Christian Testimony - November 2018

 Thank you Christian Cafe...you helped me find the love of my life!  

 The Gift from the Lord.  

We would like to give a testimony how we - John and Sonia - met, thanks to Christian Cafe. The Lord used your site to let us to get together. We are married over three years now and are very grateful for sharing our lives with each other.

I (Sonia) know that it might sound like a cliche when people write "do not get discouraged, believe one day you will meet your spouse, etc.".

I've been there.

I know there are many great single Christian women who desire to be married and for some reason the Christian man who wants to commit to marriage is not showing up. I do remember all those years when here and there on occasion I felt like the last single girl. It seemed to me that everyone around me was meeting someone, was getting married but me. I had to learn how to cope with that.

Maybe outside it was not visible but inside I went through many weepings to the Lord about how much I desire to become a wife and a mom. There had to be a point in my single life when I surrendered everything to God. I had to say to the Lord that if I will remain single till the end of my days I will be content and happy because the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of my life and gives me purpose to live, to be joyful, to continue life and to stay pure and waiting for a husband.

Over the years I did not get discouraged but I have noticed that my faith grew and the older I got the more I believed that one day I will meet a man who loves the Lord and will also love me. I met my husband about two months before my 40th birthday and here is our story.

As we both walked through life we prayed for a spouse for many, many years. Somehow years were passing and we still remained single with the growing faith that one day we would find a spouse. John and I are from two different cultures and countries, but what we do have in common is faith in the Lord of Jesus Christ.

Sonia's experience:

About eleven years ago (July 2007) my friend from Poland told me about ChristianCafe.com. She and her sister actually met their spouses on your site about that time. I have to admit the thought about going on line with my profile and photo was very new and strange to me, almost discouraging. I felt like people expose themselves to an unknown world of internet not knowing who has an access to their info that they are willing to post. That time I was not ready to do it, but the information about Christian Cafe was planted in my mind.

Exactly one year later I was invited for my Polish friend's wedding with her "on line" fiance. Three weeks later I witnessed her sister's wedding thanks to Christian Cafe and a month later my cousin's wedding with her "internet" husband. All those three couples looked they were made for each other and so content with each other (forward ten years - today they are still going strong in their marriages and faith).

That experience surely gave me a lot of thinking about shifting my concerns. I caught myself reasoning that on line dating is probably like the old days matchmaker :) . Well, not exactly, but kind of...
As I thought about going on line I prayed that the Lord would provide a friend who would be willing to go on line together with me. By the end of the year 2008 I asked one of my single friends and she simply said "I'll do it with you".

That was the beginning of my Christian Cafe journey.

I have to admit you meet all sorts of people here, in a good and also bad sense. We all are made a certain way. Some were very nice friendly connections, and some not so good. I have to say I have been scammed here. It was my fault that I did not read about safety guidelines online. I just simply did not notice them and did not know about them. One little warning from a knowledgeable friend would have saved my student savings that I earned from custodian work at the university.

If the person is writing to you "I've just noticed your profile and my account is about to expire, can we connect some other way?" Never do it!!! I did not know that. Ten years ago I was really very new to it. I had no idea about the world of scammers who steal and deceive through the Word of God and did not know people can make up an online profile, their personality and lie about their faith in Jesus Christ, mission work, sharing the Gospel, etc.

They do not ask you for money right away, but they gradually suck you into their fake life, their events (some happy, some tragic) and so on. I wish I had talked about this with my friend. I just simply did not. Finally, the scammer made a mistake that I noticed; however, the aftermath of the scamming was devastating.

I lost almost all my emergency student money for the fake mission work - that was one part of the hurt. The other part was the emotional pain and also shock that that person just simply did not exist. Who existed was the scammer or a group of scammers. I also realized that they are targeting "nice Christian girls" (maybe nice Christian men too) who are pure in their faith and hopes for meeting "a good Christian man." I have to say that it was a hard experience.

Fortunately, at that time I met really very nice people here on Christian Cafe and also in my physical environment who helped me to process what had happened. It was a process of healing and also getting stronger in faith. I also realized that instead of being ashamed of my foolishness I needed openly to talk about it with people. I should spread awareness among my friends and others.

The good thing was that this event did not discourage me from continuing the Christian Cafe journey. I just realized that I was not the only victim here and that there are still good people out there. So I was on and off here over the time.

Meeting My Beloved John:

I cannot recall exactly the first email we did exchange. I cannot recall when exactly that happened. Our emails were not frequent, more occasional. Our friendship grew slowly. After I saw John's profile I did not think much about us as a match, but it was nice to communicate with a Christian man. I did not think that there could be anything more than just an exchange of messages.
The thing is... you never know (and that is so beautiful in life) when good things are about to happen...

I was in my last semester before graduation in the US university and was heading back to my homeland of the Czech Republic. About three months prior to my departure John asked me if I would show him around the Twin Cities in case he would come to visit. I agreed.

Some weeks later he wrote that unfortunately he couldn't make it. I thought "Yeah. Oh well." Some time later he wrote that probably the circumstances would allow him to come. So it looked like we were about to meet at last.

I told my friends about John's visit and I wanted them to meet him too.

He really arrived just for four days. It was ten days before my flight home to the Czechland. We met in front of the Capital Building, greeted and then just simply toured inside and talked. It was a low key, easy going meeting.

That afternoon I got a precious life lesson that I knew about, but I had a chance to live it through again. When you see a person do not make any conclusions based on their appearance (either way - positive or negative). You just need to spend time with them and to get to know them.

You know as a woman you meet a guy and you do not know who he is. Is he a good man? Is he an honest man? One thing I knew that very first day was that I will not ride a car with him. We had just met off the internet, right? As we left the Capital and strolled toward John's car I was about to tell him that I will drive my car to the restaurant we were about to go. Before I said anything he said "I do not expect you to sit in my car with me. We just met off the internet." That very moment I thought "Wow, did he just read my mind?"

That was just only the beginning of our journey together. I started to learn about John's beautiful heart and soul, about his faith in Jesus Christ, about his life and much more.

Our courting time was marked by long distance between the United States and the Czech Republic. John came for Christmas, I came for the summer break. Of course, between those two there were countless phone calls, emails and cards and paper letters too.

John proposed to me actually the first time on the phone. He wrote a poem asking me to marry him. I said "Yes." and asked him if he could still do it in person :) He truly did after I went to visit him. That was a memorable evening by the lake. He decided that he still needed to do it on my side of the ocean and so he asked me the third time in my part of the world :)

Our wedding was the most joyful day in my life. It was a day of celebration. The sense of peace and joy was just there in our hearts and around and filled the church up to the steeple.
I was just so much looking forward to become John's wife. We wanted all our families and friends to be there to rejoice together with us. The entire ceremony (it was bilingual) together with all the congratulations took over two hours :) There was no reason to speed up. It was time of joyful celebration that two people prayed to the Lord and He answered their prayers. The afternoon/night celebration went on with lots of dancing, fun games and singing.

Since then each and every day we thank the Lord for His grace upon us. Each and every day we do realize the blessings of the gift of marriage and love. We both waited for a spouse for many years and God really answered our prayers. We are amazed and very grateful.

I look at John and my heart smiles. There is a deep sense of contentment springing from the fact that I do belong to him. He is my spiritual leader, my best friend, my spouse and beyond. And I am his number one fan. I am here to honor him and to support him, to encourage him and to love him. Together we face life challenges, seek solutions and also together we share love and joy. That is truly something that cannot be bought.

We see it as a gift from the Lord. After many years of praying for a spouse we are both amazed how the Lord answered our prayers.

John's experience:

I had been searching and praying for a godly wife for many years. I had however been searching in all the wrong places. I cannot remember the first time I contacted Sonia to chat with her, but it was probably about two years before we met in person for the first time.

When I did get her to agree to show me the twin cities if I came for a visit, I still hesitated after two friends tried to discourage me saying that there was not enough time to develop a relationship since she was going back to the Czech Republic in about ten days. But one friend encouraged me, so I went.

When I did go, I thought that it was going to be a four day visit in Minneapolis, and that would be it. But when I did meet and connect with Sonia, we did connect better than I thought that we would. And I did feel that there were a number of similarities in key areas. But I still did not know where this was going long term. So I went back to Mississippi, and I continued to stay in touch with Sonia by email.

After a couple of months a friend told me that I could call her using a calling card for less than 10 cents per minute. So I bought a calling card, and I started calling Sonia almost every day. During this time in the fall of 2012, she invited me to visit the Czech Republic. She said that Christmas would be a good time, so in December I made plans to visit the Czech Republic for 2 1/2 weeks.

Sonia came and met me in Prague, and we travelled together to the Eastern part of the country. Each and every day, Sonia had something planned, and she was very sensitive to my needs just as she had been in Minneapolis.

We had a good 2 1/2 weeks, and I became acquainted with her culture, and her family. We would often pray together. At the end of the 2 1/2 weeks, I returned to the U.S., still not knowing for sure where this would go long term.

After returning to Mississippi, we continued to talk on the telephone, and pray together. Then in about April or May, someone from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association called me wanting to meet me to share information about the "My Hope" project that they were working on at the time.

So we met for lunch, and when I began to talk to this employee of BGEA, I found out that his wife had grown up in Slovakia less than 40 miles from the place where Sonia grew up. I felt that this was a divine appointment, and it really encouraged me to continue in my relationship with Sonia. So I invited Sonia to the U.S. to spend the summer here. That was the summer of 2013. We had a good summer in the US, and we visited her friends in Minneapolis, and my pastor friend in California, and my family in the Eastern US.

We continued to talk and connect using calling cards and the Internet, and then in the fall of 2013, since I had invited Sonia to the US for seven weeks, she invited me to the Czech Republic for seven weeks.

So I went to the Czech Republic again in November, and this time for seven weeks. This time while in the Czech Republic, I was able to meet more of her family and friends, and I also visited her school and met the people with whom she works.

This back and forth sort of courtship went on a little longer, and Sonia came to the US again in the summer of 2014. Then in November of 2014, I went back to the Czech Republic, and this time I got a one way ticket. Throughout our courtship, God seemed to be taking us each step of the way, and then we just stepped into marriage in June of 2015.

For those of you reading this, I do want to encourage you to never give up in looking for that right one, and keep leaning on God for His guidance. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you while you search. Also, pray with the one you might marry. Marriage involves God too, so it is important to pray together to God.

While Sonia and I were courting, we were away from each other more than we were together. I think that this helped us to develop the spiritual side of the relationship first which is important. Every time I called her, at the end of the call we would pray.

To the men, you need to be the initiator in this. Being far apart may have also helped in that we did not see each other's negative side or bad habits as easily. No one is perfect, and you do not want to reject someone for the wrong reasons. Listen to what God is telling you from within. Look for what you can do for that other person, and not just for what you want out of the relationship. God bless everyone reading this.

Sonia-soniajoy213 {Czech Republic} & John-johnb169 {Mississippi} November 2018

 God really used you to connect me and my husband!  

We both live in Finland and met last year in October. We got married in just a year, this October :) It was an awesome answer to our prayers.

Years ago both of us made our prayer for our future spouse part of our wish list to the Lord. He told both of us, "what features do you want for your spouse?" God made exactly the same features that we asked for in our wish list.

Even though we forgot it at some points and got disappointed when it took so long, He did not forget! He is such a faithful daddy God, and answered it in the right time :)

Mary-marysofia712 {Finland} & Petri-pelu388 {Finland} November 2018

 Thank you for allowing God to use this site to bring people of the same faith together.  

On December 2, 2015 I was looking for Christian singles in Clarksville, TN. I had tried online dating and it didn't turn out very well. When I searched this time ChristianCafe.com popped up. I sat there for about five minutes telling God I didn't want another dating website.

I heard Him tell me to trust Him that this one was different. I started the profile but didn't finish it. The next day I received an email saying to please come back and finish my profile.

After I finished it, I went on the site and saw two profiles that I liked. I sent them both messages. Carl wrote back in 20 minutes. He lived in Alabama. After talking for 1-1/2 months we met face to face. We have now been married for 2-1/2 years. God used your site to bring us together.

Sheila-nanashe658 {Tennessee} & Carl {Alabama} November 2018

 Please remove my profile.  

I have found someone through Christian Cafe!!

Derrick-jackbauer348 {Nevada} November 2018

 Your service is wonderful!  

Peili-kary744 {China} November 2018

 I want to tell everyone: I met my future wife on ChristianCafe.com!  

We are planning to be married on Saturday, Nov.17. Thank you!!

Len-len600 {Massachusetts} November 2018

 Please delete my account.  

I have met what I am looking for!

Mary-marycutie154 {Pennsylvania} November 2018

 I would like to discontinue my membership as I have found my match.  

Peter-sunshine5273 {New South Wales, Australia} November 2018

 Great site, lots of good options!  

I appreciate that you consider our requests and questions with respect, contrary to other, even, Christian sites.

Beatrice-agapea458 {France} November 2018

 I would like to delete my account since I found someone.  

Karen-karen2471 {Mexico} November 2018

 19 years, great business!  

Andrew-zigzag872 {British Columbia} November 2018

 May God bless & reward you for what you are doing, Christian Cafe.  

You are helping lonely & hurting people.

grace2711 November 2018

Read more testimonials
Testimonials by month