Young American sends charity package to the Philippines and it changes his life 15 years later

On Christmas 2000, a 7-year-old boy from the US state of Idaho sent a charity package to the Philippines. After 14 years, this story has become a testament to true love, the one we usually only see in the movies and not in real life. The truth is that, with the script of this story, it would be quite possible to create a beautiful film, since it looks more like a fairy tale. The difference is that this actually happened.

O awesome.club tells the story of Tyrell and Joana, two people who found each other thanks to a simple shoebox.

18 years ago, then-little Tyrell Wolfe participated in a charity project called “Operation Christmas Child”. In an empty shoebox, he needed to put school supplies, toys, souvenirs, a letter and also a picture of himself. Wolfe chose to upload an image of himself in cowboy gear. His parents took the box to church. From there, along with other gifts, the package was sent to poor families in the Philippines. Tyrell forgot about this until, in 2009, he received a friend request on Facebook from a girl named Joana Marchan. The person was unknown and, precisely for that reason, he did not accept the request.

After a while, Joan sent another friend request, and Tyrell was curious to know who she was. Then the girl told about the box from the United States that she had received many years before. She even sent a letter of thanks to the boy, but the correspondence was lost. Tyrell didn’t remember any of that, and asked his mother if it all really happened. The woman told him about the gift, and the two young men began to talk.

It didn’t take long for the two to discover that they had a lot in common, and after a year of virtual chats, they decided to meet. Tyrell worked on construction sites and saved a lot of money to go to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. He spent the entire flight very nervous, as this was his first trip abroad. Also, he had never traveled alone. Joana went to meet him at the airport. Both were very worried, but at first glance they realized that there really was chemistry between them.

Tyrell was so amazed at the conditions in which the girl’s relatives lived that he found everything unrealistic: in a small house, eight relatives slept on the floor. The lovers spent 10 days together and it was very difficult to say goodbye as they didn’t know when they would see each other again. The boy promised Joana that he would return, and he kept his word.

Tyrell’s second visit lasted a month and was crucial, as he asked Joanna’s hand for the young woman’s father, and he accepted. But her mother was against it, thinking that, at 20, a person is still too young to marry.

So Tyrell’s father arrived in Manila to help his son convince his future mother-in-law. The wedding ended up taking place at the groom’s farm in Idaho. He was dressed in a barong, the traditional Philippine wedding shirt. The bride wore a flower crown and a white dress. Her parents were unable to attend the wedding due to visa complications, and now the couple dreams of repeating the ceremony in the girl’s country of origin, in accordance with the traditions of Joana’s land.

The charity project for sending gifts to needy families was launched in 1993, and it took 113 million boxes to 130 countries for Joana and Tyrell to meet.

Recently, the couple’s first child was born, and they continue with the habit of sending packages to other countries. In this video you can see how the couple tells their story, without hiding the tears of emotion.

Dear reader, for us you are the best source of inspiration. Tell us about yourself! Maybe you’ve experienced a story like the one in the post you just read, discovering the challenges that true love is capable of overcoming. Send an email to redaccion@ with “My Story” in the “Subject” field.