I had been stationed in Japan for four months, and had rediscovered my faith shortly
before that. Melanie's profile said that it was her birthday and I wrote a quick
Happy Birthday emotigram to her, noticing that she had done quite a few things
for her age. Interestingly, she also happened to live just thirty minutes away from where
I grew up.
We began a correspondence that spanned 6,000 miles and was soon
blooming into love. We also started praying decades of the Rosary for each other
daily, which eventually grew to a full daily Rosary. Five months (and 15,000
emails) later I was able to come home for a quick week of leave for Christmas,
and we met in person for the first time. Soon into the first date,, we knew that
the personal chemistry was there as well, and that we truly had something
special. I reluctantly returned to my ship leaving my wonderful girlfriend back
in Minnesota.
Not even a month later, I was told I would be attending another school
in Virginia Beach, and that it would last for three months. I was
excited that I would have a chance to be much closer to Melanie and
hopefully spend a little more time with her. My parents agreed to come
down with her during her spring break, and we spent more time together
falling in love. Again, the goodbye came too quickly, but we were
strong, knowing we'd see each other again soon. A month later Melanie
returned to Virginia Beach. That Sunday, after Mass, lunch, and an
afternoon together, we had a picnic on the beach, and there I proposed
to her. She agreed to be my wife and made me unimaginably happy by
doing so. We're awaiting an opportunity to plan our wedding and then we
will begin our life together, which promises to be absolutely
fantastic. Thank you for the service you provide to Catholics and for
making us so happy. Please keep us in your prayers.
