I met my future husband in a Bible study. Yes, in a Bible study. M was the second man in my life, because way before I met him, I gave my heart to Jesus and committed to follow Him from that moment on until He takes me home with Him to heaven.
Our love story started with that fateful Tuesday night of July 31, 2007 when I heard an announcement in the Makati Evening Women's Class of Bible Study Fellowship International (BSF) that there was going to be a prayer meeting the following week, a Wednesday night, at Crowne Plaza Hotel, for a possible start-up of a BSF class. To make a long story short, I walked into the hotel lobby and asked directions for the meeting place, not knowing I would walk deeper into what God has planned for my life. That day, August 1, 2007, I would be in the same room as M, though we were never formally introduced to each other. The facilitators arrived on the dot, and after a brief introduction about BSF and about the purpose of the meeting, we each introduced ourselves, and then we started praying. All I could remember was that the guy sitting in front of me was from NEDA, but I was too focused on what was happening that night that I barely remembered him. Before the meeting ended, it was announced that the class we have just prayed for was to be a Young Adult Class, the only class in BSF where single people can meet and be together for a Bible study. It was interesting and inviting; however, it was still uncertain when it would materialize. So we just continued praying.
Every month thereafter, we started meeting to pray about starting up a BSF class. But I would see M again only once after that August meeting at Crowne. At around this time just before 2008, the leader of the Evening Women's Class was already inviting me to be part of the leadership. After much thought and prayer and consultation with my mom, I said yes. However, shortly after that, the leaders of the start-up young adult class called me up to invite me into leadership too!
I was in a very big dilemma. I wanted to go to the young adult class because it was much nearer, and because it needed more help getting organized and set up. But I have already said yes to the evening women's class in Makati that I would join them there. So I prayed to God that if the leader of the Makati class would release me and give me her blessing to join the Young Adult class without me mentioning these things to her, then I would know that God really wants me to go there. I wouldn't want to destroy relationships and dishonor my commitment, so I surrendered everything to the Lord. To my surprise, the leader of the Makati class called me up to give me her blessing to join the Young Adult class, and to pray for me and for the group's start-up class.
As 2007 ended, we started accelerating our preparations for the opening of the pilot BSF Young Adult Class in June. We started conducting home-based prayer meetings and invited prospective attendees to briefings. The following year, on March 5, I saw M again. This time, he sat next to me. He was mesmerized by the pomeranian dog of the owner of the house, but I didn't know that he was looking at me too. We talked for a short while, then before I knew it, it was already 7:00PM. The prayer meeting started soon after, and before we ended the night, the leaders got all our emails. They emailed us a letter the following week, thanking us for coming and encouraging all of us to keep on inviting attendees.
The following day, I got an email from M! One email led to another until finally, he asked me out for a cup of coffee on April 19, 2008 at Bo's. We've been talking everyday of our lives ever since then. But it was nothing romantic or whatsoever. The Young Adult Class finally opened in June, and he faithfully attended every class until the time he went abroad.
He left for England on September 11, 2008 to study at the University of Manchester. But we would encourage each other with emails and daily conversations through Skype. At around October of that year, the Young Adult Class ended, and sadly, it did not meet the required number of attendees so it was discontiued. See, God orchestrated it just so I could meet M! :-)
M started making his intentions known at around Christmas of that year. But he had to wait for July of the following year to formally ask me to be his girlfriend. It was difficult being away from him, but God was good. He used that time of separation to build me up further in terms of character and commitment, which were what I would need to be in a relationship with M. I believe God also used that time to train him and mold him, since it wasn't easy being all alone in a foreign land and being without all the comforts and perks he used to enjoy here in Manila. That experience in England forever changed how he looks at life, and how he manages his time and money --- which has influenced much of how he handles our relationship.
We became a couple on the 30th of August of that year, the same day we were celebrating our church's 26th anniversary in Araneta Center, Cubao.
By the grace of God, we'd be tying the knot on the 30th of August very soon. :-)
