It all began in Lebanon, in Pastor Toufic Azar's office. Jacob and I were casually playing chess that day while I was preparing to leave Lebanon for the UK. Sister Azar, ever thoughtful, was helping me find a church I could attend once I arrived in Coventry, UK. As she searched the web, she came across King's Chapel Apostolic Church. Their statement of faith resonated deeply with ours, and she began showing me more about the church. She pointed out the pastor, his wife, their children—and then paused when she came to their daughter. With a playful smile, Sister Azar remarked, "Brother Mack, they have a beautiful daughter, you never know what might happen!" Jacob chimed in, entertaining the idea, while I sat there, smiling in embarrassment, unsure of what the future held. On the 6th of July 2017, I arrived in the UK, stepping into a new chapter of my life. That very day, I had the privilege of meeting my new pastor, Pastor Louis Farquharson, along with his son Alex and his daughter Antoinette. They welcomed me warmly into both the country and the church, making me feel at home right away. The first meaningful conversation I had with Antoinette was during outreach on a Saturday. We visited a Christian bookshop, and as we browsed and talked, I was struck by her devotion and passion for God. Her love for Him was evident in her lifestyle and it was something you couldn’t miss. I thought to myself, "She is truly one of the most godly women I’ve ever met". From that point on, we became the best of friends, building a relationship founded on mutual respect and honour. Though our feelings for each other grew over time, we found it difficult to admit and even harder to dare declare our love for one another. Yet, here we are, celebrating the journey God has brought us on and looking forward to a lifetime together in His purpose. In 2021, I received a word from the Lord, guiding me toward Antoinette. I earnestly hoped it was His voice and not just my own desires. However, despite this divine confirmation, I struggled to believe because of the events that unfolded. Deep down, I hoped she was the one, but from my perspective, nothing seemed to align in a way that confirmed it. As time passed, life grew busy, and circumstances caused us to drift apart. It felt as though she went her way, and I went mine. With so much time and change between us, I began to doubt the word I had received from God. I convinced myself that perhaps it hadn’t been His voice after all. Accepting this was one of the most difficult moments for me, and though it hurt deeply, I surrendered to the idea that God’s plan might be different from what I had envisioned...

Mack had always been my best friend, we prayed together, ministered together, laughed together. He was so special to me but life created a space between us which was unfortunate but hard to blame on anything specific. My brother got married 2023 and we were both in the bridal party. We had to work closely with each other and it reminded me of how much I missed him. I'm usually not a 'beg' but I wanted our friendship back so badly I became one for a few days. Before long, we were talking like no time had passed, we had our snap streak again, our facetimes were hours long and we spent most of our time together. We spent the summer working on projects and going on daytrips. It was amazing to have my friend back. At the end of the summer (24th August to be exact) we were chilling at the park and he told me he had something to tell me. He was acting really strange as if he didn't want to tell me, obviously this made me want to know even more. He was shaking and laughing to himself and kept saying that what he wanted to tell me would ruin everything. After much probing he finally told me that he had feelings for me and had wanted to tell me in 2021, he shared that he had heard from the Lord and he believed we were meant to be together. I didn't know what to say, I was flooded with so much emotion I was in a place where I was happy to be single for the rest of my life, I never would have thought Elmakawi Dirna would be interested in someone like me. After a while of talking he made it clear to me that he had intentions of marrying me and wanted to be married the next year. We started planning there and then. He spoke to my Dad five days later and it went well. God was working everything out so quickly and easily for us, I was in disbelief. A few months after this had happened I found a page in my journal from 2016 where I had written a list of attributes that I wanted in my future husband. I prayed over this list everyday for years and eventually I had forgotten about it, my faith had dwindled and I had turned to praying for other things. I read this list to myself again in 2024 and Mack fulfilled every attribute on that list. In the year 2022 I struggled to be the best Christian and made huge mistakes in my walk with severe consequences but God has been so faithful. All of those prayers for all of those years God was hearing, every time I spoke the list out to Him he was preparing a love story I could only have dreamed of. I am so excited to become Elmakawi's wife and can't wait to see you all at our wedding.