The moment I knew: he kissed me and it felt like I was standing on the edge of a whole new life

When Marisha Matthews first saw ‘cool minister’ Paul, she noticed his kind eyes and jewellery. Their growing relationship was a slow burn over many years Find more stories from the moment I knew series In the summer of 2014, I was living in Adelaide with my two young children in a very hot rental house with a low ceiling and a rat problem. It also had a slightly leaky pool, which was good for entertaining. It was coming up to Australia Day, which I’ve always had mixed feelings about. I couldn’t stomach inviting people over for a plastic flag-fest, so I suggested my guests bring items to make a welcome package for refugees. As a first-generation Anglo Indian British Australian with Chinese siblings, and previously married to a Persian refugee, my family is full of the newly arrived. It was a great party and, after driving around for a couple of weeks with a car full of tinned soup and bags of rice, I saw my local Uniting Church had a sign on the fence: “Jesus was a Refugee.” The first person I met there, Audrey, explained that a group from the church community and volunteers were starting a cafe to help refugees arriving from Iran and Afghanistan. I had spent time in Iran, experienc