It was 2014 and Connor and I had just graduated from college. We had both accepted the call to be Global Mission Fellows (GMF) of the United Methodist Church and were journeying to the Philippines for one month of training before two years of service in our respective placement sites. A handful of other GMFs from the USA were on the same flight across the ocean, from LA to Manila, and we happily greeted one another at our flight gate. The first thing I remember about Connor was that he realized that he forgot his suit bag in the waiting area as we were about to board--that should have been a warning right there :) Then we realized that out of all the GMFs on the flight, Connor and I were the only two that had seats next to each other. So for 14 hours across the ocean, we got to know each other. I think these hours were more poignant for Connor. It wasn't until the next day, our free day in Manila as everyone arrived, that I started to realize I was attracted to this person in a way I had never felt before.

I like to tell people that we spent the next 3 weeks "avoiding" each other. We were very much aware that being affectionate or being exclusive was against the rules and committed to staying focused in our sessions by never sitting next to one another. However, we would somehow find each other each day--in the wee hours of the morning (when I was awake from jet lag) or quick afternoon breaks--to talk about the topics in our sessions and learn more about each other. But it is important to note that while our feelings were growing for each other, we never exchanged these feelings vocally. Soon our GMF comrades were noticing us and nudging us separately about it.

Finally, on a free evening in Manila, we ridiculously decided to take a "sunset" walk to the bay, despite the fact that we got caught in the rains from a Type 1 typhoon. My umbrella had broken, we were completely drenched, but we made it to the bay. We sat down, looking out into the grey sky, not a sunset to be seen, and that's when Connor read me the first poem he had written for me.

(Already) Long story short, we talked about us. We were uncertain what to do moving forward, but we had another 14 hour flight back to the USA to talk and pray. At the LA airport we hugged one last time and went our separate ways, committing to communicate for two years and see what would happen. A week later, Connor moved to Missouri and I flew to China. For two years we communicated via Facetime and snail mail over 7,000 miles of distance between us. And it worked! Through the grace of God we somehow managed to engage powerfully and independently of one another in our placement communities while sharing those experiences and growing together as a couple.

So yeah, we met on an airplane :)
-Maria
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Maria already let you in on the basic details of our story so I will simply fill in the some gaps:
-I was definitely psyched to sit next to Maria on the plane (who wouldn't be?!?). I realized in our first few conversations that Maria was thoughtful, cute, compassionate, and funny. A GMF friend on the same flight a few rows back later told us she knew we'd end up together after we talked and laughed the whole plane ride (while everyone else was sleeping...sorry!). It wasn't quite "love at first sight," but after being stuck next to each other for 14 hours I knew I'd met someone really special. Two days later, I wrote a poem about her eyes that I would later read to her during our "sunset" on Manila Bay.
-Most people, in the face of jet-lag, decide to sleep more. Maria, however, has the opposite reaction. I discovered this odd habit early on during our training in the Philippines and decided to force myself awake during ungodly hours of the morning in order to spend time with her without being exclusive of our other GMFs (you can't exclude someone if they're not awake!). During those early hours we shared about our pasts, fears, values, and hopes. I will never get those sleepless hours back, but I'd say it was worth it ;)
-The "sunset" typhoon was actually our second typhoon of the trip! Earlier we'd been caught in a category 3 typhoon that caused a lot of damage to the place where we were staying. Honestly, it was pretty scary!
-Long distance had its challenges, but we made the most of it. Even though we're no longer half-a-world-away, we still try to send each other letters, postcards, and have intentional conversations like we did when we were long distance. I'm happy she's no longer 2D, however; FaceTime is great, but I have no desire to use it again anytime soon!

That's it for now. We're excited to walk the road of life together, and we can't wait for you to join us to celebrate that journey in Sioux Falls!
-Connor