After seven years of being single, and tired of “just talking” situationships, Orwin had had enough of conventional dating. On Mission Sunday in October of 2025, Orwin was on pilgrimage in Medjugorje when a fellow pilgrim brought up CatholicMatch, and suggested it was a great place to meet other faithful singles.
Bolstered by this idea, Orwin created an account and saw Amanda’s profile almost right away.
That same Sunday, Malaysian native Amanda attended Mass lamenting that she didn’t have anyone to go with her. (Coincidentally, she had also been single for exactly 7 years.) Right after church ended, she saw Orwin’s message from his brand new profile. She was instantly drawn to his statement that he attended Mass daily, but because of their age gap and the fact that he lived in the Middle East, she was skeptical. Nonetheless, she relied on faith and messaged him back. As the conversation flowed easily back and forth, she was surprised at Orwin’s clarity. He knew exactly what he wanted and didn’t fear long-distance dating at all!
A month after chats and calls, their first date arrived in November.
Unfortunately, foggy weather cancelled Orwin's flight. Amanda jumped instantly to anxiety and disappointment, thinking, "This is what scammers do! It's all been too good to be true after all." But to her surprise, Orwin immediately called to assure her that he would find a way to make the trip to Malaysia somehow, and he boarded the next available flight without hesitation. Despite a hectic work schedule and rush hour, Amanda was able to meet him at the airport when he landed. They stopped at Amanda’s home where he met her family, and then finally went out on their official first date. She was surprised at how easy it was to spend time together.
“It was as if I knew him for a long time”, said Amanda. They continued to spend as much time as possible during that trip, making plans for future trips and meeting Orwin’s family in return. Now that they’d finally met in person, both felt that they’d found the person God had been planning for them. And because of the long distance and different citizenships they both held, they knew their future relationship was going to be challenging!
That’s why, two months later in December, Orwin proposed.
They were engaged in front of the Blessed Sacrament in a small chapel, thanking God for His timing and praying for assistance during the hectic year to come.
“Looking back now, I am amazed at how everything simply fell into place. There were so many reasons it shouldn’t have!” Orwin remembers. Travel uncertainties, flight cancellations, marriage registry documentations from two different countries, and an ongoing war were just a few of their obstacles. Between the two of them, they worked to include and meet family in Kuwait, Malaysia, India, and Abu Dhabi. And somehow, they had to plan a wedding in the middle of all this?!
The Holy Spirit always prevails. The two opted for a civil marriage ceremony in February, which would help kick start the paperwork and Visa processes for their upcoming Catholic wedding. They completed their pre-Cana at this time as well, and had the chance to do a pilgrimage together to Medjugorje and climb the Cross Mountain.
This place played a significant part in Orwin’s journey long before he even knew Amanda.
“A year earlier, I had tried to climb that same mountain alone. An injury stopped me, but I had this conviction in my heart that one day I would return and climb it with my wife. I had no idea who that woman would be . . . but this time, she was walking beside me,” says Orwin.
“The pilgrimage was also an experience which taught me that love is a daily choice,” Amanda recalls. “Many differences surfaced as we spent more time together and were in the same space. I remember feeling not always in love, loved, or loving for that matter! From how we approach conflict, express ourselves, rest, and even worship, there was much to learn to reconcile with.”
Orwin notes that love indeed is a daily choice. “Once I chose Amanda, I chose her. I did not keep a second door open in my mind. I didn’t spend my days wondering whether there might be somebody more compatible, whether our different backgrounds would become too difficult, or whether I had made the right decision. I knew I was going to marry Amanda and I trusted God.”
On 13th June, on the feast of St Anthony of Padua and memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Orwin and Amanda finally exchanged their Catholic marriage vows in Malaysia.
The wedding was a beautiful, intimate celebration of their lives finally uniting, and the couple was grateful for so many of their family and friends who traveled and celebrated with them despite the ongoing warfare. Today, the couple says, “We’re still learning to love well and fight fair! We try to maintain a rhythm of daily Mass and even if not, to still pray together. We bring it to God and somehow the Lord has a way of softening both of us and putting things back where they belong.”
Orwin loves coming home from work and seeing how happy his wife is to see him, and him to see her. He is also learning the joy of putting someone else first, after so many years not having to consider a significant other.
“Recently I had to take my car to the garage,” he shares. “I was supposed to stay out and get everything sorted, but I suddenly felt terrible that I had left Amanda at home alone! Something inside me simply wanted to go home to my wife. So I left the car there, got into a taxi and went home. That may sound like nothing. To me, it is everything. For so many years I wondered whether I would ever find the person God intended for me. Now home isn’t simply the place where I live. Home is where she is.”
As for those who are single and seeking God’s future spouse, the two advise patience and persistence.
Persistence must eventually become a choice, they insist!
“When God places someone in your life, don’t allow fear to make every decision for you. Don’t spend your life searching for absolute certainty before you love someone. Pray. Discern. And when you know, have the courage to choose (that person.)
The more deeply a relationship is rooted in Christ, the less we demand that the other person satisfy every longing inside us.”
