Leaving McCloudy Days Behind

I was looking for more ways to serve at church and decided to join the choir. Fortunately, there was an upcoming interest meeting and Tia, a close friend, encouraged me to audition. On the day of the meeting, I was tired and overwhelmed with my graduate program and did not feel like socializing. However, I knew God was calling me to do more, and with the help of my friend, we made it to the meeting. The worship leaders shared more information about the audition process, and the meeting ended rather quickly. We lingered afterward, talking with other attendees, when I gave Tia the infamous look signaling that I was ready to leave. In return, the look Tia gave me made it clear she was not ready to go and she told me to go back in there and “make friends.” Reluctantly, I turned around and continued brief conversations with attendees as they exited the event. I was standing alone when I spun around at the sound of, “Hey AKA.” At that moment, it felt as though time had stopped. I was mesmerized by his smile, strong cheekbones, and deep eyes. Conversation sparked instantly, and we connected very quickly. First, he asked for my social media, but I was taking a break from the apps. Then he asked for my number, which I was more than happy to provide. In my heart, I knew that once we started talking the conversation would never stop.

The true preparation began in May 2025. I originally was planning to propose in December of that year, but it was then that God revealed to me that Greece would be where I would propose. I mean, who wouldn’t want to say they got engaged in Greece? So I prayed, fasted, and talked endlessly with Sarah and Taylor about getting Alina’s dream ring. I truly felt that God was aligning my steps as everything came so easy. We found her perfect ring, and the sales lady (her name was Ms.Tudy) was a blessing sent from God as she helped me get the ring. The next big action was figuring out a way to capture this major moment while thousands of miles from home. Luckily, when booking our Greece trip, we did it through a travel group which means we had a tour director. Her name was Martha, and she was extremely nice and genuine. She helped every step of the way: connecting me with the photographer, helping me find the perfect location, and helping me find a dinner reservation to celebrate after. Without Martha, pulling this engagement off would’ve been 1000 times more difficult. Once this was booked and in order, it was just a matter of getting to the location and choosing the date. June 16th, 2025 is the day I decided I would propose. It was the only “free day” in our trip itinerary that would allow us to just have time to ourselves and not be with the rest of the group. The key was just wasting time until that evening. We spent the day touring Athens, Greece. We first stopped at the Parthenon Museum where we learned much about Greek history and architecture. After the museum, we set out to the Panathenaic Stadium, which is the home of the first olympic games in the world! Finally, by the time we explored the stadium, it was time to head to the hotel to prepare for the “dinner” reservation I had for her. I told her to get ready and wear something nice because the dress code was dressy, casual. We got changed, and grabbed an Uber to head to the location. As we are on the way, my stomach has butterflies as I knew that I was actually about to get on one knee. It was an overwhelming but exciting feeling. We had an interesting drive to the coast of Greece where we finally arrived at the beach. Alina LOVES the beach and I knew this would be the perfect location to do it. My photographer needed an extra 5 mins or so to get the setup together as we got there early because our Uber became an F1 driver and was speeding through the Greece streets. So I had to stall. I just told her “Let’s take pictures first before we go inside”. I’m sure she knew I was stalling because I never ask to take pictures… Nonetheless, we finally got the setup ready and I asked her “Do you trust me?” in which she responded “Of course”. I then blind folded her, and walked her over the coast of the ocean. The water was beautiful and the mountain range on the horizon made the scene 10x better. With the photographer capturing every moment, I took off the blindfold, and she found me there on one knee asking her to be my heart forever. She was so surprised and at a loss of words, but she finally could form the words “yes” and that was all I needed to hear. We ended the night taking more pictures and then an ocean side dinner. I thank God for making this experience so easy for me and for us. I prayed so hard on Proverbs 3, James 1:5, and Matthew 6:33 asking God for His wisdom and His guidance. I am grateful for the words of empowerment and encouragement I got from my Uncle and my Apostle as I asked God to direct my path to this moment and I am extremely grateful to God for blessing me with an amazing partner like Alina.