“Crossing Oceans, Carrying Faith”

When I told my father that I planned to marry a foreign man — an American with a medical condition — he hesitated. Not because he didn’t love me, but because he worried for me.

“Who will take care of you later on, if you’re the one always working and caring for him?” he asked gently.

I looked at him, the only father I had ever known, and replied:
“Dad, God is the one who will take care of me.”

He didn’t say much more after that. Maybe he knew my mind was made up. Though reluctant at first, he chose to support me — quietly, steadily, like he always did.

Not everyone was as supportive. Some relatives questioned my choice.
“Why not just marry someone from Indonesia?” they’d say.
What they didn’t understand was the weight of the journey I had already taken — the heartbreak, the effort, the prayers. This wasn’t a decision I made lightly.

We got married in Bekasi, and after the wedding, we spent our honeymoon in Bali for a week. His mother came along, mainly because of her son’s condition — and I welcomed her presence. It felt like a strange kind of family coming together.

But being in a cross-cultural, international marriage meant dealing with overwhelming amounts of paperwork. I went back and forth between government offices in Indonesia, dealt with multiple institutions, secured a sponsor from the U.S., and applied for an immigrant visa through USCIS. Despite hiring an immigration lawyer, the process was long and tiring. It took a year and a half before I finally received my marriage visa.

I arrived in the United States in November 2015.

It was winter in Indiana — cold, sharp, and nothing like anything I had ever experienced before. I asked my mother-in-law not to pick me up at the airport in Chicago. She was elderly, and I didn’t want her to drive three hours in the snow. So, there I was: newly married, entering a new country, and riding a bus alone from O’Hare Airport to South Bend, Indiana.

Just me, my suitcase, and faith in my heart.

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This story is a part of my personal journey. Please do not copy or reproduce any part of it without permission. Sharing is welcome with proper credit and a link to this blog