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...Hello from Troy's mom. - This follow up is for those who missed the
Wedding Celebration. I will touch on some lovely and miraculous events that
I thought would interest you.
The ceremony
Robin was gorgeous and radiant in her slim satin gown
flanked by her beautiful attendants in lavender. And Troy and his groomsmen
in black tuxes all looked buff and handsome. Troy and Robin first exchanged
personal love vows at the church alter; then pastor Eric Zenor, Troy's
brother in law, brought bible verses to light which attested to the Christ
centered marriage
both Troy and Robin wish to live
by. After which Tracy Zenor beautifully recited Col 3:12-19 which advises
husbands and wives how to get along. Music and singing preceded the marriage
vows and a loving kiss sealed the ceremony.
The couple then dashed out in a mass of soap bubbles
and pretty airborne balloons and cheers of well wishing. A wonderful
reception followed at the San Jose Country Club with its magnificent views
and oak covered grounds. We all had a blast mingling with over l60 guests,
giving toasts, laughing at Dick Kirkpatrick who roasted Troy good , filling
up on delicious food and a scrumptious four tiered cake, watching both a
beautiful sunset and the new moon , laughing at cute videos taken of the
Troy and Robin as kids, dancing to great music, watching the limbo
enthusiasts (even Robin and Troy got down) and finally cheering the couple
off to the Fairmont Hotel in a cute model A Ford. We all took a guess at the
honeymoon destination but Mark Cosgrove and Leonie Wynhoven, the Maid of
Honor, won. They guessed St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Troy and Robin had a
fantastic week loving the romantic tropical setting and total togetherness
interspersed with scuba diving, hiking, sailing, and dining.
The love story and first meeting--prayers answered?
This love story begins a year and a half ago with Troy
changing his focus from triathlon and dating to student ministry and
serving. Though he desired a wife and best friend who would share his love
of sports and the ministry, he wanted God to know he could be content and
happy enough just serving Him. Meanwhile Robin was telling her Dad and Mom
she had decided to marry a strong Christian man and had put it before the
Lord in prayer. Her parents, Jan and Jerry, thought she was really limiting
her choices too much; nevertheless Robin trusted God would prepare a husband
for her. Meanwhile I was suggesting to Troy to check out Christian single
groups for his mate. But Troy said he had lot's of great girlfriends in the
past but something was always amiss so now he was leaving it up to the
Lord.. "I'm trusting He will find the right girl for me - I don't need to
search for her."
...Sure enough out of blue , Robin emails Troy about a
year ago with questions
about where she could train. At
this point they were both total strangers. Robin did great in school at
cross-country running and now was taking up triathlon. A race director told
her to email Troy as he had once organized a triathlon training group called
STARS and was a Christian triathlete himself. After email back and forth
they agreed on a bike ride together; well they clicked immediately and love
blossomed soon after.
. . At first Troy told me how easy it was to talk with
Robin and then how she made him laugh, and then it was how great it was to
pray with her; well within a few weeks he admitted he never felt this way
about anyone before and was very attracted to her. I knew then she was the
one he had been holding out for!
When they visited I found Robin to be so natural and
down to earth as well as fun and always ready to help others. Plus she had
energy to spare despite her full time teaching job as a hi-school math
teacher and running coach plus all the many activities with Troy. The Lord
must delight in matching up a couple who totally trust in Him through
prayer.
The proposal - monkey in a tree brings down the ring!
With a flair for the dramatic, Troy has a monkey
rigged to drop down a tree just after he has Robin pray with him for God to
provide a "sign" from above about their future. Robin laughs when a stuffed
monkey suddenly drops down with a ring between it's hands and the proposal
begins -- so what else can Robin possibly say after that 'set up' but YES!!
3 months before the wedding, Troy breaks his ankle
While careening solo down a mountain on his bike using
his foot as a brake, his foot gets caught and snaps and there is no one
around to help! But miraculously he's able to overcome the excruciating pain
by focusing on God. This enables him to get down the hill and drag himself
into a hospital three hours later. His foot is finally operated on so it can
knit properly.
All is well until Troy slips and falls on the ankle 3
days after the operation. Will his ankle heal by Aug 10th, the wedding day?
The doctor is very doubtful but Troy is praying that it will and he'll be
running on it well before the wedding. Without complaining he commences to
hop on his crutches for the next 6 weeks and then ---
Troy and Robin run a half Ironman race one week before
the wedding !-
This is Robin's 1st half Ironman ever and she comes in
15th! And Troy's
ankle actually feels better after
finishing this race! And Robin's knee is doing fine!
A half Ironman is 56 miles of biking, 1.2 miles of swimming and 13.1 miles
of running non stop. A full Ironman is double that. Troy has done (7) full
Ironman triathlons (his best time was 9hrs and 47 min. ) Both Troy and Robin
have incredible strong legs and lots of heart and smarts; nevertheless it's
always God they give the credit to and it's always his strength they rely
on. And maybe that is why Troy and Robin were able to "soar on wings like
eagles " (Is40:31) throughout this courtship and wedding and honeymoon. They
had to overcome hurting knees, a broken ankle, and the inconvenience of
crutches, they had to make so many preparations for a huge and complex
wedding, they made time for out-of- town celebration parties and visited
many family members, and they squeezed time in for several triathlons to
boot. To top it off, on Troy's last day at work, they strapped a
16lb ball and chain to his ankle.
The picture he sent was a hoot.
By then this worried mother fully expected them both
to be carried down the isle in their separate gurneys due to total
exhaustion, but surprise surprise by the grace and power of God they were
both in top form and visited with friends and danced all evening, even
managed to survive a busy one week honeymoon paradise in the Caribbean.
. "Joyful in hope Patient
in affliction and Faithful in prayer" Rom 12:12
Troy and Robin put this bible verse on their wedding
program. They believe
the bible is the blueprint for life
and want to live by it - it's what gets them through each jam packed day and
over many grueling finish lines and still feel joy, win or lose. Marathon
races are great fun but what they find exciting is how these tough races
have deepened their faith and perseverance and how
'faithful prayer' really does get amazing results and how 'joyful'
believers really can depend on God for their strength. Troy and Robin truly
believe God created and designed us and delights in answering the faithful
and patient prayers of his children. And even offers eternal
salvation to all who accept his Son as Lord of all. This is what Troy and
Robin want to share with others.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this. It
was fun getting to know Robin's extended family at the rehearsal, and
dinners and brunch-- a wonderful family indeed. We feel so blessed to have
Robin in our family now - They will be living in Troy's house in San Jose
where he works at Kaiser Electronics (Rockwell Collins) (designing defense
military planes) and Robin at the Woodside High school.
Huge thanks goes to the many who made this wedding
possible especially -- Robins parents Jan and Jerry Heidt (stepson of Horace
Heidt, famous band leader in the 50's), Carol Johnson- coordinator, Eric
Zenor-Pastor ; Al Soares - rehearsal dinner; Bobby -the ring and monkey
bearer, and all those in the wedding party. Thanks Troy and Robin - great
job, great wedding.
God bless to all - Susan Soares -
My favorite name now is Nanny Sue - That's what my
adorable grandson Daniel calls me while
Mariah my 71/2 month granddaughter melts me with her
beautiful smile. Sure was a joy to be with them and family and friends. |
Summary
08/02/2012