We’re getting married!

Probably this summer. But we are waiting for God to do some miracles first!

For us, it was not love at first sight. LOL. It was the summer of 2017, Robin and I had both decided to take a summer off for God and do a Christian Scholarship Program called Canvassing. For those of you that aren’t familiar with this kind of work, we would spend 5 days a week going door to door alone, selling health books and Christian books for a donation to help us in whatever school or program we were going into next. It was one of the most character building things we both have done. There was a group of about 24 of us in the canvassing program, and in my eyes, Robin was the wild card. Neither of us were interested in each other at all through out the summer. I thought he was immature and he didn’t really think of me. It wasn’t until a few months later, into our CAMPUS missionary program (which is a 9 month ministry program) where we actually became friends and began noticing each other.

During our CAMPUS missionary program, we knew we had feelings for each other. But we had both decided and already committed to giving the year to God which meant for us, no dating. I (Halee) had made a commitment the year prior that I was going to take at least 2 years off from dating the way I had always dated. Throughout our CAMPUS year, we kept our feelings to ourselves even though Robin made it very clear that he was pretty fond of me. He helped me with just about every thing that he could. But that year taught us a lot about surrender and patience which we knew that in order to have a healthy relationship in the future, we needed to learn. We spent the year in ministry together serving God, growing our friendship with each other and others. We took trips to different youth events across the United States, and went on a mission trip together with our group. We got to really know each other in almost every kind of situation that year, and our feelings only grew but we kept surrendering them to God. The day after CAMPUS ended in April 2018, we had our first date. The moment we had been waiting 7 months to have finally came. Robin took me to a park and we sat on a blanket in the sunshine, and realized how difficult it actually was to share how we had been feeling for so long. The month of May was filled with a lot of prayer and confusion. We didn't want to say yes to a relationship if we didn't feel like God could lead us to marriage, even though Robin was pretty convinced he was going to marry me. We still needed time to see. We spent a lot of time together that month talking and praying, and then summer came. Robin was going to a summer camp in Wisconsin to be a boys counselor and I was going to Camp Au Sable to be a girls counselor. We felt God was calling us to yet again surrender our feelings and give our future to Him. So we decided to focus on the ministry God had placed in front of us, and spend the summer not talking with the exception of one letter.

The summer was difficult but extremely character building for us both. It gave us an opportunity to really see where God was leading us and who He wanted us to be without one another. It gave us time to focus on our relationship with Jesus because we knew that in order to have anything successful with each other, we needed Him to be at the very center. I remember when I got his letter, I cried and he sent me a little SD card with videos from his camp experience. He had a group of his kids all say hi to me and call me Francis and I had never felt so loved before hahah! Our letters to each other were both 10 pages (front and back). When the summer was over, it was amazing to see how God had answered our prayers. We had both grown and learned so much, and I believe it was this summer that gave us the foundation that has helped us be where we are today. Once the summer was over, we spent a lot of time together talking and seeing where God was directing us. On October 17th, 2018, Robin drove me up to my favorite beach in Boyne City, Michigan, stood up before me and read a beautiful hand written letter asking me to be his "official girlfriend." From that moment on, we spent an amazing year together as a couple, learning even more about ourselves and each other, and how to have a relationship centered in Christ. We continued doing ministry, traveling, and speaking about our future. We have prayed, laughed, cried, and have both grown together in so many ways. And it has been the most beautiful journey ever!

October 17th, 2019, Robin took me to Chicago where we had plans to spend our one year anniversary. It was one of my most favorite adventures together. We spent the day walking through museums and the aquarium, we ate Chicago deep dish pizza for dinner, long-boarded, got hot chocolate from Starbucks, watched the sunset from the Willis Tower, and ended the evening in Millennium Park where Robin picked a very hidden spot, got down on one knee and proposed to me. I said yes, we prayed and thanked God for all of the beautiful things He has done in our relationship, and began calling our closest people to share! Now I get to marry the man of my dreams and I am so excited for how God is going to grow and change us through marriage and service in our life together. <3