Timothy and Maria's Wedding

Maria and I first met on Fusion101. She was only looking for friends to better her English, and I was in no way interested in someone halfway around the world. I had had my profile up for one week when I decided to delete it. After all, I kept telling people I was waiting on God to bring the right woman into my life. The day I wanted to delete my account, I had no ride into town (I was out east at the time, studying). The very next day, that same day, I had a message from Maria. Because I respond to everyone, even if I am not interested in them (the considerate thing to do), I responded back to her and informed her that I was deleting my account but that if she wanted to write me she could do so to my e-mail.

We started e-mailing back and forth. Eventually we started communicating via ICQ, MSN, and Skype, utilizing video chat. The more we talked, the closer we drew together. After a while, we knew precisely where our relationship was headed. Five years in, I took a trip to Peru to meet her for the first time in person. With her parents' blessing, I proposed to her.
[ Our engagement dinner, where I proposed to her. ]

I returned two years later so that we could be wed, but it never happened due to her fears. At the time, she did not have a Visa. She was worried that after we got married and applied for a Visa for her to return with me, that she would be denied. She did not want to be married and be left behind. I tried consoling her and reminding her that that was out of our control. Whether we applied then, a year from then, or 10 years from then, if they said "No," she would inevitably end up temporarily left behind while I could use our marriage certificate to apply for Permanent Residency. Sadly, the wedding never took place.

She now has the Visa, set to expire in just over a year. When I returned home from my second trip, a year later I had had the money needed for our tickets. However, an old debt came back to bite me in the rear that happened to be precisely what I had saved. I decided to pay it off faithfully so that I could finally be free of it. Shortly thereafter, I lost my job. Since losing that job, the last three years have not been very pleasant. I have bounced back and forth between unemployment insurance and Temp jobs that last no longer than 3 months because companies are abuding the system (they can pay you low wages and don't have to pay for benefits). As such, I have been unable to re-save the money required for our tickets and the wedding. The struggle continues.

A friend told me about sites like this one, and while it seems like a long shot to me, I figure it can't hurt to try. Usually sites like these have some sort of reward feature for donators, which I am not even sure what such a reward could or would be. This kind of thing is way out in left field to me.

Anyway, the wedding would not be anything extravagant. We just want a simple wedding. If it is at all possible, the money from this fundraiser goal will cover:
     1. the cost of our plane tickets (between $2500 and $3000),
     2. and the wedding ceremony.

I don't know if anyone will see this fundraiser or not, but if anyone does and is willing to donate, every little bit is appreciated. If you are willing, please help us to finally start off our life together. Having this distance between us is difficult, and I don't recommend it to anyone unless you have the patience and faithfulness to deal with it.

Thank you in advance to any and all who contribute. If we can figure out some way to reward your generosity, we will do so.

God bless!