愛有歸途

不久前，一位叫做泰內(nèi)爾的美國小伙和一位名為喬安娜的菲律賓姑娘結(jié)婚了。雖然跨國戀在如今這個時代并不稀奇，然而這兩位的結(jié)合卻充滿戲劇性的浪漫與感動。14年前，7歲的泰內(nèi)爾通過“圣誕兒童i-l-劃”（ Operation Christmas Child）這一慈善項目寄出了一份圣誕禮物，而遠在菲律賓的8歲小姑娘喬安娜幸運地得到了這份驚喜。14年后，在這個慈善項目的牽線下，兩人終成眷屬。

When Joana received a gift-filled shoebox in the Philippines in 2000， she couldnt have imagined that one day she would meet the 7-year-old boy who packed the boxand that he would be her future husband in America.

Seven thousand miles and 14 years later， Joana and Tyrel Wolfe tied the knot October 5 on a cattle ranch in ldaho. If their story sounds like a fairy tale or a Hollywood movie， it isnt. No one is more surprised than the newlyweds themselves.

The Wolfes shared their remarkable love story.

The boxes were wedding gifts packed by friends and relatives.

“My mom is the one who originally came up with the suggestion，” Tyrel said. “Operation Christmas Child is what brought Joana and me together， so we wanted to somehow make the project a part of our celebration.”

Joana loved the idea and included“Pack a Shoebox”brochures with every wedding invitation. Some guests brought boxes;others gave a donation.

The couple transported the boxes all the way from ldaho， en route to contracting jobs Tyrel has this month as a state park trail. system developer in North Carolina and Tennessee.

A Lost Letter

During the summer of 2000， Joana received a shoebox at a Vacation Bible School graduation ceremony in Quezon City， a suburb of Manila.

The gift represented far more than a mere collection of fun gifts. It was through the box that she had heard a presentation of the Gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior. Not long afterward， her father also received Christ and eventually followed the calling God put on his heart to become a pastor.

Joana kept one memento：a small photo of a little blonde-haired boy in a cowboy shirt holding a lariat. The boy had included his name and address， so Joana later wrote him a letter explaining how his gift had impacted her and her family.

Joana mailed the letter， but for whatever reason， Tyrel never received it.

Fast forward to November 15， 2011. Joana decided to see if she could find the person who packed her box through Facebook.

“I still wanted to thank the person who gave me the box that had meant so much to me，”she said.

The only information she had to go on was a name：Tyrel Wolfe. Numerous options appeared when she did a search. One name popped up from ldaho. The child in the photo was dressed in cowboy-type attire with a rustic mountain background. She had never been to the United States， but she knew that ldaho had mountains. Was this Tyrel Wolfe the one？

She clicked on the|ink and submitted a friend request.

In the rural community of Midvale， ldaho， it was already after 8 p.m.Tyrel checked his Facebook account and was intrigued by a message from“a random girl in the Philippines.”

Thus began their Facebook friendship and an exchange of letters and pictures for the next year.

Journey to the Philippines

The more they corresponded， the more Tyrel and Joana found they had in common. They were both passionate about music-albeit different styles-and both sing and play at least one musical instrument. And Joana had always dreamed of a quiet life in the country.

Despite the 15-hour time difference and busy schedules， they would set aside a couple of hours in the moming and again at night for daily Facebook visits. But if their relationship was to progress， it was obvious they needed to see each other in person.

In June 2013， after saving up money for a plane ticket and receiving cautionary blessings from his parents， Tyrel flew to Manila. He had been on an overseas mission trip before， but had never been to Asia， and had never traveled by himself.

There were some nervewracking moments when he couldnt find Joana and her family when he landed， but an airport employee saw the distressed young man and showed him where to go.

“Once I saw his face， an amazing feeling came over me，”Joana said.“I was so happy I cried.”

Tyrel stayed for 10 days and got to know Joana in her home environment. Prior to the trip， they had agreed not to officially date until Tyrel asked her fathers permission in person. Midway through his visit he finally gathered up enough courage to ask the protective dad and pastor. Joanas father gave his approval without hesitation.

“I wanted to spend every moment I could with Joana while I was there， because once I left I didnt know what would happen next，”Tyrel said. “All I knew was Joana was the one.”

Taking the Plunge

Tyrel returned to ldaho fully determined to go back to the Philippines. He took on extra hours as a trails-and bridge-builder at area state parks， saving every dollar he could in order to visit Joana during the holiday season. This time he stayed for a month.

At last he was ready to pop the big question not to Joana， but to her father. Speaking in the Tagalog language， he asked her dad for permission to marry the girl of his dreams.

The couple held an engagement party in the Philippines and spent the next several months working with the U.S.Embassy to obtain a fiancee visa for Joana. Finally in early September， Joana was on a plane bound for ldaho to begin a new life.

Their wedding ceremony took place outside on a beautiful October day on Tyrels parents400-acre ranch. While his brothers dressed up in starched white shirts， jeans， and cowboy hats， Tyrels attire included a barong， the traditional embroidered shirt worn by Filipino grooms.

Now six weeks into married life， Tyrel and Joana are looking forward to their first Christmas together in the United States. They have started a tradition that they hope to continue every year for the rest of their lives-packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

“And when we start having children， we want to involve them in packing boxes too，”said a smiling Tyrel as he held his wifes hand. I remember as a little boy， I was so excited to know the toys and other items I put in the box would bring joy to another child somewhere else in the world.

“I just didnt know the joy it would bring back to me one day.”

2000年，當(dāng)菲律賓的喬安娜收到一個裝滿禮物的鞋盒時，她根本沒想到自己有一天能夠見到打包這個鞋盒的7歲男孩，更沒想到這個身在美國的男孩會成為她未來的丈夫。

14年后的10月5日，相隔7000英里的喬安娜和泰內(nèi)爾·伍爾夫終于在愛荷華州的一處養(yǎng)牛場喜結(jié)連理。他們的故事聽起來似乎像是一則童話或一部好萊塢電影，但事實并非如此。對此最為感到驚訝的莫過于這對新婚夫婦自己了。

兩位新人分享了他們精彩的愛情故事。

盒子里裝的全是親友贈送的結(jié)婚禮物。

“這個想法最初是我媽媽提議的，”泰內(nèi)爾說：“圣誕兒童計劃讓喬安娜和我走到了一起，因此我們想把它融人我們的婚禮儀式?！?/p>

喬安娜很喜歡這個主意，于是在每張請?zhí)锔缴狭恕按虬Y物鞋盒”的宣傳小冊子。有的客人帶來了鞋盒，有的進行了捐贈。

這對夫婦從愛荷華就帶著這些盒子，一直到本月泰內(nèi)爾接受了一份在北卡羅來納州和田納西州擔(dān)任國家公園步道系統(tǒng)開發(fā)員的簽約工作。

遺失的信

2000年夏天，在馬尼拉附近奎松市一所暑期圣經(jīng)學(xué)校的畢業(yè)典禮上，喬安娜收到了一個裝滿禮物的鞋盒。

這份禮物絕不僅僅是裝著一些趣味小禮品的盒子。正是通過這個盒子，她才知道了《福音書》，并信奉耶穌基督為救世者。不久，她父親也開始信奉基督，最后還聽從上帝的旨意成為了一名牧師。

喬安娜將一個紀念品留在身邊——一張小照片。照片上是一位身穿牛仔衫、手持套索的金發(fā)男孩。男孩寫上了自己的名字和地址，喬安娜給他寫了一封信，說明他的禮物如何影響了她和她的家人。

喬安娜寄出了這封信，但不知為何泰內(nèi)爾卻未能收到。

時光飛逝，轉(zhuǎn)眼來到2011年的11月5日。喬安娜決定用臉書來找找這個給她寄鞋盒的人。

“那時候我仍然想對送我盒子的人表示感謝，想告訴他這份禮物對我的重大意義，”她說。

她唯一的信息只有泰內(nèi)爾·伍爾夫這個名字。搜索后出現(xiàn)了無數(shù)結(jié)果。我看到有個人來自愛荷華州。照片中的小孩身穿牛仔風(fēng)格的服裝，背景是鄉(xiāng)村山脈。她從未去過美國，但知道愛荷華有山。是否這個就是泰內(nèi)爾·伍爾夫呢？

她點入鏈接，提交了好友申請。

在愛荷華米德瓦爾市的鄉(xiāng)村社區(qū)里，那時已過了晚上8點。泰內(nèi)爾查閱了臉書賬號，“來自菲律賓的女孩”發(fā)來的一條信息吸引了他的注意。

從此，一段友誼通過臉書開始建立，第二年他們便開始互相寫信和交換照片。

菲律賓之行

隨著交往的深入，泰內(nèi)爾和喬安娜發(fā)現(xiàn)相互之間的共同點。兩人都熱愛音樂——盡管喜歡的風(fēng)格不同，而且兩人都喜歡唱歌，都會彈奏至少一種樂器。同時喬安娜一直都向往鄉(xiāng)間的平靜生活。

盡管有15個小時的時差，而且各自生活繁忙，兩人還是會每天早晨和晚上用臉書聊上幾小時。但兩人的關(guān)系想要有所進展的話，很明顯他們得親自見到對方才行。

2013年6月，泰內(nèi)爾存夠了機票錢，父母雖然持謹慎態(tài)度，但還是點頭同意并給出了祝福。泰內(nèi)爾飛到了馬尼拉。盡管之前出國旅行過，但他從未去過亞洲，而且從沒獨自旅行過。

飛機著陸后，他暫時未能找到喬安娜，心中不免焦慮，還好機場工作人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了這位滿臉沮喪的年輕人，幫他指了路。

“看到他的那一刻，我有一種神奇的感覺，”喬安娜說，“我高興得哭了起來?！?/p>

泰內(nèi)爾呆了10天，了解了喬安娜的家庭情況。在此次行程之前，兩人約定，只有在得到喬安娜父親允許的情況下才會正式交往。逗留其間，他終于鼓起勇氣面對這位愛護女兒的父親和牧師。喬安娜的父親毫不猶豫地同意了。

“在菲律賓時，我想每時每刻都和喬安娜在一起，因為一旦離開，我將不知道接下來會發(fā)生什么，”泰內(nèi)爾說?！拔抑恢牢业哪莻€她就是喬安娜?！?/p>

墜入愛河

回到愛荷華的泰內(nèi)爾一心想再去菲律賓。他在地區(qū)國家公園加班加點干修路和筑橋的工作，只為假期能夠去看喬安娜而加緊存錢。第二次去菲律賓他停留了一個月。

最后他做好了求婚的準(zhǔn)備——不是征求喬安娜，而是她父親的同意。泰內(nèi)爾用塔加拉語請求她父親同意將夢中女孩嫁給他。

這對新人在菲律賓舉辦了一個訂婚派對。接下來的幾個月，他們忙著為喬安娜以未婚妻身份申請簽證，奔走于美國使館。終于，9月初，喬安娜登上了飛往愛荷華的飛機，開始了一段新生活。

10月的一個晴天，兩人的婚禮在泰內(nèi)爾父母400英畝大的農(nóng)場上舉行。泰內(nèi)爾的兄弟身穿硬挺白襯衫、牛仔褲和牛仔帽，泰內(nèi)爾卻穿了傳統(tǒng)的菲律賓新郎刺繡裝，還佩戴了一把巴龍刀。

結(jié)婚已6個月，泰內(nèi)爾和喬安娜正期待著一起在美國過他們的第一個圣誕節(jié)。他們開創(chuàng)了一項計劃——為圣誕兒童項目打包鞋盒，并希望有生之年每年都堅持這個傳統(tǒng)。

“而且在有了孩子后，我們希望孩子們也加入打包禮物鞋盒的行列，”泰內(nèi)爾面帶微笑，挽著妻子的手說道?！拔疫€記得小時候一想到放進盒子里的玩具和其他物品能夠給世界其他地方的孩子帶去歡樂，我就滿心激動?！?/p>

“只是我沒料到有一天能夠收獲這種歡樂帶來的回報。”