Kevin Dyal and Lisa Micchelli - Married March 2014
Kevin, a musician from Portland, Oregon, and Lisa, a schoolteacher from Westchester County, New York, were single disciples for many years. They quickly connected when they met on DT Heart & Soul in October 2011. They began dating at the World Discipleship Summit in San Antonio, were engaged soon after, and were married on March 29, 2014.
Kevin: I was in the first group of people who joined DTHS in 2009, at the very beginning. For me, it was a big “Finally!” I had been a Christian for 17 years and was still single, and I was living in Missoula, Montana, where I was more than 10 years older than the single sisters. I was really grateful that DTHS came into existence. There’s an honesty to it that says, “I’m not afraid to admit that I’m looking for a spouse; I’m looking for my missing piece.”
At first, I found that my luck hadn’t improved at all. I was on the site for a year and a half, and then off for a while. After some time I decided to put my money down one more time. I saw a picture of a very beautiful woman and I clicked through. I noticed her profile was very, very well-balanced; it was refreshing to read a profile that wasn’t too Jesus-y or that was trying to convince me that she liked football. It reminded me of the Scripture that says, “We shared the gospel and our lives as well.”
Lisa was open about who she was spiritually and everything else. Our first conversation was in October of 2011, and we began communicating fairly regularly into the beginning of 2012. Long-distance relationships are always a challenge, so I was praying a lot and made sure I was building connections with the women in her life.
Lisa: I wanted to sign up for DTHS, but I thought, “Oh no, what if I’m not ready for this?” I knew that people on this site were serious, and I didn’t know if I really was. But I decided just to see what would happen. I joined, and got in touch with some brothers who didn’t get in touch with me. I got a response from Kevin, we started to talk on Skype, he made me watch Chicken Run with him, and we had a fun time getting to know each other.
We met in person for the first time at the World Discipleship Summit in San Antonio. We wound up going on four dates, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend!
Kevin: The biggest thing for me is making sure that I had connections in her church with people that actually knew her and vice versa. I thought it was very important to establish connections in Westchester, especially with the couple overseeing the singles ministry. They had known Lisa since she first came around to the church. They were married when they were older, and had been disciples for a long time. They discipled us as we were getting together.
Because there’s much more of an investment in long-distance relationships, and much more is deliberate, you want to make sure there are people in both your lives who know all your dirty laundry, so that they can help you as things come up. When you’re dating long distance, you should probably have conversations about your past sooner rather than later, as it’s too complicated otherwise. You need to know what you’re getting into if plane tickets are involved.
Kevin and Lisa were engaged on January 1, 2013. Kevin then moved to Westchester to be in the same ministry as Lisa, and they were married March 29, 2014.
Kevin: My encouragement to any of the guys is, “Why not?” Even if you can’t afford it, talk to your married friends and get help to get on it. It is truly amazing and I am so grateful that Roger got this up and rolling and made it happen.
