So on April 19th is when this good-looking Hispanic came strutting into church, all clean cut, still looking like a missionary basically. The minute I walked into the Gospel Principles class, I recognized him right off the bat. Elder Salomón!
He served in the Washington Spokane Mission as a missionary! I happened to meet him on Preparation Days for the missionaries during my last month before heading to Argentina on MY mission. I was taking the sister missionaries to Moses Lake and spending the day with all the missionaries there. Elder Salomón was serving as the zone leader in Moses, and his amazing volleyball skills impressed me! Turns out he finished his mission and was headed back to Mexico City on the exact same day that I would be reporting to the Missionary Training Center (MTC). We never thought to stay in contact, honestly. But I do remember clearly thinking, "Dang. He's way awesome and fun. He had a BYU Volleyball t-shirt on, so maybe he plays volleyball there. That would likely be the only place I'd ever run into him again...Bummer. Oh well." :) I stopped thinking about it, he finished his mission, and I left for Utah/California/Argentina! But before leaving on that last p-day, we had to take a photo!
Now, without the name tag, he is better known as Adonai. Out of my excitement, I walk up to him, shake his hand, and say, "Tanto tiempo!" (Basically "It's been a while!") He looks at me with this somewhat occupied and surprised look (can you blame him? He was surrounded by like five other girls haha) and replies, "Sí, y ahora hablas español..." I think I asked him a couple of questions about when he got here and how long he'd be staying, which he kindly responded. I noticed the five or so girls around him, especially the one sticking right close to him, and I realized class would be starting soon, so I said bye and went and sat down next to Sydnee, my friend. During the class, I glanced back to where he was sitting (out of PURE curiosity, I swear! Haha maybe...), and I noticed again the girl next to him and saw her arm weaved through his, and she was resting her head on his shoulder. Hmph. Cool. No big deal. I just assumed he had come back to visit for her.
Well as class got out, I made my way over to another friend (we found out we're 4th cousins...CRAZY!). I may have headed that direction because Rhoan (my 4th cousin and also Sydnee's boyfriend) happened to be talking with Adonai in Spanish. I'll never pass up the chance to speak in Spanish! Not to mention the fact that this was the first time I'd seen Adonai being trailed by any girl haha. :D So we talked a bit about my mission and such, what he had been up to, little stuff. Y'know. The usual ;) Well out walks this other girl again, and he was going to be taking her home and having dinner with her family. So we went to say bye, but since we're both so used to the "latino way" of saying 'hello' and 'goodbye', that's how we did it! A kiss on the cheek and a good hug. :) Needless to say, my heart melted. I missed that so much from Argentina, and it made me miss that loving and open and fun culture.
Anyway, shortly after, I headed home. About 5 miles before getting into town, I look at my phone and see a missed call...From Mexico. I was so confused. (I have now come to figure out that my phone marks these calls wrong, they're actually from WGU out of Utah. Yes, I know, weird mistake). At the time, there were only two possible people I knew from Mexico who would ever call me. An elder from my mission, but I quickly decided it wasn't him since he was living in Utah and would have used his Utah phone. I quickly came to the conclusion that I should message Adonai Salomón on Facebook and ask if he tried calling me. (Talking about it later, he totally thought I was just looking for excuses to talk to him haha. Not true, but I wasn't about to complain, either haha). Well it turned out that Adonai owns a U.S. phone, so no, he didn't call me. Still confused, I just decided to drop it...But, smart guy, he decided to get a conversation going. Long story short, he asked what was going on for Family Home Evening in Moses Lake the following day. It was, PERFECTLY, volleyball. :)
(NOTE: After talking about this again later on with Adonai, turns out he actually didn't even KNOW who I was when I talked to him that Sunday! Hahaha. He recognized me, but he wasn't totally sure. While we were talking on Facebook he finally figured it out! It still makes me laugh to this day haha.)
So the next day, April 20th, we played some volleyball! We were playing on opposing teams for a little bit, and he was obviously the stand-out player with the most experience haha. But after a bit we sat down and talked just a little bit. There was an extra volleyball off to the side, so I went and got it and tossed it to Adonai. (I swear, I am NOT the flirting type. I'm not sure why I was so comfortable with just going up and talking with him and pulling him aside from everyone else to play a little volleyball just him and I haha). But I am SO glad I did! Obviously ;) We did our best to talk while laughing and playing together, but obviously FHE was coming to an end. We helped to put things away, and he was about to be picked up by another family that he was going to visit and take a trip with. So I went and said bye (another kiss on the cheek and a good hug! :P ), and we went our separate ways...I'll admit it. I was bummed that I didn't know when I'd get to see or talk to him again...
I knew he was headed out on a week-long trip with the other family, so I decided to not think too much about it. Besides, I didn't want to be annoying and text him a ton, so after that night, I didn't!...But what do you know! The next morning I get a few messages from him. I knew he was off touring places and sight-seeing, so I didn't reply much. But he continued to send me photos of what they were doing and everything! I thought...What the heck, I'm not going to worry about annoying him. Next thing I know, we're setting up a date to go canoeing on the lake and eating Mexican food for that first day in May, a Friday afternoon, since I didn't work on Fridays...I may have mentioned being bummed that I'd have to wait so long to go canoeing...I think he was getting the hint that I kinda sorta REALLY liked this tall, dark, and handsome Mexican ;) So instead of waiting another week and a half or so, we planned to go to an FHE at a member's house on the 27th of April. Well...Sadly, I had to cancel. I had to stay way late at work for some volunteer thing I signed up for, but I told him I'd still go and visit after! Even if it was already 8:45 at night..."You mean you'd come here to visit for a whole 30-45 minutes and then drive back another 40 minutes to your house?" He asked me...Okay, it didn't make sense, no. But I totally would have gone! Instead, I invited him to go to Institute with me the next day! :D
I showed up to the Willard's house for the first time ever, which is where he was staying. (BEST. Family. Ever...Aside from my own haha...) They had practically adopted Adonai haha. Well I get there about 6 pm, and they invite me inside to eat dinner, which I had not been planning on. It was a little awkward for me, I'll admit haha. Just Mom and Dad Willard, Adonai, and I. But it was fine. :) After eating, Adonai and I headed out. We had some time before institute started, so we stopped by the Japanese Garden. Took a stroll, sat on the grass, talked, laughed. He already knew I had kind of fallen for him, so he was doing his best to get me to answer questions like when did I first like him (was it when I met him as a missionary or no?) and things like that. I was only a little stubborn haha. But it was all far too natural-feeling. We were obviously extremely comfortable with one another, and it was fun.
Well we headed to institute (only a little late!), and since I still had some time afterwards, we decided we wanted to go on another walk! So we parked at the library and took a walk downtown, through a park, by the river/lake, and back to the car. We went back and forth, asking each other questions, learning more about each other and our backgrounds. It was surprisingly easy to open up to him. I stumbled over my words and tongue a LOT, and I realized I'm not very good at forming my thoughts completely haha. But I didn't mind telling him those hard things; and let me tell you, he does a GREAT job at asking the right questions! I think he figured out a lot more about me than I did about him. We weren't even officially dating, and this was technically our "first date", but we had both just came to the conclusion that we wanted to give it a shot. (For my own record: The question of the night was, "Que esperas conmigo? (What are you hoping with me?) What was I expecting out of dating him? I REALLY stumbled over my words on that! "Uhhh...get to know you better, what you're like, see how things might work between us...?" Haha. I asked him the same question...His answer, "Lo mismo, conocerte mejor, ver como eres, ver como va todo entre nosotros, y...pues si todo sale bien...formar una familia contigo."...I leave the translation up to anyone who chooses to translate it haha. I was a little stunned, yes, but I always appreciate his honesty and directness. And can you blame him? We're both returned missionaries, and that's the "next step" usually after dating. I think that's how we both came to the conclusion we'd like to give dating each other a shot. He was direct. And although I was surprised by his answer, I loved it. It helped me know and understand how serious he was.)
Now, I've always sworn that I never kiss on first dates. But as I walked into Cherlyn's house that night, Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch, and they asked how it all went. I had already explained to them about the elder who I had met and was now back visiting, and I had told them I was going to give him a ride to institute. So I told them how it went, and as I was heading to my room, my mother asks around the corner, "Well did you kiss???" My clearly responded, "YUP!" and went into my room. :)
The rest is all kind of history! Haha. I saw him again a couple days later after his class, and we went for another walk close by (neither of us like to spend money, so that's what most of our dates consisted of. :D ). On May 1st I had a softball game in Wenatchee. Mom and I went to the temple that morning. We had about an hour before my game, though, so I took Adonai to see Feather Rocks. It was a gorgeous evening, perfect for softball playing. And obviously perfect for making everything "official"!
So he manned up and officially asked me to be his girlfriend. (That still sounds weird to me, being a girlfriend haha, it had been so long!) We went to my softball game, where he sat and watched and mentioned to his family that he was dating someone. I got to talk with his dad for the first time over phone. :) For the next week or so, we continued to drive back and forth and spend time together.
The photo he sent to his family to show them his new girlfriend haha.
I think the second time Mom and Dad and Cherlyn got to meet him. :)
He had mentioned to me once that he was thinking of going back to Mexico. He said he felt like he had found what he came for and needed to go back and begin working and saving. We talked about me spending the summer in Mexico maybe; we tossed around all sorts of ideas. Now as I look back, I realize that it sounds kind of ridiculous to think that we were dating so seriously already after only a week. Well Adonai had said that maybe after a couple weeks he would head back to Mexico...Unfortunately, that "couple of weeks" turned to "Shelan...I think I'm leaving this weekend. I want to be able to surprise my mom for Mother's Day...Then later I come back, and we can go back to Mexico together if you'd like." :( It was sad, but I understood. So we made plans to head over to Tacoma on the 9th, Saturday, and stay at Grandma's that night. I was to take Adonai to the airport the next morning and then head back home for church. We arrived in Tacoma, and before heading to Grandma's, we decided to take one last walk through a Chinese garden.
He began teaching me how to dance cumbia, we took photos (obviously), and finally when we realized we were hungry, we decided to head back to the car and scout out some dinner. As we get to the car, I go to put my key in and unlock the car when I realize--it's already unlocked! I was so confused. I open the door, and I see the glovebox wide open. Right where I had placed my wallet, which was now gone. I look in the back seat, and my heart dropped. ALL of Adonai's things were gone. Everything. His backpack, his luggage, his Mexico phone, and my backpack. Literally, the only thing he had left were the clothes he was wearing, his wallet, and his U.S. phone...The only thing we could do was laugh. It was ridiculous and awful all at the same time. We had to call the police and banks to cancel cards and report what had been stolen. Then Adonai shocked me...
"Uh, amor, could you look up Delta's number? I need to cancel my flight. And visa. And passport..."
Ohhh my gosh. NO, I didn't have anyone purposely rob us, so that I could keep him longer haha. But yes, I've heard it a thousand times. And yes, the $250 cash in my wallet that got stolen was well worth being able to keep Adonai around for a while longer. :) I still don't know if he thought it was totally worth it haha, but I'm so proud of how composed he stayed. I know he was fuming and had lost so much trust in people, but he kept calm. We talked. A lot. Even more that night at Grandma's house. That sweet woman. She not only gave us beds to sleep on, a place to shower, and food to eat, but she also gave us gas money to get home, since we had none. Adonai truly amazed me, though.
It was a long, frustrating process to get him a new passport, and it took several trips back to Tacoma and Seattle. It required us to be very humbled, mostly him, since the Willard's wanted to help him out so much. (He's a guy; he likes being independent and able to do thing for himself.) Yes, he lost a lot; I only lost a few things, but we gained a good two extra months together!
In that time, we continued to deepen our relationship and make memories together. And with my family! He was brave enough to not only drive 24 hours to meet Dene', Kenny, their kids, and their brand new baby girl, but he also met BOTH of my brothers at the same time, AND slept on either a couch or in a car for two weeks! Whew. I can't even imagine. He did far too well. :) Mom even came to the conclusion that had he not stayed longer, my siblings probably never would've been able to meet him.
Trista and her wonderful family also planned a perfectly-timed trip to come and visit, so he even got to meet THEM, and they were able to see a Mexican go boating for the first time ever!
He even got to meet some more aunts, uncles, and cousins...Dang. Now that I think about it, I put him through a lot haha. He's such a good sport. :) I'll include photos in the next post!
Oh! And one of the BEST things that happened, wasss...a RING! Ignore the fact that it looks like we just woke up, because we had haha. He proposed at like 5:30 AM on July 2nd! At Feather Rocks, where he asked me to be his girlfriend. :) (To give him MAJOR credit, he wanted to ask me on the 1st out at the Feathers, and he had a great plan all figured it out...But due to moving, and my "stubbornness", I completely ruined it. I STILL totally regret it to this day...) BUT, the 2nd will just have to do. :) And since I ruined the plans, he told me we had to go out to the Feathers to see the sunrise the next day. :) Haha so I agreed. And he got on a knee and asked me the big question. :)
We were already fully into summer, and we had already begun the complicated process of putting together paperwork and evidence for his fiance visa, so that he would be able to come back and marry me! :D
Working on fiance visa paperwork together!
And finally sending it off to the USCIS!!
So instead of just sending him back to Mexico, we both flew to Texas, where we met up with his dad and two sisters and got to meet a lot of his extended family! We all drove back down to Mexico, where I was able to meet some of his extended family, come to love his immediate family, get to know his culture better, learn different foods, and absolutely cry my eyes out with Adonai at the airport when I had to come home...I spent over a month down there with them, and I can't wait to go back. It was not easy when for the first while, because of lots of new people, new Spanish slang, etc. But it made me realize what all he went through, too. I also was able to FINALLY feel confident in dancing, and I absolutely LOVE it! We went to as many dances as possible. There was even one where his sister got engaged, too! So of Oscar and Rosa's three children, two of them are now engaged and ready to get married. :) Anyway, I have tons of pictures to include in the next post, obviously. I'll tell of more experiences then!
For now...We are waiting as patiently as possible (which happens to be rather impatiently at times haha) to hear back from the National Visa Center about the status of his visa. We are so close, yet so far. There is still so much to do, but we have faith! Adonai is still in Mexico with his family and working AND studying extremely hard so that everything will be in place to come back up here to me. :) I'm still working in ISS (and, yes, I'm still loving it--most days haha) ;) and also studying Marriage and Family Studies (yes! I finally figured out what I'm doing for school! I'm still going through BYU-Idaho just all online for now so that I can work), and I'm coaching 7th grade volleyball! It's a blast, and I stay plenty busy. Adonai and I talk as much as we can on Skype and Facebook, which isn't very long at times, but we're making it work. We simply have to stay constant, keep the faith, and continue to check the mailbox every day! :D
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