Summary 08/02/2012

Wedding Day Recap

By Sue Soares (Troy's Mom)

...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.