Good morning and good night

After two short dates in Singapore, Andrew and I continued to keep in touch when he returned to New York. What started as random Whatsapp messages soon evolved into a routine. We found ourselves texting for an hour or two every day and eventually moved on to Skype.

Because I worked mostly evenings and weekends, it was easy for us to sync our schedules. I would wake up early to talk to him after he finished work, and the 12-hour time difference played to our advantage. His going to bed signalled the start of my day.

We kept this up for four whole months before I was able to take time off to see him in New York. While our excitement was palpable, we were careful not to build each other up too much for fear of being disenchanted by reality. We agreed to be exclusive but settled on 'no labels' until we could figure things out.

Andrew took the week off work and played tourist with me. We were having an amazing time, but the 10,000 miles between us loomed over our heads. How is it going to work? How long can we keep this up for? 

I was afraid to ask and convinced myself to just live in the moment. And so he surprised me when midway into the trip, while we were out dancing in a Salsa club with his co-workers, he asked me in all earnestness if I would be his girlfriend. I couldn't say yes quickly enough, and he enveloped me in a hug and lifted me into the air. We were the happiest people in the ballroom that night.

I have asked Andrew many times when he knew that he wanted to marry me. "In March, Trish," he would say, the trip we officially became a couple. "When I asked you to be my girlfriend, it was also because I knew we were going to work very hard to make things happen."

It makes me smile every time I hear that, because I know how incredibly blessed I am to have found a man who has been so consistent and devoted to me from the start. And while the distance has proven challenging on many occasions, it has simply become part of our story.

P/S: When we started video chatting, I would wake up earlier to doll myself up, treating every conversation as a real date. Now I let him see me in my dorky glasses sans makeup and he doesn't mind at all! 
Love, Tricia

The best decision ever

Our engagement photoshoot in Paris by French Grey photography
Before Andrew, I dated an atheist for almost three years. 

He was very much a self-made man and took a lot of pride in his talents and achievements. Christianity, he would say over and over again, was a crutch for the helpless and weak-willed. He would tell me how proud he was of me leaving church and how I absolutely made the right decision. So I shut down the part of me that believed in God and shut up about my faith altogether.

When we broke up, he told me very matter-of-factly that I should go back to church. Knowing how he felt about Christians, his words cut me deeply. So even when I felt God's call again, I resisted Him for as long as I could. I wanted to be strong on my own, and I didn't want to prove my ex right.

And then I met Andrew. On our second date, we sat across each other in a very trendy bar on Club Street and he asked me what I believed in. I was hesistant to bring up my Christian past, but I saw no reason to lie and decided to give him the whole nine yards. I figured I had nothing to lose since I thought I would never see him again.

I told him that I had converted to Christianity in high school, and how in university I had been convinced that my calling in life was to be a missionary in Thailand. I told him that my life used to revolve around church and that I used to run small groups and lead Bible Study, but eventually I was burnt out and decided to leave church altogether. I was expecting him to write me off as a religious fanatic, but instead his eyes lit up and he said it was "very cool".

"Are you being serious, or are you being sarcastic?" I asked (in those exact words!), unsure of what to make of his response. And that's when he told me his story of being raised in a Christian household and going to youth group every week, but how college and life got in the way and he was now in a very similar situation to mine.

It felt like a huge weight lifted off my chest, because for once I didn't have to pretend about anything. My faith was no longer a "shameful secret" I carried around with me. And that's just one of the many things I love about Andrew- I can be open about my innermost thoughts and know that he would never judge me, because he's just not that kind of person.

Many weeks and countless hours of conversations later, Andrew and I realized that we had been walking on the same path, and that God had brought us together to grow in faith. It still amazes me that out of more than 7 billion people on earth, God led us to each other. But what is even more amazing is how He continues to bless us in ways we never could have imagined because we both made a commitment to walk with Him. Best decision ever.


Love,
Trish

Meeting The One

Our engagement photoshoot in Paris by French Grey photography

People often ask if I knew that Andrew was The One when I first met him, but the truth is that we almost didn't meet!

He first wrote me in late August 2011 because he was passing through town for work and he didn't know anyone in Singapore and wanted a "strictly-dinner buddy" (and he meant it!). I was naturally skeptical and told him that it wasn't my "thing" but gave him a list of places he could check out. He wrote me again when he landed, hoping I would change my mind but as God would have it, I had had my wisdom tooth surgery earlier that week and was in no condition to go anywhere.

And so he went on to India for two weeks and we ended up e-mailing back and forth. We got along in writing so I figured that it wouldn't hurt to meet him for dinner when he was on his way back.

The night before my first date with Andrew, I made a mental list of all the reasons why I shouldn't meet him and almost cancelled on him. However, I decided that I could always make an excuse to leave if things were awkward (I even had a girlfriend on standby to fake an emergency), and if things went well I would have made a new friend. I had no idea that this was the man that God had intended me to marry!

Andrew was the perfect gentleman- immaculately dressed, faultlessly polite and disarmingly handsome. He made sure to open doors and pull out chairs for me, listened intently to what I said and made meaningful conversation. I remember thinking to myself that whoever married him would be very, very lucky but I was also quick to put up a wall to protect myself from falling for someone who lived 10,000 miles away.

He arranged for a second date before he had to return to New York, and I made sure to invite two friends along this time. I was so determined to prove myself that I spent an entire hour going on about how I was an independent and self-reliant woman who didn't need a man. I am so thankful that Andrew did not head for the nearest exit and in spite of myself, we had a really great time together.

I said goodbye to him that night and promised to keep in touch but I thought that I would never see him again.

He completely surprised me when he emailed me once he got back to the hotel, and before he left for the airport and again when he landed in New York. Andrew says it felt completely natural to continue from where we left off... and I was definitely excited to hear from him but figured that the long-distance flirting would eventually fade out. Au contraire, our messages worked themselves into a routine and we found ourselves talking every day for at least an hour.

Days turned into weeks turned into months and before we knew what we were getting ourselves into, we agreed to be exclusive until we could see each other face-to-face again. It was a big leap of faith, and I found myself booking tickets to see him in New York in March, four months after our second date.

I'll save the rest of our story for another time. Stay tuned!

Love, 
Tricia