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爱有归途

2019-04-25

阅读与作文(英语高中版) 2019年4期
关键词:爱荷华鞋盒伍尔夫

不久前,一位叫做泰內尔的美国小伙和一位名为乔安娜的菲律宾姑娘结婚了。虽然跨国恋在如今这个时代并不稀奇,然而这两位的结合却充满戏剧性的浪漫与感动。14年前,7岁的泰内尔通过“圣诞儿童i-l-划”( Operation Christmas Child)这一慈善项目寄出了一份圣诞礼物,而远在菲律宾的8岁小姑娘乔安娜幸运地得到了这份惊喜。14年后,在这个慈善项目的牵线下,两人终成眷属。

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,当菲律宾的乔安娜收到一个装满礼物的鞋盒时,她根本没想到自己有一天能够见到打包这个鞋盒的7岁男孩,更没想到这个身在美国的男孩会成为她未来的丈夫。

14年后的10月5日,相隔7000英里的喬安娜和泰内尔·伍尔夫终于在爱荷华州的一处养牛场喜结连理。他们的故事听起来似乎像是一则童话或一部好莱坞电影,但事实并非如此。对此最为感到惊讶的莫过于这对新婚夫妇自己了。

两位新人分享了他们精彩的爱情故事。

盒子里装的全是亲友赠送的结婚礼物。

“这个想法最初是我妈妈提议的,”泰内尔说:“圣诞儿童计划让乔安娜和我走到了一起,因此我们想把它融人我们的婚礼仪式。”

乔安娜很喜欢这个主意,于是在每张请帖里附上了“打包礼物鞋盒”的宣传小册子。有的客人带来了鞋盒,有的进行了捐赠。

这对夫妇从爱荷华就带着这些盒子,一直到本月泰内尔接受了一份在北卡罗来纳州和田纳西州担任国家公园步道系统开发员的签约工作。

遗失的信

2000年夏天,在马尼拉附近奎松市一所暑期圣经学校的毕业典礼上,乔安娜收到了一个装满礼物的鞋盒。

这份礼物绝不仅仅是装着一些趣味小礼品的盒子。正是通过这个盒子,她才知道了《福音书》,并信奉耶稣基督为救世者。不久,她父亲也开始信奉基督,最后还听从上帝的旨意成为了一名牧师。

乔安娜将一个纪念品留在身边——一张小照片。照片上是一位身穿牛仔衫、手持套索的金发男孩。男孩写上了自己的名字和地址,乔安娜给他写了一封信,说明他的礼物如何影响了她和她的家人。

乔安娜寄出了这封信,但不知为何泰内尔却未能收到。

时光飞逝,转眼来到2011年的11月5日。乔安娜决定用脸书来找找这个给她寄鞋盒的人。

“那时候我仍然想对送我盒子的人表示感谢,想告诉他这份礼物对我的重大意义,”她说。

她唯一的信息只有泰内尔·伍尔夫这个名字。搜索后出现了无数结果。我看到有个人来自爱荷华州。照片中的小孩身穿牛仔风格的服装,背景是乡村山脉。她从未去过美国,但知道爱荷华有山。是否这个就是泰内尔·伍尔夫呢?

她点入链接,提交了好友申请。

在爱荷华米德瓦尔市的乡村社区里,那时已过了晚上8点。泰内尔查阅了脸书账号,“来自菲律宾的女孩”发来的一条信息吸引了他的注意。

从此,一段友谊通过脸书开始建立,第二年他们便开始互相写信和交换照片。

菲律宾之行

随着交往的深入,泰内尔和乔安娜发现相互之间的共同点。两人都热爱音乐——尽管喜欢的风格不同,而且两人都喜欢唱歌,都会弹奏至少一种乐器。同时乔安娜一直都向往乡间的平静生活。

尽管有15个小时的时差,而且各自生活繁忙,两人还是会每天早晨和晚上用脸书聊上几小时。但两人的关系想要有所进展的话,很明显他们得亲自见到对方才行。

2013年6月,泰内尔存够了机票钱,父母虽然持谨慎态度,但还是点头同意并给出了祝福。泰内尔飞到了马尼拉。尽管之前出国旅行过,但他从未去过亚洲,而且从没独自旅行过。

飞机着陆后,他暂时未能找到乔安娜,心中不免焦虑,还好机场工作人员发现了这位满脸沮丧的年轻人,帮他指了路。

“看到他的那一刻,我有一种神奇的感觉,”乔安娜说,“我高兴得哭了起来。”

泰内尔呆了10天,了解了乔安娜的家庭情况。在此次行程之前,两人约定,只有在得到乔安娜父亲允许的情况下才会正式交往。逗留其间,他终于鼓起勇气面对这位爱护女儿的父亲和牧师。乔安娜的父亲毫不犹豫地同意了。

“在菲律宾时,我想每时每刻都和乔安娜在一起,因为一旦离开,我将不知道接下来会发生什么,”泰内尔说。“我只知道我的那个她就是乔安娜。”

坠入爱河

回到爱荷华的泰内尔一心想再去菲律宾。他在地区国家公园加班加点干修路和筑桥的工作,只为假期能够去看乔安娜而加紧存钱。第二次去菲律宾他停留了一个月。

最后他做好了求婚的准备——不是征求乔安娜,而是她父亲的同意。泰内尔用塔加拉语请求她父亲同意将梦中女孩嫁给他。

这对新人在菲律宾举办了一个订婚派对。接下来的几个月,他们忙着为乔安娜以未婚妻身份申请签证,奔走于美国使馆。终于,9月初,乔安娜登上了飞往爱荷华的飞机,开始了一段新生活。

10月的一个晴天,两人的婚礼在泰内尔父母400英亩大的农场上举行。泰内尔的兄弟身穿硬挺白衬衫、牛仔裤和牛仔帽,泰内尔却穿了传统的菲律宾新郎刺绣装,还佩戴了一把巴龙刀。

结婚已6个月,泰内尔和乔安娜正期待着一起在美国过他们的第一个圣诞节。他们开创了一项计划——为圣诞儿童项目打包鞋盒,并希望有生之年每年都坚持这个传统。

“而且在有了孩子后,我们希望孩子们也加入打包礼物鞋盒的行列,”泰内尔面带微笑,挽着妻子的手说道。“我还记得小时候一想到放进盒子里的玩具和其他物品能够给世界其他地方的孩子带去欢乐,我就满心激动。”

“只是我没料到有一天能够收获这种欢乐带来的回报。”

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