By Gail Murdoch

For years they were friends. Stephanie Denise Osborn first met Christopher Glenn Dunning when he moved to Atkins from California. He transferred to Atkins High School their sophomore year and it began. Throughout high school and the following years they kept in touch.

Chris joined the Army Reserve in the spring of 1996. Stephanie went on to college and earned her education degree. They even dated a few times, but nothing serious.

Last spring Chris felt compelled to serve his country and he transferred to active duty in the Army. The next thing he knew he was in Iraq. He is stationed in Balad where he serves as a communications specialist.

It seems he is a specialist in communicating outside of the Army as well, since it is through his correspondence from Iraq that he finally won Stephanie’s heart.

Stephanie is in her second year at Cotter, Ark., where she teaches freshman English, high school Spanish and English as a second language to Spanish speaking students.

Lots of email

Chris was sending email to her along with many other Atkins friends. Around August he began calling her on the phone. Stephanie recalled how he just, “seemed to have matured so much.” She said, “He just had his life in order . . . He just knew what he wanted.”

He told her how he had become a Christian, how he wants to go to Tech when he finishes his service obligations, and how he wants to become a teacher.

Within the next two weeks, she said, she couldn’t quit thinking about him and praying about him. Stephanie said she feels that Chris had loved her for some time, but it took her longer to realize her feelings for him.

She remembers telling him one night on the phone, “All those years you spent trying to win my heart — well you finally succeeded.”

He invited her to come to Germany this summer, after his service in Iraq is over, to tour Europe with him.

Soon after, on Oct. 19, a casual conversation between two people in love turned into a marriage proposal. They made plans to marry in the spring of 2004 when he leaves Iraq. The plan was for her to finish out her contract with school, and then she could live on base with him in Germany where he will be stationed.

Surprise Present

Just before Christmas, Chris told Stephanie he was planning a special surprise for her. He told her she should be at her grandparents’ house (Roy and Betty Butler of Russellville) at noon sharp on Christmas Eve because her present would be delivered there. She remembers how he stressed that it was important that she be there. He also said that he would phone her at that time.

Stephanie was there by noon. She said that at 12:30 she was starting to get disappointed because she hadn’t heard anything. She decided that possibly a Christmas service on the base had kept him from calling.

Stephanie’s father, Steve Osborn, walked in the house and said, “Something just came for you outside.”

Stephanie went outside and found a big-screen television box in the back of a pickup truck in the driveway. The truck was driven by Chris’s friend Stephen Cochran.

She said she started fussing and saying, “He better not have bought me a TV. He knows I can’t move that to Cotter and then to Germany.”

Stephen assured her, “It’s not a TV. That’s just the only box we could find.”

Next she noticed holes in the box and thought it might be a pet of some kind. Many family and friends who were in on the surprise were there. They said, “Just get up there and open it!”

Stephanie took off the lid and the box was filled with crumpled paper. She dug around and couldn’t find anything at first. Her audience said, “Keep looking. It’s in there.”

Just then Chris jumped up out of the box. This was the first time they had seen each other face to face since they had fallen in love.

Stephanie said she had no idea it would be him. She said, “He looked the same, but more like a man.”

Get married now

That night they decided that they wouldn’t wait until spring to get married. Stephanie’s dad, Steve, said Stephanie asked him, “What do you think Mom would say if we said we were going to go ahead and get married now.”

Both parents agreed they would be thrilled for them.

Because they didn’t have a marriage license, Stephanie and Chris had to wait until Dec. 26. They went to the Pope County Courthouse, bought a license and had County Judge Jim Ed Gibson perform the ceremony.

They allowed time for a quick trip to Little Rock where Chris took her on a tour of the Air Force Base, and they spent the night in a hotel. Stephanie said it was so special because they had spent all that time as friends but had never been intimate until their wedding night. She said, “We had a Bible study together and prayed as husband and wife. It was was just so special because we felt like we were doing things the way God intended.”Stephanie will move on base with Chris after she has completed her teaching obligations. He will then be stationed in Giebelstadt, Germany. Stephanie and Chris are both well traveled. Chris has been to several different countries in the military and Stephanie has done mission work in Honduras, El Salvador, and Argentina, but this will be her first time in Europe.

Stephanie said the only thing they regret about marrying the way they did is there are a lot of relatives who wanted to share their wedding day with them.

Stephanie is the daughter of Steve and Cindy Osborn of Atkins. Chris is the son of Kay Matchett of Dardanelle and Glenn Dunning of Atkins.

Family and friends are planning a reception for the couple upon Chris’s return from Iraq. Details will be announced later.