Oscar and Helena like a mixture of pass times, such as,  hanging out at home and doing zero things,  exploring the DMV area, travel, and they especially like experiences. So of course their proposal story is an adventurous experience.

Helena works for a humanitarian agency that takes her to many different places around the world. On one these occasions in which she was off to work in a different part of the world, Oscar decided that he would join so that they could spend a few days together exploring the beautiful country of Jordan.

Oscar originally had a whole different plan for the proposal brewing, but when he decided to join Helena in Jordan he decided that it couldn't get more epic than that.

After Helena was done with her work activities they went off to adventures in Jerash, Mount Nebo, the Jordan River, and finally Petra.  They went off with their rented car and drove everywhere! Petra, which was the crowning gem of the trip, was a whole adventure in it of itself. Oscar and Helena arrived the day before and had a relaxing day by the hotel pool gazing over the Wadi Mussa. They were sure to get enough rest for the next day's adventures.

Early in the morning they headed out to the archeological site ready for epic exploration. Helena had been here before but she had purposefully not done one of the trails in which you can gaze upon the Treasury from up high just so she could do that with Oscar.

Oscar and Helena tranquilly walked through the Siq admiring all the carved buildings and burial sites on the way to the Treasury. When they finally came to the Treasury excitement went up a notch and there were pictures galore. Finally Oscar and Helena inquired about that special trail and decided to go for it. The guide was an 11 year old boy-- and the trail--let's just say it wasn't the safest. When they got to one of the last "climbs" of the trail Helena had a little freak out and decided she couldn't continue. She insisted and insisted that Oscar go ahead and get "the photo". After some time on her own she decided to climb up only to find the way split in two. She was ready to wait for Oscar right there in that spot when an onlooker convinced her that they should find Oscar. BAD DECISION!! Long story short, Helena was lost for three hours, Oscar rode a donkey all the way to the other side of the site, tried to get the police to help him look for her, and when he got back to the side where they last saw each other Helena was finally coming down screaming with joy "Babe, babe! I'm so happy to see you.". Oscar on the other hand was quite upset with Helena and said, "Don't ever do that to me again!"

After that little hiccup, Oscar and Helena caught their breaths and continued exploring the site. After a while the scare was over and they were able to continue their day. Tired and famished they made all the way to the other extreme of the site where the Monastery is located. It was just as awe inspiring as the Tresury. After some well earned snacks and juice and time admiring the Monastery from every angle, Oscar and Helena headed back down to make their way back to the hotel.

After much needed showers and a nap Oscar and Helena got ready for a bucket list item they both were eager to check off--"Petra by Night".  They walked through the candle lit Siq with other visitors filled with anticipation. Once inside and face to face with the treasury surrounded by candles they found a spot to enjoy the show. The story of Petra was told by one of the Bedouin guides with a back drop of music and Arabic tea. After the show everyone was allowed to wonder around the site. Oscar set up his camera on the tripod for a picture of the two of them. After many, many tries, Helena said "Let's move on, people are waiting to take their photos and we're in the way." Oscar responded with "just one more try'. At this point he started pouring out his heart to Helena--only one little problem, nothing that he was saying was making sense. hahaha. Helena was asking him "Are you ok? Is everything alright? Why are you acting so strange?" When suddenly he dropped to his knee and popped the question. Helena was surprised and elated.

She, of course, said YES!

Church and friends brought Helena and Oscar together.

It all started the week that Arise SDA and Washington Spanish SDA came together to plan a joint worship concert. Helena's friend Natalia was helping the two teams coordinate the event when she met Oscar. That same week Natalia said to Helena "I met this really nice guy who's from Colombia and I think that you two would really hit it off.."

Helena attended the concert but her and Oscar didn't meet at that time. He was busy running back and forth with cameras and tripods and tech-y things.

One week after the concert, Natalia planned a small BBQ at her place and invited our friend Joelo and, you guessed it, Oscar!  Helena, skeptical at first, acquiesced and said "fine, I'll meet him" and joined in on the BBQ fun.

During the BBQ we all decided that the next day we'd go together on a pilgrimage to the closest Colombia restaurant in the area, which is about 45 minutes away from Silver Spring, MD. However, something mysterious happened to our friends, they were, all of a sudden, too "busy" to show up and left Oscar and Helena alone on the pilgrimage. It was well planned just like the saying in Spanish goes --"friamente calculado".

Oscar and Helena had a great time together talking and joking around. It was easy, not forced, and natural.

Oscar and Helena started spending more time together and getting to know each other more...and well, the rest is history!!