In late 2019 I returned from my mission in Colombia and went to a ministry in Brazil called Lifestyle Center Serra do Cipó to learn more about medical missionary work among the mountains of Minas Gerais. After arriving there, little did I know that Alex would be the coordinator of the Mission School. When we first looked at each other, we had no idea that God had in mind something as special for us as marriage!

In the months that followed, Alex was my teacher in several classes. I could see in him various characteristics of someone who truly loved God, and with each class, I learned more about how to have a true relationship with Christ. At this time, a relationship with Alex was not on my mind; after all, he was still learning Portuguese, and I did not feel very comfortable speaking English.

In May, Alex decided to rebuild the ministry’s website, and the president asked me to help him write the content. Although this was not the first time we worked together, it was undoubtedly the most significant. This project allowed us to get to know each other better. Each day that passed, we became more friends, but in the middle of all this, Alex announced that he would have to leave Brazil in July.

When I heard that Alex was leaving, I thought our friendship would end, but God showed me that His plans were greater. What started as a simple question, to know if he had arrived well in Germany, turned into long texts, and soon I discovered more about Alex’s potential to send 20-minute audios! We talked about God, missions, and in this, we discovered in each other characteristics that we wanted in the person we would like to marry.

We were separated by more than 5,000 miles for 6 months and secretly from each other prayed to know if it was God’s will for us to start a courtship. Over time, our growing friendship asked us for more study of inspired scriptures, for more prayer, and led us to ask for spiritual advice from those who knew us well. After much prayer, on January 16, Alex asked me for courtship, and I said our first yes! 🙂

Soon after, in February, we met for the first time since our courtship began. The coming of Alex taught us so much more about each other. With him staying together with my family and me, our hearts grew closer and closer. It was a time when we asked each other many questions and saw how we acted in our daily lives. This time went by too fast, and unfortunately, the day came when Alex needed to go back to Germany. However, we did not know when he would return, which made the waiting time even longer.

While we were at a distance, not knowing for sure the day we would see each other again, God taught us lessons we never expected. Each day that passed, and each difficulty turned into an opportunity for growth. The hours spent on phone calls taught us to value time and summarize 24 hours in 2. We finally knew that we had a date for our reunion, and on August 24, we met again, full of happiness and gratitude.