Danielle & Kyle

Kyle and Danielle first met in Thrive School in 2016. They were in different friend groups and were acquaintances at best. As Danielle puts it, they were "ships in the night”. In 2018, they both led small groups for Thrive but again didn’t cross paths much… at least that was what Danielle thought. Little did she know that little old Kyle had spotted her ship, so-to-speak, and found a spark of interest! If he was honest with himself, he had always had that spark. Years passed as Danielle moved to Irvine, CA for school and Kyle started working for Thrive. Proximity was not in their favor. But, in Fall of 2020, Kyle got the opportunity to help launch Bayside Church Orange County, which happened to be right around the corner from where Danielle was living! (Coincidence? We don’t think so😉). February 2021 rolled around and Kyle was still frequently flying down from Northern CA to help launch the Bayside Orange County campus. One Sunday, Danielle showed up to a Sunday service to support the new campus and see some old friends. However, on her way over she got lost (typical), reached out to Kyle for help with directions, and accidentally (or so she says) shared her location indefinitely with Kyle. Awkward! Much to her surprise, he shared his location back indefinitely as well! This mishap would eventually spur Kyle to ask Danielle on a date… But before we get there, Danielle and Kyle had a few more interactions. In July of 2021, Kyle was helping at Bayside’s high school summer camp which was being held at the Bayside Orange County Church location. Danielle came by on one of the days to see some friends, and both Danielle and Kyle ended up together, chatting with some mutual friends. One by one, people left the conversation until it was only Danielle and Kyle left. For 30 minutes she stood shivering in the cold, still wanting the conversation to continue. After this interaction, Kyle thought to himself "I think I should shoot my shot and ask her on a date." He decided to ask her to hangout first and planned to ask her on a date in person. Sadly, between the distance and the coordinating of schedules, their hangout was pushed further and further away. In October 2021 Kyle was driving and had the thought "I really wish I took Danielle on a date." A month later, he found himself once again at John Wayne Airpot in Southern CA. When he landed, Aaron (his best man!) was late to pick him up, per usual. Kyle checked Aaron’s location and what did he see? That Danielle was closer to him than Aaron was (See? That location-sharing story was relevant!) Kyle decided that he simply MUST text Danielle and ask her to hang out that Saturday. And she was free! Kyle’s plan was the same, to hang out and then ask her on a date. But as Saturday neared and nerves rose, he called for backup…Aaron and Aaron’s host family, the Kishi’s! After a night of dinner and games, the door closed behind Danielle as she headed home. Right away Pat Kishi said "Aren't you guys going to walk her to her car? Why aren't one of you dating her?" This was Kyle’s chance! He quickly opened the door to walk with her, but POOF she was gone. Kyle and Aaron still think she must have run away, but Danielle sticks to the story that she walked... So, Kyle texted her asking her on a date. On December 8th, 2021, Kyle and Danielle walked over 7 miles along the pier in Newport Beach, CA: their first date! They spent 8 hours together that night, neither wanting the date to end. From there, the rest is history!