finally, part two of Ashley and Patasse's story!! I think i mentioned in the last post that i shot this wedding 10 days before the birth of my son. needless to say, working on these photos has happened in little bursts...and has taken much longer than normal. thanks for your patience, ash!!!
i wanted to tell their incredible story myself, but i didn't know if i would do it justice. so here it is from the bride, Ashley.
in an effort to be concise, it still doesn't do justice the amount of prayer, waiting, and faithfulness required to just be together. on a personal note, i'm so happy to have friends with this kind of character. love you guys!
"Patasse and I met while I was living in Rwanda. I'd been there a couple times before on short trips, but this time the plan was to stay for five months and write songs and work with local artists on an album. I was asked by the National University of Rwanda to come play a show on campus with their band, Salus Populi. Patasse was the drummer. During rehearsals we started to get to know each other, and then his roommate wanted to go out on a date with my roommate and we ended up going with them. We were together for the rest of my time in Rwanda, but I always knew that I was leaving and figured our relationship didn't have much of a future. On November 30, 2009, he took me to the airport and kissed me goodbye, both of us unsure of the future but assuming this was the end of our relationship.
Six months after I was back in America, we started talking regularly on the phone and emailing. I guess we both missed each other. We'd both tried to move on but something kept bringing us back to each other. So we started thinking about our future and if just maybe there was a possibility that we might be able to see each other again. We planned on a visit at Christmas. Patasse would apply for a visitor's visa to America. We'd spend the holidays together and see if the spark was still there. Only one problem, the United States doesn't grant visas to single men in Rwanda with no ties assuring they will return to their country. I got a call from him in the middle of the night, early morning for him, after his appointment with the Embassy. The visa was denied.By this time we hadn't seen each other in a year, and though we knew there was potential for something great, how far were we really willing to go to find out? Somehow over the next several months we made the decision to try for a fiance visa. It was a much more complicated process and of course was hinged on the possibility of us getting married if it was granted. It took hiring a lawyer, a ridiculous amount of paperwork, a 24-hour bus ride to Nairobi where Patasse had to stay for three weeks to complete the whole crazy process, until we finally got the answer we had been wanting... The visa was approved and we would finally have our chance to see each other again.
Patasse landed in New York on December 1, 2011, exactly two years from the day I left Rwanda. We had 90 days from that moment to get married, but for us it was 90 days to decide if we wanted to get married, plan a wedding and then actually tie the knot. Everything seemed to happen so quickly, but really we'd been waiting two years, preparing for these moments, longing to see each other and finally be together. So, on December 21st, we were engaged, and on February 12, 2012, we were married. I still can't believe that this is our story to tell, but it is. I can't imagine life any other way other than with this man who I fell in love with two and a half years ago in Rwanda, on what turned out to be only the beginning of an incredible adventure."
if you're reading this and know ashley at all, this will show you just what a match she has found in patasse!! :)
