Mediation, love, dancing, dreaming, social action, getting the heart of things, defying a life lived in Grey...
Immigration Info
Immigration Status
K-1 Visa
Place benefits filed at
Vermont Service Center
Country
Peru
Our Story
I met Marthy Miriam Hilares on the morning of March 8th, 2007 on the balcony of Café Bagdad in Cuzco, Peru. I’d been living in an Indian tepee in the Andes for several months, teaching clown in an orphanage called, Casa de Milagros. During this time I was writing letters to one of my best friends, a photographer in NYC, describing the nature around me, the culture, and my experiences working with the children. My friend wrote me back from NYC, told me she was coming to Peru, picking up her sister-in-law in Lima, Marthy Miriam Hilares, and would meet me in Cuzco. Sun flooded the windows as I joined them on the balcony at Café Bagdad, and though we didn’t know it, our lives had just changed forever.
The three of us traveled through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, between Cuzco and Manchu Picchu, exploring the mountains, working in the orphanage, and living what most people only dream of. Marthy Miriam Hilares (who prefers- Miriam, and is so addressed herein)- is the purest person I have ever met. Miriam’s voice and her words contain a strength that is older than her age, more beautiful than water. We talked about our lives and our dreams- and with out even looking for it- stumbled into a mutual admiration and celebration of one another than can only be called, true love.
In Miriam I have found the one person I can dedicate all that I am to- and this is my only hope. Before she returned to Lima, I asked her if she would be my wife. To my profound joy, Miriam expressed that she wanted to marry me. Miriam flew back to Lima with my question in her heart, and several days later I joined her there, to meet her parents and family, and allow our nascent love to blossom. For the next month I lived with Miriam’s family as a guest in their home, preparing meals together, sharing their daily life and learning about their family. Toward the end of my time with them, Miriam and I asked her parents for their blessing, they were very happy to give it. And now we are waiting- so that we may marry, and finally, begin building our life together.
