Adam, from The United States, was working as an elementary school teacher virtually in Los Angeles, California.
And, he had just started a subscription to CatholicMatch!
Shortly after joining, he reached out to a lovely lady named Silvia. He recalls, “I met Silvia, who is a citizen of Colombia and who was working in transportation logistics in Bogota, Colombia. After our initial connection through chat on CatholicMatch, I didn't hear back from her for 6 days, but then when I did hear back from her, we continued writing back and forth to each other through CatholicMatch once or twice a day for four weeks.”
They both tell of how they “Always looked forward with anticipation to receive each other's messages. After four weeks of chatting on CatholicMatch, we decided to start using WhatsApp to talk on the phone.” Transitioning to voice calls was a great choice for them, as it is for so many other online couples because as they say, “Talking through WhatsApp allowed us to hear each other's voices and get a better feel for each other's personalities and sense of humor. It also allowed us to experience talking to each other in both Spanish and English and to share pictures and videos with each other.” The couple greatly enjoyed this get-to-know-you step, which for them lasted about three weeks.
They both had wonderful first impressions.
What were Adam’s impressions of Silvia? “One of the main things I noticed about Silvia was her smile, her pretty eyes, her dedication to hard work, her loyalty to the people in her life, and her commitment to being a teammate and contributor in making this relationship work.” Wow, high praise indeed! He continues, “I also admired her positive disposition to want to continue growing in her faith life. Her willingness to communicate openly about everything and work through any differences together really meant a lot to me.”
As for Silvia, she notes that one of the main things she noticed about Adam was his “fortitude as a person, determination to accomplish [his] goals, and [his] discipline in everything.” She also admired his commitment to faith, prayer, and spiritual life. She felt that she could freely be herself and express her feelings and opinions with me without being judged. What a key piece to a successful relationship.
Seven weeks was all they needed...
As the couple got to know each other more and more, Adam shares, “Silvia began to feel more and more at home with me and I began to feel more and more at home with her, as good companions and counterparts for each other. After seven weeks of getting to know each other since we first met, I decided to fly to Colombia for one week to meet Silvia in person. I didn't want to waste time and I wanted to see if what we were feeling was something authentic and real and not just something that worked well over the phone.” Talk about a man being willing to pursue! He also knew that meeting in person is key to really see if personalities and chemistry are a true fit.
Adam continues their story, “I traveled to Colombia and we had our first in-person date and our first real live look at each other on Valentine's day, 2021, since when we spoke on WhatsApp we had never turned on the camera.”
The first date was, they note, wonderful. They went to the Salt Cathedral for a momentous moment: “That's where we had our first kiss and I asked Silvia to officially be my girlfriend,” Adam remembers.
During that one-week visit, they talked a lot and spent much time together cooking and getting to know each other better. “It was a sad moment when I had to go back home to Los Angeles,” says Adam, “but after two more weeks, I returned to visit Silvia in Colombia again for a whole month this time.” He credits his virtual teaching job allowing him the ability for this flexibility.
They started making some big plans together!
That second month-long visit contained a few more big moments, Adam remembers. “I met her 9-year-old son, her mom, and some of her family in the town where she grew up, which was 8 hours away from where she worked.” And “When I returned back to Los Angeles I really missed Silvia and was anxious to go back to Colombia as soon as possible. Due to certain responsibilities I needed to attend to in Los Angeles, I was not able to return to Colombia until 9 weeks later. During those 9 weeks, Silvia and I continued to video chat on WhatsApp almost every day and began talking even more seriously about our hopes and dreams and where we saw our relationship going in the near and more distant future.”
During those nine weeks apart, they decided that they wanted to travel together and get married before 2022. “We decided that I would take a leave of absence from my school district in Los Angeles, California for one school year (2021-2022) since the classes were going back to be in person and no longer virtual and that she would quit her job, so we could basically do a lot of traveling together during the second half of 2021,” Adam explains. These big decisions would require quite a bit of work and sacrifice. . . and paperwork!
“Before going back to Colombia I started collecting all the documentation I would need to be able to get married in the Catholic Church in Colombia,” says Adam. They started planning the wedding to take place in Silvia’s hometown of Bucaramanga, Colombia during the last two weeks of June 2021. After wedding planning, the couple traveled through Mexico for five weeks, a trip with a special purpose: “I proposed to Silvia on the grounds of the original Chapel at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City,” he shares. “We had lots of fun adventures and met some of my family in Mexico as well.”
But paperwork waits for no man, even a man proposing to his bride!
Adam remembers, “While in Mexico I was scanning and sending all my required documents to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for their approval. From Mexico, Silvia went back to Bucaramanga, Colombia to also deal with her own Church and Marriage preparation documents and I went back to Los Angeles for two weeks to complete any needed documentation on my end.” This involved the Archdiocese approving all his documents and mailing the complete packet to the Archdiocese in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Once again, Adam flew to Peru to meet up with Silvia, for another three weeks of traveling. The couple recalls, “That was a very adventurous trip! While we were in Peru the Archdiocese of Bucaramanga, Colombia sent the packet received from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to the local Parish where Silvia and I were both interviewed (thankfully close to her mom's house). After three Sundays, they granted us our Marriage License. The Marriage License was then taken to the Parish where we were actually going to get married for their records and approval. After they approved the marriage license, they sent the marriage license back to the Archdiocese of Bucaramanga for their approval stamp. Then the Archdiocese sent the marriage license back to the Parish where we got married.”
From Peru, Silvia and Adam went back to Colombia together and finalized any needed items for the big day. They lived with Silvia’s mother for a month before getting married on October 23, 2021, in Bucaramanga, Colombia. But, of course, the story doesn’t end there.
“After the wedding, we spent three days with my friends and family who had come to the wedding from the United States,” says Adam. “Then Silvia and I went on a pre-honeymoon to a coastal town in Colombia called Santa Marta for one week. When we came back to Bucaramanga we picked up our Marriage Certificate from the Parish where we got married and had to take it to the Archdiocese of Bucaramanga for their stamped approval.”
What followed the wedding?
More paperwork!
They’re waiting for Adam’s birth certificate to be translated and apostilled so the marriage license can be registered as a civil marriage in Colombia. After which, he’ll need to take the Civil Marriage certificate to his baptismal parish in Los Angeles to record it on his Baptismal record. “Once receiving their stamp of approval, then I need to bring it back to Bucaramanga, Colombia for their legal records,” Adam explains.
Was all this work and travel worth the effort?
“It has been quite an ordeal to get married in the Catholic Church here in Colombia. . . but getting married in the Church was super important to both of us and we really want to try to be the best domestic church we can be in our home, and live out by the grace of God our trinitarian life as God created us to live in his image of life-giving love, and love that gives life,” they share.
The couple will soon be going on their five-week honeymoon to Europe, and are super excited to start their everyday life together when they get back to Colombia. Adam will be living in Colombia and working virtually as a tutor while waiting for Silvia's and her son's USA residence paperwork to be completed.
Then they plan to go back to Los Angeles, California as a family together.
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