Help my bride and I to always set our sunsets in each others skies.

Help me to make 30 promises in 30 days in preparation for our church wedding.

Journey with us as we ground our relationship in biblical principles as that is the best way to secure any relationship, romantic or otherwise.

Re-live falling in love again, or working through the nitty-gritty task of "friendship building" so that we can ensure a marriage that lasts a lifetime.

Benefit from our steps to learn what unconditional love means and how you can apply that to your family and friendships.

I write this campaign with the purpose to unite in holy matrimony with Monica del Cisne Bustamante and begin a life committed to full time missions sponsored by a church. We will join missions training each week with an evangelical church and are optimistic to receive a commission by 2024. All are invited to attend our wedding February 3rd at 1PM PST at the Evangelical Alliance Church in Loja, Ecuador at the intersection of streets University and Miguel Riofrio. Additionally, a digital fashion may prove easier for you and your loved ones, so at 1 PM PST February 3rd we will also be livestreaming the wedding at the Zoom URL https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/97656058839.  We are requesting a voluntary contribution to this campaign in place of traveling expenses to fund the wedding due to hardships which I will describe.

I met Monica del Cisne Bustamante when I was going to the local market in Loja, Ecuador for lunch. She was feeding, bandaging, and cleaning the wounds of the sick free of charge—individuals whom I had seen destitute in the street only months prior were now given a better life under her care. What impressed me about her was how she carried herself, always with a straight posture, a smile, and confidence and kindness in her step. It is not for no reason that in Loja she is simply known as “Santa Monica” e.g. "Saint Monica." We started to have the occasional lunch together and one of the first questions she asked me was, “Are you a Christian?” This was important to her and she shared that she was baptized by a missionary in to the evangelical church at the age of 9 in the "Rio Zamora," a local river.

Monica and I held hands for the first time on Christmas Eve, or “noche buena” as it is known in Ecuador, in the year 2021. We rode a local tram around the city covered with Christmas lights that was very bumpy. I felt I had to “protect” her from all of the motion and so put my arm around her. When we exited the tram, I felt her hand in mine.  Later we burned incense and read the Christmas story together. A few weeks later we shared our first kiss and were visiting each other every Sunday for church.

Unfortunately, as I got to know Monica further, I found out that there were individuals taking advantage of her kindness. In particular, there was one stalker who would not leave her alone! I hesitated to confront this individual directly to prevent any reprisals of vengeance directed towards Monica.  While it was a big step, I knew I had to do something--the solution I came up with was to move to a new city and rent separate apartments for Monica and I to live in where we could see each other regularly and continue our courtship without fear of this mentally challenged individual. I shared this plan with Monica with trepidation but she knew the gravity of the situation and without a hesitation agreed to it.  We came up to the day of the big move and had to move her out quietly of her current apartment knowing that the individual in question could show up at any moment.  The move was successful and we found apartments across from each other surrounding a garden where we would meet and take daily walks.

We soon received credible evidence that the stalker was going to come visit this new city of ours to “bring her back” –and physically assault myself if necessary! I was able to get us both to move to yet another new city, and within mere weeks the landlord of the apartment complex with the garden in the center gave me a call to inform me that the stalker had arrived one night with a male companion that had a black belt in martial arts inquiring about the whereabouts of Monica and I so as to violently separate her from me, just as we had feared. Unfortunately, the landlord told these two individuals the exact location of where we had decided to move to. As such we began a life “on the run.” A pattern began where I would find an apartment in a new city while the term of the old apartment was expiring, and then give the new apartment to Monica to stay in while I went ahead to the new city—this time telling the old landlord not to let anyone know where we were moving to next! Needless to say, my instinct to "protect and to hold" Monica has only deepened day by day. This also explains why I held off from giving public announcements regarding my relationship for several years as I wanted to protect the sensitive nature of our travels.

I will be posting regular page-length Facebook updates as to where our journey turned to next in which we will also explore daily promises and church wedding vows we’d like to make to each other, but the bottom line is that I am completely out of money, but have found my bride, soul mate, and muse whom I want to spend the rest of my life with as blessed by the church and comissioned into evangelism. I will be marrying my “Saint Monica of the Cross” February 3rd, but I need your help! As this wedding is in Loja, Ecuador, for all those of you who would wish to attend in person you may certainly do so. You may, however, opt to attend the livestream of the event we will host (Join URL: https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/97656058839) and donate a portion of the funds you might have otherwise used on travel to this giving campaign! I know the travel is far and on a short notice, so this is a way for you to support us without having to stress about making last-minute travel plans. Additionally, there are plenty of you who wouldn’t be able to make the trip out regardless, but who would like to send a wedding gift. Shipping laws in Ecuador are VERY onerous (a standard 100 % tax is charged for all imported goods), so in place of physical wedding gifts we are also requesting donations to this giving campaign. Currently we can hardly put food on the table let alone host a church wedding on our own, so your partnership is absolutely essential. The audio-visual equipment we will purchase with these funds to livestream the wedding will further serve with things like my ongoing employment and hosting “Jesus film” viewings on the missions field, etc. Monica and I are ready to embark on our new life together.

I sincerely hope to see you on our journey! 

High Expectations, Lincoln and Monica

Campaign funds raised to reach our goal will cover the following expenses:

--Missions training and a trip to Guayaquil to receive a commission from the church

--Photography for church wedding

--Audio-visual recording materials for livestreaming the church wedding (will be used on an ongoing basis for employment and missions)

--Floral arrangements for church wedding

--Mentorship for Monica in chess so she can attend tournaments and teach kids (she has a natural talent and for just $50 a month we can hire a coach for her)

--Put food on the table (we don’t have enough to eat some days)

--Wedding veil and diadem

--Associated wedding planning costs

--Physical preparation of bride and groom (shirt/tie/shoes/hair/veil/make-up etc.)

Campaign funds raised above and beyond our goal will be invested into long term high interest investments to fund future missions work.

The wedding will be held 1 PM PST at the Evangelical Alliance Church located at the intersection of the streets University and Miguel Riofrio in Loja, Ecuador. All are invited. Stays are suggested in the Residencial Internacional on the street 10 de Agosto. The Zoom link one more time for livestreaming is https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/97656058839 Please stay engaged with this campaign so that you can follow the story of how Monica and I courted!  

Giving Suggestions

$15 You are reading our story and campaign and are interested to support the cause but are not acquainted deeply with the bride or groom. Thank you notes will be written for contributions of any amount!

$50 You are acquainted with the groom or bride and want to contribute a wedding gift and well wishes and can contribute to this campaign with the amount you would have spent on your gift. All wedding gifts of this type will receive a video message of grattitude from the groom.

$150+ You are friends with the groom or bride but international travel on a short notice isn’t feasible and you would like to contribute to this campaign in place of travel expenses. Receive a video message of grattitude from the bride and the groom together.