What do you do when you think you've tried everything and are still single? You try the Internet. I was one of those skeptical profiles but, I thought, what did I have to lose.
After almost giving up, I got a message from a guy that looked promising - tall, dark and handsome.
The short answer questions are a great way to see who your potential mate really is, and his answers showed that he was from the same church background as me, and he had immigrated from the same country as my parents. What more could I ask for!
3 months later we met. 6 months later we were engaged, and 6 months after that we were married.
We thank you for the service and we thank God for using this means to bring us together.
Diana-farmgirl519 {Ontario} & Arie-ontarie879 {Ontario} June 2006
With greetings and many thanks unto the Lord our Saviour and ChristianCafe.com we are pleased to say that after many conversations, loooooong phone calls, crossing two oceans, much praying and a whirlwind romance, we would like to share our story and post a picture of our wedding day that means so much to us.
As to how it all came about, it began on this website.
It truly seems like eons ago since the two of us met on ChristianCafe.com. I stumbled across the Cafe by receiving an email invitation. I registered and had my relationship setting set as "Just Curious".
My husband was seeking a life long partner and he came across Christian Cafe by browsing the Internet.
I met a few interesting people, but made no connections that really hit home. My situation was that I was not only curious to meet someone that was right for me, but someone who was right for my daughter Dana, who had just turned two at the time.
Needless to say, when God's time was right, which it was, He led me to meet a man and that was the end of my waiting, wondering, hoping and praying. I was online one day and decided to browse through profiles of members that had their online status on and to whom I could send a Quick Message.
I came across a profile of someone that I thought to be interesting and sent a message saying, "hello!" His name was Nathan and it turned out that he lived in Canada, but through further conversation I found out that his family originated in my native land, South Africa, and most of them still live there.
This was astonishing to both of us seeing that neither of us knew each other's background. Nevertheless, the fate, revelation and wonderful conversations continued.
It also turned out that a very good friend of my husband had told him just before meeting me, that the Lord would send him a wife from his parents' native land, South Africa!
Our friendship steadily grew and blossomed into a well grounded love, with everything a true relationship ought to have such as respect, trust, companionship and much enjoyment of each other's correspondence; more clarity of God's blessing of our wanting to be together shone through. As well, about a month after talking over the phone, we discovered that my mother knew his uncle very well before he had immigrated to Canada over 20 years ago! In addition, before ever meeting, my husband was already in the process of organizing a trip to South Africa to visit his family! Needless to say, it then became a visit where he would meet my daughter and me as well!
The trip was short, but wonderful, and we became engaged, with the blessing of both our families, and the trip confirmed all that we had hoped, that we loved each other. Not only that, but my daughter was even more crazy about Nathan and loved him even more having spent hours with him playing tag on the beach!
With that said, our wedding date was set for January 06, 2006 at the height of our summer and holiday season in South Africa. However, the fate did not stop there: after booking the hall, organizing the wedding cake and selecting the church, we later found out the church that we chose to get married in, in Cape Town, was the church that my husband's father's family had attended while residing in South Africa. Furthermore, it was the same church where my husband's father chose to make his public confession to serve and follow Jesus Christ, and the church that a relative of mine was pastor of!
Needless to say, everything was perfect and we were married in beautiful, sunny South Africa with all of our combined families in attendance. We would like to once again, give thanks unto the Lord for His answering prayer and giving us this great opportunity to be so blessed by each other. We are also grateful to ChristianCafe.com for the great system and network that you have set up to help seeking people continue to find that right and special Someone.
Ingor-swit306 {South Africa} & Nathan-shalom569 {Ontario, Canada} (& Little Dana too!) June 2006
[Editor's note: See October 2020 to see how things are 14 years later!]
ChristianCafe.com wedding! We just wanted to let you know about a marriage that began on your website!
My husband and I met on ChristianCafe.com in March 2004, when he first wrote to me. We got engaged on August 19, 2005 and were just married on May 20th of this year!
We both would like to thank you for this website and for bringing us together. Please feel free to pass our story along to your other members as inspiration and encouragement that ChristianCafe.com really can work.
Thank you again for helping us to find joy like neither of us has ever known! Here's a picture from our wedding.
Suzi-creativetoo210 {California} June 2006
Your screening questions and general population of clients yielded positive results.
We always tell people how we met through you. Several times the reaction was "I know somebody else who got married after meeting through ChristianCafe.com."
Keep up the good work (of spreading happiness to so many people.)
Jim-boffo871 {California} June 2006
A couple of years ago, when I knew I was going to retire, I began asking God for a godly companion, someone with whom I could serve the Lord in these last days. I wrote out a description of the kind of man I wanted. (I was divorced by my husband, who left me a single parent many years ago.)
As I began praying, the Lord gave me two verses, not once but about six times, in a very short time. They are found in Isaiah 43:18-19: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" I knew this was a rhema word for me from the Lord, and I pasted these verses on my kitchen wall and prayed about this promise every day.
I thought I would be proactive and went on a Christian web site, but they couldn't find me even 12 matches in a year, as they guaranteed. They said that my standards were too high. I decided to try some others, and went on ChristianCafe.com. I have been on almost a year.
In March I saw a "new" person's profile, Dick from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, not too far from Wheaton, Illinois, where I live. As I looked at this man's profile, it seemed that he had all the qualities of the godly man I was looking for. I contacted him and asked him to post his picture, which he did. We then started corresponding. About three weeks later, Dick asked if he could come down to Wheaton and see me. I was surprised. At that first meeting we were amazed at how alike we are. We both like many of the same things, including classical music, and we just "clicked".
Most of all, I saw a man who truly loves the Lord. Dick is a widower and has been a Gideon for more than 30 years. He is also an elder in his church and a lay preacher. He is a kind and loving person, a man who loves to minister to others. He also has a great sense of humor. It's as if the Lord went down my list and checked off each item and said, "This one is for Judy."
I just want to thank you all at ChristianCafe.com for bringing us together. Dick has now proposed to me, and we will probably be married next spring. This is truly a miracle from the Lord, and He has put His love in our hearts for each other. I know that this man is God's gift to me and the fruition of His promise that He was going to do a "new thing" in my life. We both know that this is a God-thing. How good the Lord is!
One interesting thing is that we are both the same age, 70! And I believe that because the Lord is first in both of our lives, God answered "our hearts' desire".
It was Dick's pastor who first suggested that Dick go on a Christian web site and find a new wife. Dick thought he was joking and didn't think he wanted to do that. Then Dick's daughter also suggested that he go on a Christian web site and mentioned ChristianCafe.com. She had already checked the Cafe out for her father. Her mother had gone to be with the Lord two years ago, and she saw that her father was lonely and needed a companion. So then he thought he'd try it.
He had only been on your site for a few days when I discovered his "new" entry and asked him to post his picture. And that, as I have described, is how our relationship started. You may publish this testimonial. It would be a blessing for us to know that by doing so, others may be encouraged and helped along their journey of life.
We only want to bring honor and glory to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and pray that we will be better used by God as a couple to further His kingdom in these last days than if we were still single. Dick plans to move to Wheaton, Illinois, next spring after we are married.
Judy-editcat544 {Illinois} & Dick {Wisconsin} June 2006
I just want to testify that I got my wife from this site. We were married on 22 March 2006 and we are happy.
Molifi-malivos480 {South Africa} June 2006
Last November I met Daisy on your web site and this June 10 we will be married. It has taken a year from our first meeting for us to get the wedding put together, but praise God, He has done it.
Just a word of thanks to all the Staff: we both love you and would recommend you to any Christian looking for God's person in their life.
Samuel-burnedbylove413 {Missouri} June 2006
[Editor's note: See June 2007 as Daisy and Samuel approaching their first wedding anniversary.]
In April 2005 I met a wonderful Christian man on your site that I have been seeing for over a year. We have been having the time of our lives. ChristianCafe.com prompts you for great information that allows you to get a good idea of the fellow before you even make contact. By the time you have corresponded for a while, you have really gotten to know a lot, all without meeting and getting "hooked" by the physical things (looks and touches).
Christian Cafe allowed searches that really narrowed down the search, so I was only looking at people that I might be compatible with. The questions were great because they caused me to really examine my own personality to know what I really wanted.
I tried other websites, but yours is by far the best. I recommend ChristianCafe.com every chance I get.
Trisha June 2006
We both truly believe that we are soul mates and the Lord has destined us to meet. We have been emailing for a few weeks and have talked often on the phone. We decided that since the Lord has brought us together, our first meeting should be in His House, so on Sunday, May 7, 2006, we will join together at Sherry's Church for worship and praise. I will let you know how things go for us, so that you may count us among your (and God's) success stories.
Thank You reminding me to come back and re-join, or I wouldn't have met my Very Special Lady!
[Editor: We invited Peter to write again after he and Sherry met, and we were delighted to receive his update:]
All heartnsol439 and I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU! And GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
Sherry and I have indeed met and have begun an incredible romantic God Blessed Love affair! Lord willing, we hope to get married in about a year from now and begin our life together serving the Lord. This is truly a match made in heaven, but we thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to bring us together. It all started with a Happy Birthday wish from Sherry to me, and just grew to this wonderful caring, sharing and loving relationship based on our mutual love for the Lord and each other. So please don't change that feature to offer birthday wishes as an ice breaker.
Sherry is my birthday present from the Lord, gift wrapped by ChristianCafe.com! God Bless you all, and Thanks again! With much gratitude,
Peter-pietra685 {California} & Sherry-heartnsol439 {California} June 2006
[Editor's note: See October 2010 for their wedding update and some photos!]
My name is Jonelle and I met my husband on ChristianCafe.com in May 2003.
At the time he was living in Kansas and I was in Michigan. I was home recuperating from a very serious illness and wasn't sure what the outcome would be for me. I can't exactly remember how I found ChristianCafe.com, but feel that on that day God led me to this site.
I read carefully over all the profiles and responded to my (now) husband's. I was hoping to connect with a friend and have someone to talk to during my illness. It was never my intention to "get serious" about someone at that stage in my life. After all, I wasn't exactly sure I would be around. Well, Kelly wrote back and we starting writing. He was aware of my illness and provided so much comfort and support. In June 2003, we decided to meet when I was strong enough to make the trip half way. We met in Indiana for the first time. It was like we had known each other all our lives.
Kelly came to Michigan in July 2003 to meet my family. After endless phone conversations and online chats we decided to get married on October 25, 2003. For the next eight months Kelly continued to live in Kansas and commute to Michigan on the weekends. He ended up moving to Michigan in June 2004.
All I can say is that God led us to each other. Kelly risked the chance of developing a relationship with me not knowing the outcome. He left his job, his career, and all that he knew to come to Michigan.
As an update, I am finally healthy and living a productive life and enjoying every bit of it with the man God has put into my life.
Thank you ChristianCafe.com for providing this site to bring us together. Miracles do happen, and I can say it happened to us! My favorite Bible verse is: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto thine own understanding and in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path". Proverbs 3:13.
Kelly {Kansas} & Jonelle {Michigan} June 2006
I met someone at the end of last year through the Cafe and we are getting married this August.
I had tried Christian Cafe on and off over the years but never really thought I would meet the man of my dreams that way. Then I attended a conference last November in Toronto, and the speaker really encouraged us to date to enjoy meeting people, and not to worry so much about meeting "the one". That's when I signed up for three months to really give the Cafe an honest try and the rest, as they say, is history.
We have been in awe of how God has walked with us the past several months, molding not only ourselves, but five children among us ranging in age from 16 to 22, into one happy family. We feel truly blessed. We thank you for providing a wholesome Christian service that seems to be working in giving people the chance to get to know someone they might not otherwise have met. Nothing is impossible with God.
Barbara-joy981 {Ontario} & Don-blackstang382 {Ontario} June 2006
I joined ChristianCafe.com in April of this year. One month later I met my perfect match!
Thank you ChristianCafe.com for your service to single Christians and for enabling me to meet my soulmate.
William-gman193 {Kansas} June 2006