', the deadline that I have to meet which will be Thursday. What should I say? I can’t use plain circumstances to prove that he’s God’s will for me? As for my heart, I suddenly wasn’t sure. ‘The heart is deceitful above all things’ , I recalled. ‘It could play tricks on me’ I justified. “So, Lord” I prayed, “I need your word. I don’t know how, but I need you to confirm through your word if Jsu is Your man for me.” That was my desperate prayer in faith. At that point, I concluded that if I don’t get any confirmation from God’s word, then I would have to let go again of my ‘feelings’ towards Jsu and maybe tell him , NO.

Wednesday morning came, I had my usual devotion. During that time, I read the Psalms in the mornings while in the evenings I was going through the book of Exodus. My heart was expectant. I started reading through Psalms 37. First few verses came and I didn’t see anything I could related to. Then suddenly the verse 37 struck me…”Mark the perfect man, for his ways are righteous and his end is peace (KJV)”… I heard an inner voice that said.. ‘He is the perfect man for you.’ I panicked for awhile, I couldn’t believe what I’ve just read! I close my small pink Bible, closed my eyes and muttered, “Really? Is this for real?” Then, again I opened my Bible and read and reread the verse several times. The more I read the more the verse was becoming real and more the words are speaking to my heart. My heart beat so fast and I still couldn’t believe that God just spoke to me through His word.

All through out the day I remained calm but couldn’t help think about the confirmation I got from the Word of God. Finally, I decided that I just couldn't keep all these mixed turbulent emotions within myself. ‘ I have to tell someone about this. I need to ask for advice.’ So, that night I told one of our classmates who was like an older sister to me. “ Ate, what should I do?!”, I desperately asked her after relating to her all my conditions and prayer with God concerning Jsu. With a glow in her face she simply asked, “ Do you have peace in your heart?”. With my heart excitedly beating fast, I just managed to nod my head and I couldn’t seem to hear if I said yes. Then she held my shoulders as if to shrug me off from my dream and excitedly exclaimed, “Then, receive it ( God’s word) , Sister!" Then, we just found ourselves laughing and maybe almost jumping with joy. :)

Chapter 9

3rd Test – Change of Heart

Thursday came, I was already quite nervous about the so-called date and also maybe because of the thought that there will be two male chaperons accompanying us and maybe listening to our “talk”. ‘ Wouldn’t that be very awkward?’ I thought. Suddenly, I felt that I’m not ready to have a talk with Jsu and company. Then that same afternoon, JY, the ‘messenger’ told me, “ Lalaine, I’m sorry we’ll just have to postpone the ‘appointment’ because Jsu is not feeling well.” Surprisingly, I felt relieved. Even if I did have a confirmation from God’s word about Jsu being the ‘perfect man’ for me but my heart wasn’t that prepared yet.

Many days passed by and there was no follow-up on the ‘date’ but during these days, it was like the time when God was really opening my heart more and more. My attitude towards him has completely changed. If just a few months ago I was completely avoiding him, but this time it’s like my heart searches for him when his not around in the library or in the classroom. During this time, secretly I’ll be observing his every move and even to the point of eavesdropping when he talks with our classmates. Of course, I’ll be pretending to be so engrossed reading a book but at the corner of my eye I’ll be watching him. Then when he’s not around, I’ll be wondering where he is and be thinking about him and missing him. Little did I know I was already lovestruck!

There was this night when we treated our friends out for dinner and purposely they let us sit beside each other. I felt very nervous but I was not annoyed anymore when they started teasing us. In fact, deep inside I already enjoyed their teasing. But then on my mind, I was always wondering, “ When are we going to have a talk again? Is he still interested to “talk” to me, or maybe he has given up on me.” It was then that I started to get worried.

Chapter 10

The DATE

Novemeber 1, 2000. We were having our classes. Our lecturer was a good lecturer but I couldn’t help but feel sleepy in class that particular morning. I was only awaken to my full senses when a note with a very familiar and nice handwriting was passed to me. It was a note from Jsu asking if we could have a talk that same afternoon. 'Finally, the most awaited ‘talk’ is going to take place', I thought as I wrote my response (which was of course an 'OK') on that same paper to be passed back . This time I felt very prepared to talk to him and in fact I’ve already been waiting to talk to him. It’s a good thing though he didn’t mention anything about chaperons which meant he already had great courage to face me alone.

During lunch time, I was happily chatting with my classmate when Jsu approached us and confirmed the time we were supposed to meet. I could sense the nervousness on his voice when he talked to me but as cool as I am, I didn’t give him any hint of what my response will be that afternoon. I couldn’t remember how the rest of the afternoon went, but all I could just recall was we met at the living room of the Center at 4:00 pm. Then, we walked together so far away from each other on the way to the Piano Restaurant. Good thing that the restaurant was just a block away from the Center since it was very awkward for us to walk together by ourselves.

We both went inside and ordered our chocolate sundaes. He looked so nervous but managed to start the conversation, by recalling our last ‘date’ several months before. I couldn’t remember his exact words but he asked if I expected some follow up of some sort, and told me that as for him he still feels the same way about me and ended by asking me what has God been telling me about my lifetime partner.

Then, a smile lighted on my face. He really didn’t have any idea what I was going to relate to him the next few minutes. He still looked clueless and even more nervous when it was my turn to talk. Did he expect another negative answer from me. But I went on. I started to tell him about the Night of Realization ( See Chapter 4) , my fleece with God ( Chapter 6), meeting his family ( Chapter 7) and ended with God’s confirmation through His word, Psalms 37:37. After relating everything to him, I just felt so released!

There was quite a long pause after I ended my ‘speech’. I think he was still trying to absorb everything that I just told him. Then, finally there was a sparkle in his eyes, he smiled a bit and with joy on his face, he said, “I can’t express now the joy that is in my heart but I just want you to know that …. I love you so much!” Whew!!….my heart just seemed to have exploded that moment!

Then, he proceeded and told me everything that happened to him, his feelings and how God has dealt with him after our ‘date’ in my country, his homecoming to his country and then his 2 months stay in Thailand before I came.

We talked for quite awhile until we noticed that it was getting dark so we decided to head back to the center. Jsu prayed and entrusted both our lives and our future together to God. So, we left the table with our chocolate sundaes already melted and untouched. Like a grand finale for our ‘date’, right after we stepped out of the restaurant, it began to drizzle. Jsu gently pulled my arm to be near him and put his hands over my head to shield me from the rain. I just felt butterflies fluttering around my stomach that very moment. It was quite a contrast on how we came a few hours ago, if we both came to the restaurant about a kilometer apart with serious faces but this time we were already walking close to each other and with a smile on our faces.

Chapter 11

Confirmation through the Elders

We both went inside the Center and when we went up, it was like almost all of our classmates were waiting for us and excited to hear the outcome of our date. I went inside our classroom first while outside, Jsu was met with our other classmates. Of course, he told them in summary of the ‘victory’ of the date and I could hear and see through the glass door that they were all shouting and jumping with joy.

Then, I was reminded that there was still one 'test' that was not yet fulfilled and that was confirmation through the elders. But that same evening, our Singaporean classmate whose from another team but part of our class , an elderly lady whom we called Mama Mary ( she’s like a mother to all of us) told Jsu and I that during our group prayer a couple of nights ago, she already felt that God is bringing us both together and she just wanted to confirm it to us.

Wow!! God is truly amazing! No request and prayer was left unanswered, God just answered my every prayer and every desire even to the smallest detail. If we truly surrender our will and truly seek HIS will, God will surely show us and even change us.

Glory to God!!

Chapter 12

Say IT! Say IT!

The next few days after November 1st was like a dream. Everyday was spent on endless talks, praying together and getting to know each other. As Mr. Romantic as he is, Jsu would be endlessly confessing his love for me but on my part, it took some time to utter those 'magical' phrase. Though my emotions were overflowing to the brim but I just can’t seem to utter those words yet. “ It’s ok. Don’t worry, I’ll patiently wait for you to tell me that you love me too.” Jsu used to tell me with a smile on his face. He understood that from the look on my face, I was not ready yet and maybe still felt awkward.

Then on the 3rd day of our relationship, Jsu and his team had to go to a different province for a 'survey' for that weekend. They left in the afternoon, but just a few hours after they left, I already missed him terribly. Wow! I couldn’t describe the feeling. ‘ I think I have to be more in control of my emotions. This is so silly, why am I feeling this way when I just saw him a few hours ago’, I reminded myself.

I was just all alone that night in the living room, feeling so sentimental and lonely when suddenly the phone rang. My heart skipped a beat when it rang. ‘Could it be….?’, I excitedly thought as I rushed to get the phone. Then, just like sweet rain on a summer day, I heard Jsu’s voice, “Hello?” . With my emotions that finally cannot be controlled and contained, I just couldn’t help but blurt out and say, “ I love you too!!”. I heard laughter on the other side, “ Can you say that again?’, Jsu teasingly asked. “ I said, I love you too!”, I repeated this time clearly and slowly but still he asked me to repeat several times. There was laughter and cheering again on the other side and finally, “ Yes! Wow! Wow!!…I love you so much too!!”

EPILOGUE

That was our Love story. After a month and a day after the 1st of November, our team had to leave the Land of T while Jsu was left behind to continue his long term commitment in the country. It was a painful farewell. After a dream-like month of finally having a boyfriend and knowing God’s life-time partner for me, it was just so difficult to say good-bye. But after we departed, our hearts were just full of assurance that it was indeed God who brought us together for a purpose and He will order and direct our future together. It was not easy to have a long-distance relationship but through God’s grace, we were able to overcome. Ten months later, Jsu together with his Mom and close friend came to the Philippines for our engagement. It was a beautiful Indian engagement where friends and relatives were gathered to witness that special day. Then, in less than a year, September 7, 2002, God finally made us ONE as we had our wedding in Malaysia with all my family members, close friends and relatives were present (23 of them specially came from my country to attend our wedding) . Some of the classmates from the training were also there ( JN and His wife came all the way from Norway to witness that day). Workers and friends from the Land of T came too. It was the most special and beautiful day in our lives. We had a total of 500 guests ( yes, it’s quite shocking to have this guest list in the Philippine context but considered average in the Indian context) but it was also amazing how God arranged, provided and made everything possible for that wedding. Well, that’s another story to write .

Jsu, the perfect man for me was worth waiting for. Or shall we say, God’s perfect will was indeed worth waiting and searching. Sometimes, I would wonder, what could have happened if I just insisted on my own wants and desires. I couldn’t have known and personally experienced God dealings and direction. I could have ended somewhere and not being fully used for His purposes. Ultimately, God has brought Jsu and I together for His plans and purposes. And with this, we are committed to journey together – to live for God’s Glory! And indeed, may God be glorified through our lives. -

To Jsu, as I always tell you – You are God’s precious gift to me and I will treasure you, love you and take care of you all the days of my life. This ‘story’ is especially dedicated to you with everlasting gratefulness to God for giving me YOU! I Love You.