In December of 2022, I was going to Nigeria to see my family and I asked my cousin to find me an Igbo teacher before I arrived. She told me she had the perfect person for the job, "Pastor Chidiebere". She spoke so highly of him and said he spoke and taught Igbo very well. I was comfortable with her recommendation because we all go to the same church, just different branches in different countries lol. Fast forward to December 17th, I am in Nigeria and my cousin introduced me to pastor Chidiebere. We exchanged contact information and eventually met for our first Igbo lesson days later. During our lesson, he proved himself to be an exceptional teacher. He was patient, frequently praised my efforts, and made me laugh. I genuinely enjoyed the lesson. When I got home that night, He chatted me on WhatsApp and told me how much he enjoyed the lesson as well. He said I was the best Igbo student experience he has had so far. Unfortunately, we later concluded we could only have one more lesson after things came up for me, and finding out he would be traveling for a church program hosted by our church. We had our second Igbo lesson two days later, but this lesson was different. Despite how professional Chidiebere was, we frequently found ourselves drifting into conversation unrelated to our Igbo lessons. We spoke for hours and learned so much about each other. He even taught me how to play Mancala. Our Igbo lessons were officially over and the only time we would see each other was in church, but our communication never stopped. Chidiebere checked on me every day. He was so thoughtful and invested in my well-being. He later traveled for our church program in the neighboring state while I stayed in Imo state. On the first day of the program, he responded to one of my posts on Instagram and told me that he missed me. This was the start of our genuine friendship outside of Igbo lessons. We established such an authentic friendship where we were able to be our full selves. It felt like I had known him forever. Unfortunately, my time in Nigeria was coming to an end. He expressed how sad he was that I was leaving, and we agreed that we had to see each other in person for the last time. This time, not for Igbo lessons, but to hang out as friends saying goodbye for now. We went on our "non-date date" as we like to call it. He told me that we were going to explore the city of Owerri and that he would give me the authentic Nigerian experience. I didn’t know entering public transport and crossing busy roads could make me so happy lol. We talked, laughed, explored, and enjoyed Nigerian delicacies. I didn't want the night to end. As soon as I got home, he called me and couldn't stop expressing how much fun he had, how he couldn't believe I was leaving, how he'd miss me, and how I was such an amazing person. When I heard him going on and on in this manner, I asked him if he was developing feelings for me, and he said yes. He immediately started expressing his undying love for me 🤣. Two days later while I was in Abuja preparing to leave for the US, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I told him that I needed to seek God concerning the matter and I also needed to seek out godly counsel. I told him that if I received yeses on those two sides then I’d give him a yes as well. When I prayed, God gave me a peace that I had never experienced before. The icing on the cake was receiving clearance from my pastors…after thorough spiritual and physical investigation… and interrogation 🤣 For the next seven months, we spoke on the phone, chatted on WhatsApp, and video-called every single day until I returned to Nigeria. We built a beautiful relationship that I'm so proud of. On July 4th I arrived in Nigeria, and by July 21st, 2023 we were engaged. He asked me to marry him and of course, I gave him the surest yes! Being able to marry Chidiebere would be my dream come true. I look forward to the rest of my life spent with my best friend and the love of my life.

We were both strangers when we first saw each other. I looked into Chisom's eyes with a smile as her sister introduced us. I saw her as a student who would someday be grateful for the good job I did, not knowing that my forever journey into a beautiful path full of PEACE 🕊️ AND JOY was just about to begin. We had our first Igbo class in a place called Nutri Grub, which is a quiet and peaceful hangout spot in Owerri. The class was far beyond my expectations as Chisom was soft-spoken and unwilling to give up until an Igbo word or sentence was well-pronounced and spoken. She adjusted my mind as to how I saw my former students who didn’t at the time give me the best impression when it comes to teaching foreign students Igbo. She was cheerful, tender, and free-spirited and it made me wonder if she was coming from the same environment the other students came from. We had our second Igbo class where we didn’t find the time to speak or learn Igbo as much as we did in the previous class two days ago. In this class, we looked into other aspects of life and sought better ways of helping each other, the best way we could. Speaking of helping each other, I helped her learn how to play the popularly known game NCHO( I hope this doesn’t sound Chinese to our readers 😂) I have much to write about our journey, but this website doesn’t allow my heart to express itself as it should due to the word limit. I succeeded in carrying out the most sophisticated woo in human history and also went on to pop the million-dollar question ( will you marry me?), which led me to walk in love with the world's most exquisite young lady. Speaking every day over the phone gave us the strength to conquer the 6000-mile gap between us and today, we’ve successfully overcome one of the most difficult heights one can imagine. I can boldly tell you that at this point, nothing makes sense without Chisom in the picture. Nkem, I love you and can't wait to spend the rest of my days with you. Oluwa dey for us. CHEERS!!! 🥂