As most of you know I have been dating Sasha for the past 2 years. Last month, we went to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine with a few of our friends. We took an excursion that was literally the live version of Indiana Jones. It was really awesome but also very scary. The main attraction was a waterfall. Sasha and I climbed up to take some pics or so I thought, and he told me to turn around because he had a present for me. When I turned back around he was on one knee and asked me to marry him. He of course said more than just that but it is kind of a blur. It was seriously so perfect. He did a great job and I was really surprised. He did a really good job of making me think he wasn't going to propose for a while.
Now the questions have been, "when is the wedding?, "where will we live?" And the answers unfortunately are unknown. I am applying for a fiancé visa for him. The problem with this is that my lawyer said the wait time is 1 year. Yes, I did cry when she told me. He also can't come to America during that period without a waiver, which is not that probable. BUT... I am praying that God does some miracles and it all moves along faster. I have some very awesome people who are praying with me everyday at a designated time. So, I believe we will have some pretty awesome stories about how God worked out the"impossible". Sasha and I would be more than happy to have anyone who wants to join with us in prayer. We pray at 10am.
So.. What does this mean? Well, it means there are a lot of unknowns. Once he gets the visa we have 90 days to get married. We are going to plan the wedding and pray and hope that we can find a place and vendors that will be flexible with dates. I know… I am hoping for some big things. If any of you have ideas or connections please feel free to share. I would really appreciate it.
Many of you have asked about the proposal and future plans so I thought I would start this blog to keep updates. I am in Ukraine in the village with very spotty internet so I thought this was the best way. I am a terrible blogger so please bear with me.
Great blog, Melissa! :) Loved reading about how it all came about. Love you.
ReplyDeleteOh Melissa (and Sasha), I will be praying! You know I can completely relate!! It did take John 1 year to arrive in America. In fact, it was August 23, 2004 and August 23, 2003 when I was in Sweden, was the day he asked me to marry him! I too was so frustrated that it takes so long. At the time we were hoping for 6mos which was the average we were told. But that was when there was a flux of requests for the fiance visas bcuz so many were now finding people online in other countries. It was hard to not be there to help him pack and prepare his departure, and even harder to plan a wedding all by myself. Yes, I had to find a date and stick to it at some point, bcuz everything with the vendors is based on a fixed date. We chose Sept 25th (it was my Grandma Jo's bday) and seemed far enough out. Well, we heard there were delays and then expected him here in June or July to latest. When he finally got the visa and could book a date, it was only 1 month before our wedding! That stunk. I see why many who get this type of visa just do a justice of the piece or a very small wedding chapel and then do another ceremony or reception after they are here a while. I wanted a traditional thing and I did it with help from friends like your family and other church family members! It worked out, God was in control! And we wanted kids right away, boy, I got pregnant the first week! man! So yes, yesterday was our 12th anniversary! I am happy to help, please ask. I can face paint if you have a bunch of kids, I can make so many wedding things and decor... let me know asap so I can work ahead of schedule bcuz I stay busy with jobs. But we understand, we know those ups and downs and KNOW the heartache of waiting so long. So God bless you both. Love you and I am sure I will LOVE SASHA too! You know, we also have a Russian in our family too, Masha from Ukraine, married to my nephew. She came the same way, on a fiance visa... so we are doubly experienced! LOL Enjoy every moment. Love the pictures you have so far! Wish John and I had more. I have misplaced many of the ones I had when I went to Sweden. I pray I will find them... no digital in those days. Hope to hear from you soon.
ReplyDelete~ from Tina & John Tanwani (and Jordyn)