It’s finally time to celebrate!!

Around October 2019, I discovered Kashif Gill’s online profile when searching for possible matches. I was able to quickly see that we had similarities between us, such as - we are both practicing Seventh-Day Adventist Christians. After discovering Kashif Gill’s profile, I liked it and a notification that I liked his profile was sent to him. At the time I had my Instagram account handle posted in my profile description. This was how Kashif was able to find my Instagram profile and send me a direct message on October 7th, 2019. For over a year, since October 2019, we have exchanged communication every day, talking every morning and evening, for hours at a time. We began discussing meeting each other in person as early as December of 2019. From February to September of 2020, we were unsure of when we would meet each other due to the Coronavirus Pandemic that is currently affecting the world. Finally, we made plans to meet each other in Pakistan, meet each other’s family, celebrate our birthdays, and celebrate our formal engagement in December of 2020. I traveled to Pakistan from Boston, MA and was accompanied by my mother, Nerlande, and my aunt, Marie Christine, for the duration of my visit to meet Kashif. Kashif, and his brother, Khalid, waited for us at the airport the morning of December 11th, 2020. They greeted us with hugs and flowers while our family back home were watching via video call. We then headed to Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan, where Kashif Gill’s home is located and we were welcomed with rose garlands around our necks. On our last night in Sahiwal, we confirmed our intent to marry with a traditional Pakistani engagement ceremony, called Mangni, which took place at Kashif’s home on his birthday outside, under a tent. During the Mangni, Kashif formally proposed to me the American way, on one knee, which I accepted at that moment, with both our families there as witnesses.