Rachael & Dustin: "I have never met a more compassionate, loving man!"

How did you meet? What was your first date like? Give us all the details!

Rachael & Dustin 02 cropA girl in Oklahoma falls in love with boy in Colorado, and just 10 months later, they are hitched. Dustin said he would never do online dating and never date long distance. Never say never, because that’s exactly what he did. Rachael set up a profile for her brother, but it all backfired and she ended up creating an account for herself, not planning on meeting anyone.

I’ll never forget the day I saw Dustin’s profile. “He’s perfect for me,” I thought. But the problem was that he lived in Colorado, and I’ve been an Okie my entire life! I knew it wouldn’t work. It took him two weeks to reply to my message, one that I forgot I had sent. Once he responded, we started chatting back and forth on Facebook messenger and realized we had a lot in common. A few weeks later, we had our first Skype call and had a blast getting to know each other. I felt like I had known him my entire life!

Our Skype calls became more common and we started realizing this might be going somewhere. Dustin drove down to Oklahoma for Memorial Day to meet me in person for the first time. I didn’t know what to expect, but I couldn’t wait to meet him! He arrived at my family’s home around midnight. As soon as I heard the car, I ran out and gave him a great big hug! The next day we toured downtown Oklahoma City and hung out with friends. He had to leave the next morning, and I had to go back to work. One of my favorite memories of our first experience was the morning he had to leave. He took me to a nearby lake and played his guitar and sang to me! I felt like I was living in a dream! He dropped me off at work and we said goodbye not knowing when we would see each other again or if we would even continue talking.

A month later, I flew out to Colorado for the 4th of July. We then met up in Wisconsin a month after that so I could meet his family. Over the next few months, one of us would fly to see each other (even if it was for a day) every three weeks. We both had to make an effort for this to work! Every time we were together, our relationship grew deeper and we had more fun together! In September, we hiked a 14,000-ft. mountain with some friends. That was a huge mile marker in our journey as he helped me up the trail!

A long-distance relationship takes understanding and hard work. We knew it would be worth it in the end. We kept asking each other, “Is this real?” “Did we really meet online?” To this day it seems so surreal that we met through the Internet. We became best friends and started talking for hours on end at night. He proposed to me on Thanksgiving Day on a bridge with Christmas lights and music in the rain at night. It was perfect! I asked him when we should get married; I was thinking June of the next year, and he says “MARCH!” It took me a minute to realize that he was serious. I thought about it and was like, “That works for me!” Our families thought we were crazy since we hadn’t known each other even a year yet. We loved each other and prayed about this decision throughout our entire relationship! We knew God had a plan for us.

On March 5, 2016, we got hitched in Oklahoma and then I moved to Colorado to live with the love of my life! God has been so good to us and continues to guide us. We fall more and more in love every day! Thank you Christian Mingle for bringing us together! I couldn’t imagine my life without Dustin!

Describe the moment you knew it was true love!

One evening while I was visiting his family in Wisconsin, he whispered in my ear for the first time, “I love you.” The way he said it gave me chills and in that moment, I knew I was going Rachael & Dustin 03 cropto marry him! I have never met a more compassionate, loving man who cared for me the way he does.

What advice would you give other Christian Mingle members?

Girls, find a guy who loves Jesus and will love you. Don’t fall for the first guy who messages you. Ask him tough questions. Make sure he’s going to respect you.

Guys, don’t be someone you aren’t. Be the leader God has called you to be. Be honest about who you are. Don’t lie in your messages to get a date.

Did you find love online? Inspire other Christian singles by sharing your story of how you met your soulmate on Christian Mingle.