Bond of Love: Chance meeting leads to Love
Sharon Mibey, 26, an advocate, and Japheth Cheruiyot, 28, an accountant, share a love so strong that even a job relocation that would set them kilometres apart was not reason enough to change their wedding plans. They shared their love story with WANGARI MWANGI.
The year was 2008. Sharon Mibey had agreed to tag-along her friends, Angela and Faith, who were going to meet their cousin, Japheth Cheruiyot in the city. “I was still very new in Nairobi and I took up the offer as a chance to explore and learn the city, ” she explains. Unknowingly, fate was connecting her to her love. Japheth and Sharon didn’t think much of the casual meeting. It was only much later that Japheth asked for Sharon’s phone number from his cousins. He called Sharon and requested to connect with her on Facebook. This paved the way for some chatting and the two quickly became friends.
However, when Japheth was posted to Rwanda on a job assignment, their communication fizzled out for close to a year. Upon his return in 2010, they picked up from where they had left. Chatting on Facebook, frequent phone conversations and meeting for coffee dates soon followed. But it wasn’t until April 2012, when Japheth resolved to officially ask Sharon to be his girlfriend. He paid Sharon a visit at her home in Ongata Rongai. Her hospitality caught his attention and he was fully convinced that she was the right partner for him.
“I had gone through a bad break up from my previous relationship, but Japheth had proved to me that true love existed through his genuine concern and by being sensitive to my needs. With this in mind, I accepted to be his girlfriend, ” she explains. The couple then laid down their expectations for the relationship. They spent most of their dating life watching movies together and going on hiking trips as they shared a love for these hobbies.
Two rings for an engagement…
Japheth wanted to propose to Sharon in February, 2013 and even bought an engagement ring. However, he felt he wasn’t adequately prepared and as such kept the ring hoping to engage her at a later day. Come May, 2013 when he was sure about the engagement, he bought yet another ring. He wanted to prove his love and commitment to her by proposing to her before dowry negations could begin. Two days before the traditional obligations could be fulfilled, he invited Sharon and her friend for dinner and went down on one knee. An ecstatic Sharon accepted his proposal and he slipped the two rings on her finger.
After successful dowry negotiations, the couple started planning for their December nuptials. They put together a committee made up of close friends and relatives with whose support they were able to raise Ksh750 000 for their wedding. Then in November, they faced a dilemma. Sharon got a job offer that would see her relocate from Nairobi to Kericho. She needed Japheth’s blessings to take up the offer and he didn’t disappoint as he urged her to take it up, as they looked for alternative options of bringing them closer despite the distance. They proceeded with their wedding plans.
A wedding in the rain…
On December 14, 2013, the couple held a beautiful yellow and black themed wedding at the Immanuel AGC Church in Kericho followed by a beautiful reception at the Exotic Guest House. The heavens showered them with rain on their special day but they chose to dance and even had their photo shoot under the heavenly showers.
Their advice to those looking to wed, “Marriage is a lifetime commitment and it is important that you share your expectations, financially, spiritually, emotionally and socially before you commit to a relationship.”
We wish them God’s blessings as they begin their life together.
Published in February 2014