For four years, I have been in a committed long-distance relationship with the man I love. We are engaged, but there is one very important part of our story that has not happened yet: we have never had the opportunity to meet in person.

The distance between us has never been because of a lack of love or commitment. It has been financial. Neither of us has been in a position to afford the international travel, extended stay, family expenses, marriage preparations, and immigration-related steps necessary to finally bring our lives together.

After four years of communicating, supporting one another, praying together, and believing in better days, I have decided to reach out for help.

I am raising $30,000 to help make this long-awaited family journey possible. The funds will help cover the many expenses involved in traveling to Nigeria with my children, spending meaningful time with my fiancé and his family, preparing for our marriage, and taking the appropriate legal and immigration steps afterward as we determine the best path forward for our family.

This is not simply a vacation for us. It represents the opportunity to finally meet in person, bring our families together, begin our life together, and take the next steps that we have been waiting years to take.

My children will be traveling with me, and our family plans also include our dog. We are trying to make this journey responsibly and thoughtfully while preparing for the costs that come with international travel and establishing our future together.

My fiancé is in Nigeria, where he and his mother are involved in a clothing business. He has family there, and Nigeria is where we have chosen to begin this next chapter because it allows us to finally meet, spend time with his family, and move forward with our marriage plans.

We are not expecting anyone else to finance our lives. We have both been working to maintain our circumstances and build toward a better future, but the costs involved are simply beyond what we can currently manage on our own.

One of the questions people may naturally have is, "How can you be together for four years and still have never met?"

The honest answer is that international travel is expensive, especially when you are trying to travel as a family and remain financially responsible at home.

We have continued our relationship through communication, patience, prayer, and commitment. We know that meeting in person is an important step, and we are ready to take it when we are financially able.

We also understand that meeting in person is an important part of determining what our future will look like and where our family will ultimately live.

I am intentionally limiting the personal information and photographs shared publicly at this stage. This is for privacy and safety reasons. We both live relatively private lives and do not maintain much of a social-media presence. We have photographs individually, but because we have never physically met, we do not have photographs together yet.

As our journey progresses, I would love to share appropriate updates and photographs when I feel it is safe and comfortable to do so. One of the moments I most look forward to documenting is the day we finally meet, travel together, and begin creating the memories we have waited years to make.

My faith has been an important part of continuing to believe that better days are possible, even when circumstances have made our plans difficult.

"With God all things are possible." — Matthew 19:26

I am asking for help because I believe sometimes faith also means having the courage to reach out when you cannot accomplish something alone.

Whether you are able to give, share, pray, or simply take the time to read our story, I am grateful.

Every contribution, regardless of size, brings us one step closer to making this long-awaited journey possible.

Thank you for reading, for believing in the possibility of better days, and for being part of our story.

With gratitude and faith,

Loren