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Technology is changing the way we find love. Today, single Christians who are searching for a mate have access to scores of online matchmaking sites. And e-mail, chat rooms, and instant messaging are connecting singles with potential mates from across town or across the world. Just ask Rianti Bos. Her story of online romance is dramatic, but increasingly common for lonely Christians who are looking for the Right One.

I met him through a Christian-matchmaking site on the Internet. I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, and he lived in Ontario, Canada. The seas, many islands, and 13,053 miles separated us. Still, his arrow of love reached my heart.

	Now, there was no way to log off from the relationship or hit "unsend" after saying some unkind word.

His name was Clarence, and he was the answer to my five-year prayer. He had a strong faith in Christ—which was my top priority. I always was impressed by the kindness of the Dutch people when I traveled to Holland as a journalist (my past job), so I prayed for a Dutch husband. He was Dutch. I liked the idea of living on a farm, so I put that in my profile as well. He lived on a farm.

Like a miracle, all my criteria matched with his. And from the essay and multiple-choice questions that we had to complete at the website, 59 percent of his responses matched mine.

We corresponded almost every day, shared our news and faith, and encouraged each other. Our relationship depended on the computer. So, when my computer didn't work one day, I couldn't send e-mail to him. When my computer was back in operation the next day, I received an e-mail from him saying he was worried because he hadn't heard from me. Was I okay? He said all he could do was pray to God for my well-being.

Only two months after our first e-mails, Clarence asked me to marry him. Oh, how my heart was filled with happiness. After praying about it for an entire day, I answered confidently: "Yes, I will marry you."

People were skeptical. "How can you be so sure? You haven't even met each other yet?" they said.

But even though we had never met, it was as if I knew him intimately. I sensed when he was sad or happy through his letters. And from his words, I knew he was a good man.

Remarkable faith
Two months after the marriage proposal, he asked if he could visit me in Jakarta. So in June 2000, he came to Jakarta. That was the first (and only) time we met "face to face" before marriage.

Clarence was tall and gentle and had a remarkable faith in God. We didn't hold hands or touch each other. We agreed not to do that until we were married. But he did place a beautiful engagement ring on my finger.

He spent only ten days in Jakarta. We celebrated our engagement with a party hosted by my pastor. Two days later, he returned to Canada.

We agreed to marry in the summer of 2002. In the meantime, we continued sending letters via e-mail. Sometimes we chatted, or he called me by phone. The longer the time went by, the greater my conviction that he was the person that God had chosen for me as a lifelong companion.

Since we were separated by half a world, when I wanted to see him, I couldn't. I could only look to the sky on a peaceful night, see the stars, and wonder if he saw the same stars. In the morning, when I heard the sparrows chirping on my roof, I wondered if the same birds could fly to his country and convey my regards to him.

Three years after our first e-mails, in our mid-thirties, the day of our marriage came closer. It would be held in Jakarta. My Mom and Dad, sister, and other relatives and friends prepared for it joyfully. In the midst of our happy anticipation, however, I got the news that my fiancé had lost his job on the farm. It was only 40 days before our big day, and I already had resigned from my job as a piano teacher. Our plan had been for me to move to his home in Canada after we were married.

This was a strong test for me: I would come to a new country, without employment, with a husband who also was unemployed. Could I trust God for the future? Could I still say to my fiancé the marriage vow that I was to recite in the church, "Whatever the future holds, I will love you and stand by you"?

God had carefully built our relationship for three years. So why did I doubt his almighty power now? The situation only inspired me to trust God more.

A solemn vow
Finally, we were married on the first day of June 2002. Ten days after marriage, we left Indonesia and embarked on the 20-hour trip to Canada.

In Ontario, Clarence's parents warmly welcomed me. We lived in their home for one month, and then started a new life in our own small apartment.

Though Clarence received unemployment insurance for several months, we had to live frugally. We quickly learned the importance of placing our future in God's hands.

Finally, at the end of August, my husband found a new job at a farm, and I began teaching piano part time.

In our daily life, we had to make numerous adjustments, because we came from such different cultures. And, of course, things always seemed easier when our main channel of communication was the Internet. Now, there was no way to log off from the relationship or hit "unsend" after saying some unkind word. We were both convinced, however, that as long as we practiced the love and forgiveness that Jesus Christ had bestowed upon us, everything would go well. And it has.

Now, whenever I'm tempted to entertain doubts about the future, God faithfully floods my heart and mind with memories of that unforgettable moment when I stood before him and the church and spoke these words: "I, Rianti Budhipramana, in the presence of God, take you, Clarence Jacob Bos, to be my beloved husband. All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you. Whatever the future holds, I will love you and stand by you, as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow." And it always will be.

A Christian Reader original article.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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