Thank you for showing an interest in us! We are glad you are taking time to visit this page and read "About us."
We are Joel Upton (22, from England) and Alexa Blevins (20, from California, USA) and have fallen in love!
We met in May 2010 while Alexa was part of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with an international Christian missions movement called Youth With a Mission (YWAM) at a training base in the south of England called Holmsted Manor. Joel had already completed a DTS at the same base in June 2009 and was returning from a small team outreach in Berlin when we first met...
Joel was asked to help out with Alexa’s DTS because they were short on staff. While he was there we were able to really get to know each other and build a friendship. We spent time together in some lectures, work duties, and some team times. It was a really fun time. We were able to be silly and ourselves all the time. We always enjoyed each others company.
Joel went away to visit a friend in America and that is when Alexa realized she had feelings for Joel. So, she told him how she felt. Joel also realized the same thing, he had feelings for Alexa too. We decided to be friends and not talk about our feelings towards each other. We felt it would be inappropriate since Alexa was in the middle of her DTS. Joel wanted Alexa to be focused on God. She was going to go away on outreach and it was going to be 11 weeks, Joel and Alexa wouldn’t see each other. It was a really difficult time for both of us. Alexa decided not to talk to Joel on her outreach so she could be 100% committed to everything God had for her while she was in Egypt.
By the time Alexa was to come back from outreach both her and Joel had no idea where the other person stood, or if he or she still like them. This made the first meeting after 11 weeks between us a little bit awkward! We decided that we needed to have a quick chat so that things wouldn't be weird, so we went out to the beautiful gardens at Holmsted Manor and sat on the ground. And immediately we connected again. It was like we had never been apart. The connection between us has always been strong and out of it had birthed such a wonderful friendship between Joel and Alexa.
We said our teary goodbyes to staff and students and left the manor a week later. This was to begin our 11 days together touring England! First stop Reading, Joel's home town. Alexa met the family for the first time, still not as an "official" couple but definitely "together". We spent one night in Reading before driving north to Leeds where we would spend one night with some of Joel's YWAM friends. This was a great time and the journey was incredible. We chatted, shared life stories and grew to know each other so much more, while holding hands for most of the journey. :-) On our way back from Leeds we decided to stay the night at The Kings Lodge (another YWAM base in England), it was here that Joel asked Alexa to be his girlfriend. She said yes. The remainder of our days together in England were very much enjoyed. Lots of laughs and just time to grow as a new couple. It was perfect. But sadly it had to end.
The 24th September 2010 had to be one of the saddest day either one of us had experienced. Alexa was due to fly home to California, at 8.45am. Joel drive her to the airport early morning. The drive had a sad feel to it and neither of us really felt like talking. It was a hard goodbye and we both departed feeling like we had lost something special. Four days later Joel flew to Canada to serve with YWAM Vancouver. This meant that we were 800 miles apart.
Two very long months passed...
By the time Alexa was to come back from outreach both her and Joel had no idea where the other person stood, or if he or she still like them. This made the first meeting after 11 weeks between us a little bit awkward! We decided that we needed to have a quick chat so that things wouldn't be weird, so we went out to the beautiful gardens at Holmsted Manor and sat on the ground. And immediately we connected again. It was like we had never been apart. The connection between us has always been strong and out of it had birthed such a wonderful friendship between Joel and Alexa.
We said our teary goodbyes to staff and students and left the manor a week later. This was to begin our 11 days together touring England! First stop Reading, Joel's home town. Alexa met the family for the first time, still not as an "official" couple but definitely "together". We spent one night in Reading before driving north to Leeds where we would spend one night with some of Joel's YWAM friends. This was a great time and the journey was incredible. We chatted, shared life stories and grew to know each other so much more, while holding hands for most of the journey. :-) On our way back from Leeds we decided to stay the night at The Kings Lodge (another YWAM base in England), it was here that Joel asked Alexa to be his girlfriend. She said yes. The remainder of our days together in England were very much enjoyed. Lots of laughs and just time to grow as a new couple. It was perfect. But sadly it had to end.
The 24th September 2010 had to be one of the saddest day either one of us had experienced. Alexa was due to fly home to California, at 8.45am. Joel drive her to the airport early morning. The drive had a sad feel to it and neither of us really felt like talking. It was a hard goodbye and we both departed feeling like we had lost something special. Four days later Joel flew to Canada to serve with YWAM Vancouver. This meant that we were 800 miles apart.
Two very long months passed...
Joel and Alexa were very concerned with how the next two months were going to look. Long distance relationships take work. Joel and Alexa were committed to being intentional and always being honest and communicating with each other. It was hard sometimes trying to keep each other involved and to always remember to talk about what we were thinking and feeling. Communication skills increased a lot during our time apart. Joel decided to come down to California to visit Alexa for a week and a half during Thanksgiving. On the day Joel arrived...Alexa had no idea how to behave or what to say to Joel. When she saw him at the airport all she could say, yell actually was, “JOEL!” It was really cute.
While Joel was in California, Alexa just showed her how she lived her life there. They didn’t get to do anything too touristy but, that was ok for them because they were excited to just be near each other again. Joel was able to meet Alexa’s family, who got a kick out of his English accent. It was a really great time and Joel and Alexa grew so much closer during this time together. It was lovely.
Again, their time came to an end. It was the third time they had to say goodbye to each other for an extensive period of time. Alexa and Joel spent their last day together in San Francisco and said goodbye at the airport....it was really hard this time. Letting go was like ripping their hearts out....
Joel went back to Canada and a teary eyed Alexa drove home.
tbc...
