“How can I find true love?”
That was the question Ferlyn, a school teacher in the Philippines, typed into Google one day in 2016. To her surprise, CatholicMatch was the first site in the search list. Having had some past experience with other dating sites, she decided to make a profile. Less than a week later, Tony messaged her.
“It’s like he was only waiting for me to make an account,” Ferlyn remarks.
Tony, a United States soldier then stationed in South Korea, also found CatholicMatch by happenstance, just two months before Ferlyn signed up. He was about to watch a movie online when an ad for CatholicMatch popped up. Not paying any attention to it, he closed it.
When the movie ended, however, the name of the ad popped into his head, and he thought, “is there really a dating site for Catholics?” He prayed to God that if this was really the path He had prepared him to walk, he would give it a try.
“To be quite honest, I never thought I would possibly be meeting the woman that God has for me on the other side of the world. God can truly surprise you!”
Tony messaged Ferlyn, and she was immediately attracted to what was written in his profile and his photos. After three months of communicating, Tony wanted to make a trip to the Philippines to meet Ferlyn in person. But Ferlyn, having been burned by relationships in the past, wanted to take things much slower so they could truly get to know each other first. Ferlyn believed that Tony needed to prove his love was true before she gave her love again to someone.
Due to Tony’s service with the military and other life circumstances, it took nearly two years before they actually met in person. But time and distance didn’t stop Tony and Ferlyn from falling for each other. Video chat and messages helped grow their relationship across oceans so that they were “already like lovers.” Their strong bond of faith in Christ also helped deepen their relationship during that time. "I fall in love with him every time he prays to God about me," says Ferlyn.
Their cultural differences only enhanced their connection in person!
Tony was stationed in New York in the summer of 2018 when he finally got overseas leave to visit the Philippines and meet Ferlyn and her family in person. It was an emotional rollercoaster to finally be within arm’s reach of each other, and Tony admitted that his heart “skipped a beat” when he first saw Ferlyn.
The next day, Tony had a long conversation with Ferlyn’s family, after which he received permission to pursue a relationship with Ferlyn. Then he essentially “dated” Ferlyn alongside her family during his two-week visit. In fact, they hardly had any time to themselves without her family around. Tony remarks that he enjoyed it, because he wanted to earn their “trust and blessing to be in a relationship with their daughter.”
During those days, they took a trip to a waterfall. Ferlyn was getting hot and needed to put her hair up, but she didn’t have anything to tie it back with. Concerned that she would get overheated, Tony began braiding her hair for her, while Ferlyn’s family and other onlookers laughed at him. Worried that he was embarrassed, Ferlyn told him he could stop. Tony objected, saying, “I care more about you than being laughed at. Let them see how a good man treats his girl.”
"I feel like a child with her every day and every moment of time we are together. This is a special relationship because I get to invite Jesus into it," Tony says.
Then, 10 days into the visit, Tony proposed!
Tony wasted no time during his two-week leave to the Philippines, and soon asked Ferlyn’s parents for their blessing to marry their daughter. Having seen his good heart and how he was leading her closer to Christ, they gave it...but with the caveat that Tony must respect Ferlyn’s decision if she declines his proposal.
Surrounded by Ferlyn’s parents, relatives, and family friends, Tony proposed during sunset on a beach in the Quezon Province. Ferlyn was surprised and overcome with emotion, but ultimately accepted. “I knew it was him whom I prayed for.” Tony remarks that when Ferlyn said yes, his heart "burst into happiness."
On their wedding day, Ferlyn sang to Tony as she walked down the aisle.
The couple got married in the Philippines the following summer, on June 29, 2019, while Tony was on another military leave. Ferlyn was nervous when she arrived in the back of the church, not only because she was about to marry the love of her life, but also because she planned on singing the song "A Thousand Years" while walking down the aisle. Tony admits that in the midst of trying hard not to cry, he didn't even realize Ferlyn was singing to him! Saying their vows was the couple's biggest highlight of the warm summer day.
The bliss of married joy was sadly cut short when Tony's military leave ended on July 10—just a couple weeks after their wedding. Paperwork and other arrangements are needed before Ferlyn can move to the US with Tony. Putting their honeymoon phase on hold, the couple set to work on getting Ferlyn her green card, but a global pandemic put another wrench in the plan...
COVID-19 caused even more strife for the newlyweds, postponing Ferlyn's move to the US indefinitely.
Thankfully, Tony and Ferlyn are no strangers to communicating long distance, and have needed to rely on it all the more during this first year of marriage while living apart. Video chats, a personal YouTube channel, and prayer keep their love alive across oceans.
They both feel that God is giving them strength, patience, and faith in Him as they await their reunion and that everything will be okay. Tony assures, "I know in God's perfect time, we will reunite as one again so we can pray and worship the Lord together."
See their wedding video below!
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