Their Story

Jerry and Debbi were first introduced through an online LDS dating service called ldsMingle.com.  Debbi had been a member for nearly a year when she received a routine message from the service listing some New Matches - including Jerry as a 100% match.  Jerry had just joined the service the day before.  Since these email match messages came almost daily, Debbi paid little attention until she noticed that Jerry's bio mentioned he was from Dayton, Ohio, a place that was part of her childhood years.  That sparked her interest in looking at his profile, which seemed pleasant enough, so she sent him a little message welcoming him to the site and relating that Ohio was her childhood home.

Then Jerry read Debbi's profile and sent a thoughtful reply.  Thus began what would rapidly become an open, honest, endearing, and prolific correspondance, surprising both of them.  They exchanged phone numbers, and Jerry called, missing Debbi the first time.  She encouraged him to try again, and the next call found her at home.

Thanks to Verizon Wireless free minutes after 9 pm, the calls continued daily and lasted through the night.  Daily email messages also continued.  It was becoming clear to both Debbi and Jerry that something very unique and blessed was developing between them.  The parallels in their lives and attitudes became more and more remarkable.  

Christmas was fast approaching.  Debbi sent her youngest son Max on a mission on December 15 - celebrating Christmas that morning before going to the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah.  Jerry celebrated with his children on Christmas Eve.  Debbi checked airfares to Dayton and found a very low fare available for Christmas Day.  They agreed that a visit to meet in person was what they both wanted, and reservations for travel and rental car were made.  Debbi arranged to visit old friends in her hometown and to travel to Indianapolis to meet her little grand niece for the first time.  Everything was falling into place.

Ohio got record snowfall and greeted Debbi with a very White Christmas.  No small miracle got both Debbi and her luggage to Dayton, only slightly behind schedule, since NW Airlines was experiencing both a strike and computer failure that day.  Many others on her flight into Dayton did not connect with their luggage right away.  Jerry arrived half an hour ahead of the plane’s scheduled arrival, watched luggage being stacked in any space available, and noticed that Debbi’s flight number came and went with no luggage whatsoever reaching the normal luggage carousel.  So he stood in line for more than an hour to get more information about Debbi's flight - in which time she arrived and wondered where he was, with no way to reach him.  Finally he got through the long line and up to the counter, and he had Debbi paged.  They met in front of the main entrance of the Dayton Airport.
            
Jerry had warned Debbi that he was described by many as a ‘sober man.’  Preparing herself for a stoic or even sullen person, Debbi was delighted to find Jerry is very animated, expressive, witty and cheerful.  They drove straight from the airport to Debbi's childhood home in Oxford, Ohio, and while standing in the driveway of the next door neighbor’s taking photographs of Debbi’s childhood home, the neighbor’s son pulled up and asked if they needed some help.  A reunion ensued with an invitation to come inside to greet the folks.  Debbi and Jerry eagerly accepted and a sweet visit followed with reminiscences of many years gone by and updates.  Not only did Debbi feel the strong sense of home returning to Oxford on a white Christmas afternoon, but also a growing sense of coming home developed between Jerry and Debbi.  Each hour spent together revealed how perfectly prepared each had been to meet the needs of the other.  Their souls seemed so well suited.  To both is seemed each had traveled through parallel mortal experiences that now presented themselves as balm to aching hearts and to the delight of lonesome minds.  Even in their differences, they balance one another.

Jerry proposed on January 4, 2005, with the Lord's blessing.  Debbi answered on January 10, 2005, after praying, pondering, and carefully seeking the Lord’s blessing.  She accepted his proposal when she sensed the Lord's peace and envisioned His smile as His outstretched arms brought them towards Him for their mortal journey together toward the eternal family they are destined to become.

Despite their noble natures, experiences, and accomplishments, Jerry and Debbi met when each was at his and her lowest point in life - having suffered heartaches, disappointments, and failures so much that neither one felt able to be a proper candidate to the other.  They only came with humility and broken hearts to offer, but this is why they appreciate one another so much.

Their relationship is accented with laughter, singing, prayer, scripture study, long tender hugs, mutual service each other, deep conversations, shared interests, dreams and compassion.

Passionate by nature about so many things, passions restrained to fulfill various obligations and the needs of others, now Jerry and Debbi provide one another the safe haven to explore passions that have been shelved in the past.

Both endowed with a longing to know God's will for their lives separately, they join now to become instruments together in His hands however they might most be needed.