In September 2015, Andrew was living in Santiago de Compostela when Sarah moved to the small city to begin her second year as an English teacher an elementary school. The town was small which meant that these two could've met naturally on their own but that didn't happen. It wasn't until two months later in November when a mutual friend, and co-leader of a Christian ministry in Spain called GBU, invited Sarah to join her one Thursday night for their English only Bible study which (unbeknownst to her) was being led by Andrew. Sarah didn't know whom she might meet at the study and since she loved meeting new people, she decided to go with Laura to the second meeting.
Laura told her a little bit about what the study would cover and who was attending. It sounded like more than just Spanish people who wished to improve their English would be coming to it.
She had no idea that she would meet someone from one of the smallest yet most beautiful countries in the world, Northern Ireland.

Specific details from this night are quite fuzzy for the couple because they didn't realize until much later down the road how crucial this meeting was for both of their lives.

They only spent a few weeks getting to know each other and chatting at the Bible study and then Andrew, Sarah and Laura went out for tapas on his last night in Santiago before the two went their separate ways for a while.

*****

About four months later, in March 2016, Andrew and Sarah's paths would cross again but this time in Lisbon, Portugal. Andrew had relocated to the South of Spain (Huelva) and Sarah continued to live up in Santiago. Both avid travelers were coincidentally visiting the same city for Easter break and upon realizing this (and thanks to Facebook status updates), Andrew messaged Sarah and asked if she would want to meet up for dinner one night. Sarah was traveling with a fellow teacher friend and the two of them agreed. The three had a nice dinner at a traditional Portuguese restaurant but afterwards Andrew and Sarah parted ways again. Olga (her friend) mentioned to Sarah a couple of times later that night that Andrew was a really nice guy but...Sarah wasn't too convinced.

*****

Though their communication would not amount to much more than a few likes on Facebook or Instagram photos, Andrew and Sarah didn't talk for the next few months. It wasn't until Andrew read a post about an extremely stressful situation that Sarah was going through, he reached out to Sarah via message asking how things were and that he was praying for her situation to be resolved.
*****
For some reason the two of them had never talked to each other more than just occasionally. But in October 2016, that first point of re-connection started all sorts of conversations for Andrew and Sarah and the communication simply flowed. Sarah had just moved to the big, bustling city of Madrid at the time and Andrew was still living in sunny Huelva but they were much closer in terms of distance. Both took various trips throughout the next few months but they continued to stay in touch and got to know each other much better than they ever were able to in Santiago.

*****

Andrew made trips to Madrid on his own time, once in the winter (2016) and another time the following summer (2017). Sarah also traveled to the South a couple of times especially during her birthday that year. She had studied abroad in Sevilla years before but never had the opportunity to visit on her birthday. Andrew lived nearby and they planned to have lunch together that day. The couple later reflected on this day and both remembered it being a very fun time and one of a few key turning points for them. Sarah remembers that birthday more fondly than others because Andrew gave her a gift (tea from Sevilla) and he became the first guy to ever buy her tea.

Their friendship naturally continued to grow during this time period, both in person and through messages and photos.

****
After the summer of 2017 and having had time to reflect on things from the past year, Andrew invited Sarah to join him at a football match, Spain vs Italy in September. Because Sarah likes unique cultural experiences, she thought why not? It was a lot of fun in the end and Andrew was able to share one of his favourite pastimes with her.

Little did she know that that wouldn't be the only exciting event of the weekend. After much prayer and consideration, Andrew had decided he was going to tell Sarah that he liked her. He did so while they had a picnic in one of their favourite parks, Parque de El Retiro, the biggest park in Madrid.

Andrew's words were very sweet and heartfelt. No man had ever came out and told her how he felt about her and she admired his courage. However, she hadn't given herself as much time to reflect on their friendship as Andrew did. She spent most of the hot Madrid summer working and waiting to hear an answer from the Spanish government about her pending work visa. In her mind she wasn't ready for a relationship, or at least ready for one as real as the one she could have with Andrew, and she asked him for more time to think about what he said.
*****
A couple weeks later, Andrew received a mysterious letter with no return address. It was written in purple ink and it included two bags of someone's favorite Twining's tea. He instantly knew who it was from but he didn't know what it could be about. Sarah had come to a decision and wrote one of her first love letters. It was beautiful and the words touched Andrew's heart. It took longer than it would most couples to realize their feelings for one another but at long last, the two were finally on the same page!

Andrew invited Sarah down to Huelva for a weekend and to have the chance to spend more time together. Sarah agreed, got all her plans set and Andrew surprised her with an amazing first date, complete with her favorite movie and ice cream (Cookie Dough). They also went to the beach and took a day trip to her favorite city, Sevilla. At the end of the weekend, Andrew asked Sarah if they could be "novios' (boyfriend and girlfriend) and she enthusiastically agreed!

*****
This was not only the beginning of their relationship but the start of a long distance relationship. They learned more about each other and as the days went by fell more in love with each other. From long chats on the phone, messages, photos and video calls, the distance between Madrid and Huelva didn't seem all that great. Andrew and Sarah took turns visiting each other in both of their cities, they celebrated her birthday in Sevilla once again and Sarah even visited Northern Ireland for the New Year. She got to see Andrew in his element, met his parents and fell just as head over heels with his country as she did with him.

Several months went by and another school year was upon them. Due to travel restrictions and a surprise trip back to the United States for Sarah, they didn't see each other all summer. However, Andrew started a new adventure of his own when he moved to Madrid to finally live in the same city as her once again. The distance that had separated them for nearly a year was gone and they got adjusted to being just a few miles away from each other.

*****
At the start of November, Andrew had planned a surprise anniversary trip for both of them to the historic city of Salamanca, about 2 hours north of Madrid. They explored the city, ate delicious food and thoroughly enjoyed their first weekend trip away together. Sarah was very touched by Andrew's thoughtful planning and reflected on all of the wonderful moments they had shared throughout their relationship up until then. She felt in her heart that their relationship had reached another turning point and realized that Andrew had cared for and loved her for richer or for poorer and in sickness and in health. No one in her life, apart from her family, had ever cared for her in this way.

That thought stayed with her for quite a while and it wasn't a coincidence that she had it.
On Sunday night, Andrew and Sarah met up in their favourite square, Puerta del Sol, for a long awaited treat from a nearby bakery. It felt like any other night as they sat on one of the beautiful, illuminated fountains admiring the familiar buildings and billboards lit up at night. However, Andrew had been contemplating and praying about asking Sarah a very important question. It was only a question of the right time and place. He decided in his heart it would be that day, at the end of their wonderful long weekend together.

After chatting for a while, Andrew turned to Sarah, took her hands in his, looked into her eyes and asked what he had been longing to ask her for quite some time. "I know it may not be soon but, Sarah, will you marry me?"
After responding with an enthusiastic "yes," they were overjoyed and began to contact family and close friends about the news.

EL FIN

**If you read our long and winding road of a love story, we commend you. It wasn't easy to write but we wanted to share our story with those we love.**

We are thrilled that you will be joining us in our celebration come September. More details and travel recommendations will be posted in the coming weeks.