Dear Dean,

We would like to share with you and others a wonderful story of God’s providence which has worked through your site and also to give encouragement and warning as well. I joined Sovereign Grace Singles in March 2005. I was so thankful to have been led to SGS and to have the opportunity to fellowship with other like-minded believers. Throughout the next 2 years, I made wonderful friends and even traveled to meet other members and attend weddings, but I had not met a man who was compatible with me. I am reformed Presbyterian and I believe in the idea of biblical courtship with parental approval, even at 27 years of age!

In March 2006, a wonderful and godly man, Jonathan, from South Africa joined the site, and his profile immediately caught my eye. It sounded like it was written just for me: reformed Presbyterian who believed in courtship and desired to find a godly mate. He was struggling to meet like-minded women in SA but had put his trust in the Lord to provide in His own time. Jonathan noticed that I had read his profile, and after reading mine he said, “It was like reading my own thoughts and views on Christianity and was the first time I had ever met a woman like that! Whoever I showed or mentioned her profile to agreed that it was like we were cut from the same cloth. So I knew that I had to start corresponding with her and so I started to write her daily and she wrote me back too.” We began an e-friendship and faithfully corresponded on a daily basis, not only by SGS but also by E-mail and the telephone. We were certainly eager to see if this was what the Lord had been preparing for each of us.

Exactly one year and one week from the day we had begun communication through SGS, Jonathan flew from South Africa to Texas to meet me and my family and to see what the Lord had intended for us with the hope and prayer that we would become engaged. This was an extremely exciting time for both of us. My parents were also excited about Jonathan’s visit and immediately liked and respected him. They were optimistic about the meeting and its outcome. However, there were several concerns which had arisen due, first, to the fact that Jonathan and I had proceeded with our conversations as though my parents had already given their approval, and second, from the overwhelming optimism and expectations of our meeting.  We also had not considered the practical sides of the situation, the main one being work for Jonathan in the USA.

But as the Lord had so preordained, He gave my parents the wisdom to reprove us when we needed reproving, to guide us in our thinking and to bless us with the will to obey and respect them. As a result, after obtaining my father’s permission and blessing, Jonathan proposed to me on April 4, 2007, with the most beautiful and biblical proposal inspired by Ruth 1:16-17, and of course I said “YES!” We are now planning our wedding which will take place hopefully early next year. We both firmly believe that the reason the Lord blessed us with our engagement and future together is that we honored my parents, which the Lord commands us to do and in turn blesses our faithfulness.

From our experience, we both want to encourage all those who are reading this to wait patiently on the Lord for Him to provide, to follow the biblical principles given in His word for seeking a godly spouse and to be submissive to those whom God has given as authority over us. We also would like to warn members not to allow your relationships to become “glorified dating.” This is particularly difficult in an e-friendship (like SGS or others) where the nature of that friendship is personal and discreet and not always easy to be monitored by parents. Jonathan and I struggled a lot with this and realize how difficult it is to not become quickly enamored and overexcited, especially when there are engagements and marriages being announced frequently. Under these circumstances, it is easy to allow the romance of the possibilities and the success of previous members to override judgment and to presume that it must be the Lord’s will. SGS is a blessing because it provides a haven for people to meet, but SGS cannot curb the human heart (Jer. 17: 9). Dean has done a wonderful job of monitoring the site and protecting all the members, but it is up to each member to take the responsibility to guard the heart and fully rely on the Lord (Prov. 4: 23).

Dean, we do thank you for your hard work on SGS and for providing such a site, but we believe that you will agree that it is God who is to be praised above and beyond measure for His marvelous works of providence. We know that there is nothing that we do that is not preordained by Him, and He has seen fit to bless your work tremendously. He has caused our lives to be made complete by bringing us together. The Lord has blessed us more than we can ever or will ever deserve and thanks be unto Him for His gracious blessings!

May God continue to bless you and others through your hard work on Sovereign Grace Singles.

Sincerely in Christ,

Kelly Campbell and Jonathan Smuts