Hi there! So happy that you're here! It means you are some of our favorite people in the world and we are so looking forward to celebrating our special day with you.

Before sharing our story with you, we shortly wanted to say a few words about who we are and what we are up to at the moment. It might seem odd or maybe obvious for those who know us, but for our partners family and friends, who might not know (one of) us that well, it might be appreciated.

Annika: I am German-American, 24 years old and as of right now I am finishing up my masters degree in Intercultural Communications and Business. I am living in Gießen, a town near Frankfurt, Germany. I love to travel, especially to visit my family in the States in Pennsylvania, where the wedding will be taking place :)

Sebastian: I'm 30 years young, born and raised in Ecuador. I recently finished a blessed journey on board Logos Hope, and I currently find myself making the most out of the time with my elderly parents, before moving to Germany! We have started the process of getting legally married the end of April in Germany and are hoping the paperwork and visa will come through on time.

I remember the first time I saw her. It was in 2017, when she came to my home-country Ecuador for a one year missions trip with the organization Operation Mobilization.

A friend had told me that we would be welcoming a couple of missionaries our Saturday night church's youth group. As I entered the church building, it was very clear who they were (foreigners/gringos are easy to spot in Latin America!) I can still hear her voice in a shy volume stating her name in Spanish: "Annika, de Alemania." So, I then took the opportunity to practice my German and engage in some small talk before the youth meeting began.

That was the start of a very nice friendship. During her year-long stay, we met regularly to play boardgames, go out to eat, and just do life together with a great group of friends we were blessed to have back then. However, her days in Ecuador came to an end and she returned to Germany.

In 2019 I joined Logos Hope (a missions ship) and right before I flew to Brazil to join the ship, Annika visited Ecuador. We only saw each other once, at my farewell.

Three years went by until we met again on the island of Malta (a dream island, if you ask me). Between 2019 and 2022 we occasionally texted on WhatsApp or stayed "updated" through Instagram. And it was during one of those updates that we realized there was an actual chance to see each other again because Logos Hope was going to visit Europe for a couple of months.

While we were chatting, we found out that Annika's planned holidays with her friends to Malta coincided exactly with the ship's arrival to this beautiful place. As we discussed what things we could do together, I really felt like asking her out on a date. But I wasn't sure if she was dating someone at that time.

I just texted: "Are you dating anyone?". Nervously waiting for an answer as I could see she was typing...multiple scenarios played out in my mind. Luckily, she said she wasn't. As far as I understood, that sufficed to be brave and ask her out on a date. That very first date took place on a Wednesday, 20th of July 2022.

The date went better than I imagined. We clicked and I fell for her quickly. Our conversation would go on and on; I was lost in her eyes and her smile. I just wanted to get to know her better. However, we were faced wirh a little challenge... I had 10 more months to go on board the ship. And long-distance relationships are known for being tricky...

Thankfully I was able to visit her in Germany and meet her parents in Switzerland. After that, God really opened doors and allowed Annika to visit me in Albania and Jordan, making those 10 months apart more enjoyable as we managed to meet every 3-4 months.

After leaving the ship in June 2023, Annika visited Ecuador to meet my parents in July, and in September we flew to the States for her to meet my siblings, nephews and nieces. It was during our time in Florida that I proposed, and she said yes!

People are often times surprised when they hear that Sebas and I go "way back". We met in 2017 in Ecuador, during the gap year I took after graduating high school. I didn't really know a lot of people and was very happy when Gaby, a dear friend from Ecuador, introduced me to her friend group. Sebas was part of that circle and I think it is fair to say that we got along quite immediately. Although I have a terrible long-term memory and honestly don't remember the day we first met or what exaclty I thought of him, I know I enjoyed his humor and jokes and also the fact that he had a car. He would give us rides to small group and hang outs with our friends to play BrändiDog and Espejito (if you know you know ;))

Some of you might be wondering if I was interested or charmed right off the bat. I was in a relationship back then, so that thought never really crossed my mind (although I did very objectively acknowledge how handsome he was) but I also firmly believe that either way back then we weren't ready for each other quite yet.

I was so sad to leave my friends in Ecuador when it was time to go back home. However I can very gladly say that we've remained friends until this day and I've had wonderful opportunities of visiting them. Just a year after leaving Ecuador I was able to go back in 2019 for a friends wedding. I remember being quite disappointed that I was only gonna see Sebas for one day, since he was leaving to go to the ship to do missions.

After those few short hours of seeing each other in August of 2019 followed 3 years of not seeing each other at all. We texted every once in a while. I enjoyed hearing about his time on the ship, he would practice his German and I would practice my Spanish. It was a nice and easy-going friendship that we both enjoyed.

In 2022, by a lovely coincidence (although God-cidence is better fitting) we got to reconnect. I remember the exact moment I found out we would be in the same place at the same time and possibly would be able to hang out. I was spending time with my siblings. I had been texting with Sebas and as we were chatting we realized I would be in Malta with my girlfriends the same time he would be there with the ship. I remember telling my siblings how excited I was and we started planning how and when we would meet. In the days to come we kept texting and talking about the upcoming "reencuentro", when I get the message "sooo, are you dating anyone"? I was a little bit surprised I would say, although I did notice a subtle flirtatious undertone in some of his previous messages. He very sweetly asked me out on a date and (obviously) I said yes.

Fast forward to the day we saw each other. It was a monday and our second day in Malta. We had a boat trip planned and Sebas came to our airbnb to meet up as we would leave from there. Let me tell you... I was so nervous when he texted me he was there. I went downstairs to open the door for him. I was really glad our first meeting was with my friends there, which took some of the pressure and nerves off. To not make this too long: we had such a fun day together, in such a beautiful place. My friend, who let's say is a bit picky when it comes to the people she really likes and enjoys spending time with, approved of him right then and there and they hit it off from the start which was fun for me to see.

A few days later we went on our first date together. Sebas invited me to a really nice restaurant and was the perfect gentlemen. I will not lie, I was really taken by surprise by his straightforwardness. We had literally seen each other for a few days after years of not having spoken face to face and he was talking about long-distance, getting married, and other hot topics. Looking back I realize how much I appreciated his honesty and how important it was for us to speak about these things from the very start, as we would quickly have to part again.

Anyway, the date went great, we enjoyed hanging out that week and reconnecting and that's how it all kind of started.

A month later he was able to come visit me in Germany and that's when we officially started dating. My parents, sister and Sebas immediately got along, which was such an encouragement to me. We only had a few hours together but they were very special.

(Sebas met my brother a few weeks ago, when we went to the States over New Year's. Them meeting was something I had long been anticipating, as my brother and I very close as well. I always knew they would click and it was so fun to see it happen. The only one still needing to meet Sebas is my wonderful brother-in-law Mike and I can't wait for that to happen.)

Ever since we've enjoyed meeting up in the most beautiful places and have been mastering long-distance quite well. Although we are more than excited for it to come to an end and to be together for good.