As Peter grew close with his church family at the Monastery of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, he stubbornly told inquiring family members that if God willed for him to find a future wife, he would not go out seeking her but instead he would meet a good Orthodox Christian woman at church. The only issue was that his church was a small Russian men’s monastery tucked quietly away in the suburbs of St. James, it didn't even have a church building yet! This did not hinder Peter one bit, though. Deep down he knew that this place and the parishioners around him was where he belonged and where he would establish his life. Peter’s prayers were granted in the form of two of his favorite friends to talk to during coffee hour, Vasilios & Markella Georgiou. For several years, Peter shared much of his life and story with the Georgious, and he enjoyed seeing them at Sunday services. One day, after several years of friendship, Peter’s life changed. Markella told him that she had a daughter and asked Peter if he would like to meet her, and not only that, she would be attending the monastery! This was a surprise to Peter and he immediately did some Gen Z Instagram research to see who she was. From the moment he saw her profile picture, he realized that the girl of his dreams was actually real and in the flesh, so much so that he became nervous that she was out of his league. Very fittingly, and by the grace of God, on the grand feast day of the monastery, Markella asked Jaelle if she wanted to attend church that day and meet her future husband (little did she know how accurate those words would prove to be). Peter finally had his chance to meet his future wife, yet he was too visibly nervous to speak to Jaelle and even rejected his brother Charles’ pep talk encouraging him to approach her. Eventually though, through the power of sweets, Peter found the common ground to speak to Jaelle about how yummy her mom’s chocolate cake was at the potluck. Jaelle was going through some difficult times and was lamenting to her best friend Katie (now maid of honor) when her mom overheard and suggested she come to church. With Peter in mind, she added jovially “and come meet your future husband!” Jaelle’s first thought was to resist her mom’s meddling, but Katie laughed and interjected, "Aren't you curious to see who your mom picked as your husband?” This was the start of the rest of their lives. Jaelle and Peter spent the feast day (10/26/24) near the church garden talking, laughing, sharing stories of their Greek relatives (especially funny Papou accents), and most importantly, discussing their faith and life in the Church. At one moment Jaelle was sharing with Peter her feelings about her lifelong fear of birds, when suddenly a small flock of chickens appeared and began steadfastly marching right towards Jaelle! Jaelle froze in fear…she didn't know the monastery had chickens (and in fact they didn't have chickens, no one had ever seen these chickens before that day or after!) Her fear abated when she saw Peter rise up from the tailgate of the truck to gently, but firmly, dismiss the birds from Jaelle's presence. It was at that moment that Jaelle knew in her heart that Peter was to be her future husband. Over the course of the day, several people from the community approached Jaelle and Peter and hilariously, and a little awkwardly, tried to convince Jaelle how good of a partner Peter would be and how cute of a couple they would make. This led to many laughs for them both and remains, to this day, a fun memory they relive. Peter eagerly planned a surprise wedding proposal at the monastery. Since it is the place where they met, the place they wanted to serve the Lord together, and the place where their children will one day grow up, he received a special blessing from the abbot to propose there. Because engagement prefigures marriage, he chose a meaningful date 4.4.26, right before Holy Week which prefigures the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.