OUR STORY

The day I met Olivia was on the last morning of my trip to Cartegena Colombia. Before heading to the airport we stopped to grab a bite to eat. I was having breakfast with my cousin and we were sitting right next to a window that viewed out to the outside eating area. I first noticed that she was having breakfast alone, so I figured she was waiting for someone or meeting up with a friend. A couple of moments had gone by and I started to get curious. I wondering was she a local or was she a tourist, I couldn’t really tell. She was close enough for me to see her caramel brown complexion and long silky black hair but also just far enough away that I couldn’t quite make out the details of her face. She also displayed a very attractive aura even from the distance. Every movement she made was graceful and elegant.as she sat and ate her breakfast. I wanted to get her attention before I walked out and approached her so I began to playfully veer into her direction tilting and turning my head hoping she would notice. Once I had her attention I motioned for her to come join us inside at our table. She declined my invitation, but with her finger gestured for me to come outside and join her instead.“cool, let’s get it” I thought to myself let me go see what this mystery woman is all about. I introduced myself and so did she. One of the first things I remember her saying was “I thought you was gone break your neck looking over here” I couldn’t help but to laugh at myself and how she said it. From that point on I knew we had good chemistry fun energy between us. She was very confident bold in her speech but also very lighthearted, playful and fun spirited, I was also impressed by her Spanish speaking. She spoke about how she loved to travel, her professional life, and some of her favorite activities including salsa, and cooking. And she finally mentioned that she she had lived in DC for nearly 10years at this point to which I peeked up and responded, “Yooo I live DC too! It was the weirdest thing we lived 15 minutes apart from each other. We exchanged information and said that we would stay in touch. In the following months I got to know that 15 minute drive really well. When I think about it now I don’t know what I expected when I approached her that day. At best maybe just meet this attractive woman, have a good conversation and enjoy the beauty of that Cartegena day. Little did I know God was working it all out just like that

As told by Cam

As told by Olivia

Amidst a journey for spiritual enlightenment I was led to spend an extended period of time in Cartagena, Colombia. I was overwhelmed by the pressures of the world, the pressures of life, and the pressures of just being me. I did not go to Cartagena to party, but to seek God and wisdom. Fast forward to the one day I decided to get out of the house and treat myself to breakfast.

I sat at a table on the sidewalk patio at Ely cafe. The weather was a warm and balmy 82 degrees. There was a light breeze that wafted the smells of sweet bread and bacon through the air; and the beach! The popular Bocagrande beach was just two blocks away and I planned to check it out after breakfast.

As I looked over the menu I noticed a handsome man inside the cafe throwing glances at me through the window. He was seated with his back turned to me so it was very obvious. I did my best not to hold eye contact because, well, I was not in Cartagena to make new friends; but he kept looking over his shoulder at me every 2 minutes so I decided to play along.

He motioned at me with his index finger to come inside and talk to him. I thought, "This man has lost his mind. I know he doesn't think I'm going to walk inside to speak to him because he showed the slightest bit of interest. Ha!" So I shook my head no, and motioned for him to come out and talk to me. He did.

Before I knew it he was walking outside, slowly, trying his best to look cool. He was cuter up close. 'This could be a fun conversation,' I thought, 'what the heck Liv, why not.' He introduced himself politely, sat down, and we began to talk. The first thing that caught my attention was how well mannered he was, then his accent, and then the fact that he didn't try to hit on me outright and didn't say anything inappropriate or annoying.

The conversation was enjoyable, but he was younger than me by 2 years so I immediately wrote him off as nothing more than a nice person to know. His cousin was sitting inside the restaurant by himself for a little while now, so I told him to invite his cousin out to sit at my table and talk with us too. We all got to know each other for the next 40 minutes and had a pretty good time.

As the conversation continued we discovered that we lived only 15 minutes apart in Washington, DC! Crazy right! We exchanged numbers and promised to connect when we were back in the city. His birthday was coming in just a few days and I told him I would reach out to wish him a happy birthday we say our goodbyes. Long story short, I didn't.

I was dating someone else at the time and focused my energy on him. In fairness, Cameron never reached out to me either. Well, not for nearly 4 months. Little did I know, just 4 days after I broke up with the previous guy, the handsome man I met in Cartagena would text me and ask me out to dinner.

From there on we saw each other nearly every day until it actually became every day. We went on dates, explored, and took a spontaneous trip to Puerto Rico that really sealed the deal. It was the best trip of our lives, and it happened together. It wasn't long after that we became "official." A little over a year later he proposed and we found out we were pregnant, and now here we are, planning a wedding trip of a lifetime to celebrate our love, our union, and all the glorious things God has done for us.

Our relationship has challenged us to grow beyond what we thought possible in such a short period of time, it has matured us, brought us love and companionship, and ultimately, brought us closer to God.