Robert and Rhesa's Story

Robert & Rhesa’s Story

God is faithful! Robert and Rhesa have reminded each other of this almost daily.
Both Robert & Rhesa remember their parent’s telling of how they had been praying for their future mates even before there were born. Then both of them started praying for their future spouse at a very young age.
Robert was called to be a missionary when he was seven years old as he watched a Billy Graham Crusade and told his mom that he was going to go to Russia. Rhesa was called to missions when she was in 5th grade. She was so shy at the time that when an invitation was given for all to stand that felt God’s calling, she stayed seated and prayed silently, and “God I am standing up on the inside.”
Robert was in elementary school when he felt God telling him that one of the ways he would know the girl he was that she would have never kissed another guy. Rhesa made a commitment to God as a sophomore in high school, to never kiss a guy except her husband.
Robert and Rhesa first remember seeing each other in speech class their freshman year in college in Bethany, Ok. Robert was giving a speech on “How to be a clown”, and Rhesa gave a speech on “How to make guacamole”. Robert didn’t remember the subject of Rhesa’s speech but he did remember and filed away the facts that she had grown up in Guatemala and spoke Spanish.
Robert was a very good friend with Rhesa’s younger brother, Titus, so the two saw each other from time to time at different functions such as musicals and recitals. Robert and Rhesa were the two clowns on campus at Southern Nazarene University, where they were attending, so they were also thrown together at different functions such as immunization clinics that called for clowns.
Robert finally got up the courage to ask Rhesa out their 5th year at SNU. Rhesa recalls Robert getting on one knee to ask her out as she was sitting in the music building lounge. They went out for a couple of months up to the time of graduation when Robert asked to continue corresponding with Rhesa as he went off to seminary in Kansas City. Rhesa turned him down flat, saying she saw no future in their relationship. In reality, she now admits to feeling a soul connection with Robert, but was “sacred to death” at the time.
Robert and Rhesa, on several occasions, stayed updated on each other’s lives through their mutual friend and brother, Titus. Robert confesses that he would have never called Rhesa, for she had already turned him down. Not until Christmas of 2002, when Rhesa was in need of a clown, for her original clowning partner had fallen ill, did they come into contact again, Robert was flying in from K.C. for the holidays to be with his family. He arrived at 6:30 and went clowning at 7:00. Rhesa remembers thinking, “Oh I hope he calls me,” but had prayed as she had many other times, that he would not call, unless she was to learn something, or he was her future husband.
During the first week of January, Robert called and asked if he could start calling. Rhesa said “Sure”. During Robert’s three week trip to Bolivia and Peru, Rhesa left a message on Robert’s cell phone, knowing he was out of town, to ask for forgiveness and wanting to talk when he came back. Robert called the night he returned wondering about the message. They discussed seeing each other again, but were not sure how a long distance relationship would work out.
On one of their first dates, they traveled to Lufkin, Texas to see Titus. A six hour drive turned out to be an eight hour drive because of wrong directions. However, neither of them minded since they had eight hours to talk. The only draw back was that on the trip back Robert was hoarse from talking so much. After this trip was when Rhesa called her best friend Jennifer and said, “He’s the one”. When Jennifer asked how she knew, she said she just knew and, “It’s like faith in Jesus’ saving grace, you know it deep within your soul”. Rhesa also said that she knew he really liked her when he changed his plans and plane ticket to spend one more night in Lufkin so she could hear Titus’ first sermon. Robert said he knew he loved Rhesa from the very first date but had decided to respect her boundaries because of what she had said in their first parting in college about not seeing a future in their relationship. Needless to say, their relationship flourished in a short time.
On February 14th Robert asked Rhesa to be his girlfriend. During the second week of March, Robert asked Rhesa, “So, are you ready?” She said yes and asked, “Are you?” He said yes and continued to talk about other things. Up to this time Robert had been calling Rhesa every night so you can imagine her anxiety when he didn’t call the next night, in light of their previous night’s, short conversation on whether they were ready to get married. Come to find out that was the night he called her father and asked for her hand in marriage and them went out and bought the engagement ring. Robert tells of his surprise in how easy it was to ask Rhesa’s father for their permission and blessing. He was nervous but to his surprise her dad said yes in his first sentence and also said that he had hoped something would come out of their relationship even from the first time he had met him when they were dating in college.
One week later on March 21st, 2003, when Rhesa was visiting Robert in Kansas City, Robert asked Rhesa to be his wife. Rhesa had no idea he was going to propose. He had arranged fro Rhesa to stay with the Duey family, from his church, but she had not met them yet; so he also arranged for them to be at the restaurant that night. They sat across from the couple and videoed them. The family also caught on tape their stop at a fountain in one of the town squares. There at the fountain Robert and Rhesa took pictures and even got a couple to take their picture together. This couple, who were just sitting leisurely on the park bench enjoying the fountain, also turned out to be some of his friends she had not met yet. Well, that is where he asked her to marry him and, obviously, she said yes. Since then, they have been growing more and more in love, reminding each other of God’s faithfulness as He has provided for them time after time. Great is His faithfulness!