As the archbishop of the Anglican Church, Sunday should have been a busy time for Laurent Mbanda and his wife Chantal Mbanda, who dedicated their lives to serving the Lord.

However, with the COVID-19 lockdown, even though that meant the couple was around each other a lot more, Chantal had an exciting idea.

Tired of staying indoors, she told her husband to dress up as they were going for a dinner date, to which he protested, only for him to be told that it would be on the balcony.

"It made me feel good, but it was not just for him, I too needed it. We had a wonderful time,” Chantal shared in a WhatsApp interview.

For Laurent, however, ‘good’ is an understatement of the four-course dinner staged at the balcony, complete with candles and flowers.

"It was an amazing dinner!” Chantal is an excellent cook, that I knew, but her creativity keeps the fire burning. It was a four-course meal. With my favourite cake, carrot cake.”

The surprised archbishop could not hide his excitement and shared the moment on his Twitter handle.

The tweet has since been liked by over 3,200 people, while impressed fans termed the shared moment as ‘couple goals’ in the comment section. The cleric could not be more humbled by the reaction.

"I actually did not expect the kind of reaction it received. I took a selfie and felt like I should post it. We are generous people, I should say, and love to help where we can. I normally do not like that kind of attention, but was excited about what she had done at a time when we had been in the house because of Coronavirus, even though we always do fun things around the how house. As I said, she is always coming up with something exciting,” he says.

His wife who was praised for the thoughtful surprise also did not take the heart-warming reaction for granted: "We felt blessed because that is our ministry. When we do or say something that blesses others, or brings a good change for others, it is a blessings for us. That is what we are called to do, to minister and encourage others,” she says.

Keeping the fire burning

They met at a wedding at Chantal’s aunt’s place, and thereafter, started a relationship. They have since been married for 36 years.

Their time for each other, their commitment to God and to each other, their common goals in life, their humble beginning, good communication and constant forgiveness, according to the couple, is what has seen them through these years.

Laurent is full of praises for his wife’s love, her commitment to him, and her willingness to explore, which have been a catalyst for their happy marriage.

"She is not materialistic because I did not have much of anything. She trusted me and loved me for who I was and from there we became good friends, and I committed to making her happy regardless of what we have. I also decided to treat her special and help out with any chores.

"I can do anything around the house, we help one another and I put her first, which also results in me being number one in her life. We also wanted to have a good home for ourselves, our children and by God’s grace, our grandchildren when they come. We were early on dedicated to serving the Lord! Joshua 24:15 is our family verse,” he shares before adding;

"We have worked hard together for what we have. When we were students in the US, we struggled, but by God’s grace made it. She was also willing to work hard, do anything for us to survive. Her support meant so much to me. She also gave quality time to our kids as I was traveling the world for my job. She is supportive of me! I am her hero and she is mine.”

The years, however, have not gone by without lessons from each other. For Chantal, her biggest is that marriage requires hard work, keeping God at the centre, spending quality time together, valuing each other, and doing things together.

"We try to be creative and we love adventure. When you spend time you get opportunities to talk, to share many things and also to think and plan your life together. I have the best husband in the whole wide world. He is very kind, thoughtful and a peacemaker,” she says.

For her husband, even though they are not a perfect couple and they struggle like any other family, their commitment to each other, and dependence on God makes it possible.

"We also work to solve our problems. We try to spend quality time together,” he says.

Although this was their first dinner date on the balcony, it was definitely not their first at their home, which explains how much they value quality time. With the lockdown raising the bar for romantic challenges for many couples, Chantal shares some alternative tips on how to maintain the fun in the comfort of your home.

"You can do a dinner date, or a picnic in the compound, little changes from the normal routine. You can also identify home activities or chores to do together, like making mandazi together for the kids, or have an evening family game such as cards, take turns telling interesting stories from childhood, and also organise a fun night. Let creativity and innovation guide.”