Moments with Leah Chestnut

Moments with Leah Chestnut Sharing family fun/love, rap flows & worship vibes — life’s best mix.
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One of the funniest memories from our wedding season happened on our road trip from Jos to Abuja right after we got marr...
06/15/2026

One of the funniest memories from our wedding season happened on our road trip from Jos to Abuja right after we got married.
We had chartered a car for the journey, and it was just the two of us cuddled up in the back seat, enjoying our first days as husband and wife.
Now, if you've ever traveled by road in Nigeria, you know what comes next, checkpoints!

At almost every checkpoint, whether it was the police, soldiers, civil defense officers, or a combination of all three, they'd stop the vehicle, peek inside, see my husband and I, and immediately ask:

"Hey Bature! Where are you taking our sister?"
My husband would smile and reply, "She's my wife."
Their faces would light up instantly.
"Oh! Congratulations!"
"Take good care of our sister for us!"
"God bless your marriage!"
And off we'd go.
This happened again and again.
Some will say Bature, while others will use Oyibo(both mean a Whiteman in Hausa and Pidgin, respectively)
After about the fifth checkpoint, my husband turned to me with genuine confusion and asked:

"Love, I've already met all your brothers. Why does everyone keep calling you their sister?"
That's when I had to explain one of the beautiful things about Nigerian culture to him. Family goes far beyond blood. We call people brother, sister, auntie, uncle, and mother not because we're biologically related, but because we value community, respect, and relationships.
To them, I was their sister. And because I was their sister, they felt responsible for making sure this Bature or Oyibo was taking good care of me.
Looking back, it's one of those moments that reminds me how special our cultures are and how much joy there is in learning from each other.

Have you ever had to explain a cultural tradition that completely confused your spouse or a foreign friend? Tell me your story in the comments!

Isn't it interesting how some people publicly condemn the very things they're secretly pursuing behind closed doors?When...
06/14/2026

Isn't it interesting how some people publicly condemn the very things they're secretly pursuing behind closed doors?
When my relationship and marriage went viral, many people, especially women, flooded the comment section with warnings and criticism. Some said I was marrying a stranger. Others claimed I was being trafficked or used. Many of them didn't know me personally; they simply came across the viral posts and felt compelled to share their opinions.

What made it even more interesting was what was happening behind the scenes.
While they were busy criticizing me online, many of the same women were sending friend requests to my husband, his friends, and even his colleagues. During that period, my husband received well over a thousand friend requests, mostly from women. After he returned to the United States following our wedding, some of his friends and coworkers also started receiving numerous friend requests from Nigerian women.
His best friend alone received over 500 friend requests. Some women went beyond sending friend requests and began messaging my husband directly.

Sometimes he would show me the messages and we'd laugh. He'd say, "Pretty face, I don't understand. These women can clearly see that I'm married, with pictures of you and me on my profile, yet they're still sending messages saying, 'Hi handsome' and 'Hi sweetheart", and so on.
I would simply tell him, "They don't care."
A few years ago, my husband showed some of the messages to my brother Steve Doy, and he was upset. He couldn't understand why I never confronted any of the women. But honestly, I wasn't bothered because I trusted my husband completely. I knew he wasn't responding to any of them.
There was even a time Doy confronted one of the ladies who happened to be a mutual friend. To her credit, she apologized and said she just wants to be friends with him.

Looking back, I don't regret ignoring the noise. If I had listened to every negative voice, I might have missed out on one of God's greatest blessings in my life.
This experience taught me something important: not everyone criticizing your choices actually disagrees with them. Sometimes they're criticizing what they secretly wish they had the courage or opportunity to pursue themselves.
The same people who said I was marrying a stranger were busy trying to get the attention of the very "stranger" they warned me about.
Sometimes the loudest opinions come from people who don't have all the facts. That's why discernment is important. Listen to God, seek wise counsel, and don't allow public opinion to make life-changing decisions for you.

Have you ever discovered that some of your biggest critics were doing the very thing they criticized you for?
Have you ever had people criticize a decision that later turned out to be one of the best decisions you ever made?

06/13/2026

Same Ferris wheel, two completely different prayer points!
We thought taking the girls on the Ferris wheel would be a fun family experience. As soon as it started going up, Nini grabbed onto the seat and kept saying, "Get me down! Get me down!"
Meanwhile, Nova was having the time of her life. With her hands in the air and excitement written all over her face, she kept shouting, "WE'RE FLYINGGG!"
One child was praying for the ride to end. The other was hoping it would never stop.
Same ride. Same parents. Same view. Completely different experience.

Tell me, are you more like Nini or Nova on amusement park rides? 👇🎡
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One of the biggest misconceptions about relationships is that spending time together automatically means you're connecte...
06/13/2026

One of the biggest misconceptions about relationships is that spending time together automatically means you're connected. Nope, It doesn't. You can be in the same room with someone every day and still not truly communicate or know them.
What strengthened our relationship wasn't proximity, it was communication.

From the day my husband and I met, there was never a day we didn't talk. We discussed everything: our faith, families, dreams, fears, wedding plans, work, friendships, and even the meals we were eating. Before I ever stepped foot in America, I already knew how to prepare some of his favorite meals because we'd cook together over video calls.
He'd take me along on video calls to work, show me places around town, and even ask me to help pick out clothes while shopping. I knew his routine, his habits, and what a typical day looked like. If I called him at 2 a.m., I knew where he'd be. If he called me in the afternoon, he knew where I'd be too.
So when someone later told me that people were saying, "She's stubborn. She refused to listen to advice. Now the man has disappeared and stopped calling," in their words, "He has vanished, his line isn't going through". I couldn't help but laugh.
The funny thing is that some of the people who thought they knew what was happening in my relationship had never had a single conversation with either of us about it. They had already written the ending of a story that God was still writing.

While they were expecting him to vanish, we were praying together, fasting together, communicating daily, and preparing for a future together.
They saw distance. We saw purpose. They saw obstacles. We saw God's hand. They predicted an ending. God was just getting started.
Not every relationship will make sense to everyone, and that's okay. Sometimes the people watching from the outside know the least about what's really happening.

Have you ever had people make assumptions about your life that turned out to be completely wrong? 👇

06/13/2026

Not every relationship will make sense to everyone, and that's okay. Sometimes the people watching from the outside know the least about what's really happening.

One thing I've learned is that not every good thing needs to be announced immediately. Sometimes, sharing too early expo...
06/12/2026

One thing I've learned is that not every good thing needs to be announced immediately. Sometimes, sharing too early exposes your dreams to unnecessary negativity and discouragement.
In the early stages of my relationship, I told a friend about it, and she quickly responded, "I don't want to end up washing dishes in another country." But when I told Janet Abai, her response was completely different: "Leah, it's better to wash dishes in America than in Nigeria."

Janet was one of the people God placed in my life at the right time. When Chris asked me to find out about getting an international passport and the cost, she was the very first person I went to. She didn't withhold information, criticize, or fill my head with fear. Instead, she listened, asked a few questions, and encouraged me.
She was amazed to learn that Chris and I prayed and fasted together every Monday. As a missionary who had traveled to the United States several times and worked with people from different cultures, she understood things many others didn't. Not only did she encourage us, but she also agreed to join us in prayer and fasting. I still remember visiting her home to pray together and break our fast.

Looking back, I realize that while many people questioned our relationship, God surrounded us with a few people who chose to support, pray, and believe with us.
Thank you, Mace Mai Nagari, for being one of those people. Your encouragement meant more than you know.

Have you ever shared a dream with someone and received two completely different reactions? Which response stayed with you the most? 👇

06/12/2026

Nova started with "Bring my heels now!" When I told her to ask nicely, she goes, "Please I want my heels!" Then I reminded her of the bubu(wound) on her foot. And she replied with,
"It's okay. I can wear my heels."
Nothing, not even a little wound is coming between this child and her fashion goals!
At what age did your child start having strong opinions about their outfits?

06/11/2026

When your 4-year-old learns that "in the name of Jesus" is the perfect way to ask for anything, she decides to combine love, faith, and negotiation skills into one sentence.
"I love you so much in the name of Jesus, now buy me this big bunny in the name of Jesus!"
Would you have bought her the bunny?
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While people were busy saying, "She's marrying a stranger," I couldn't help but laugh.The truth is, within a month or tw...
06/11/2026

While people were busy saying, "She's marrying a stranger," I couldn't help but laugh.
The truth is, within a month or two, I knew this man better than some of the men I had dated for 3–4 years.
Should I talk about my first love who got his best friend's cousin pregnant and moved her into his house while we were still together? My friend Sally Lucas can testify to that story. We only found out because a mutual friend heard about the wedding and congratulated me, assuming I was the bride. Imagine my shock!
Sally insisted we go and see for ourselves. We got there, and there she was, with a baby already. She even told me she had heard so much about me and had seen my pictures. We congratulated her, left the house, and that was the end of the relationship. I simply told him to focus on his marriage.

Or should I talk about the man from my tribe(bache) who told me I had to change my phone number and delete all my social media accounts before he would pay my bride price? I told him I couldn't do that, and that was the end of it.
A few months later, he called back claiming it had all been a test and that he was surprised I chose social media over him. I told him, "No wahala, I had already failed the test. Please find someone who can pass it." According to my late brother Luka, I had just escaped a life of bo***ge. I wasn't about to marry someone whose lack of trust would control every aspect of my life.

Or was it the last man I dated before meeting my husband? He visited me on December 24, 2017, and by February 2018, he was getting married.
I still remember when my friend Lois called and asked why I hadn't informed her about my supposed wedding.
Confused, I replied, "What wedding? How can I have a wedding without my chief bridesmaid knowing?"
That's when she told me that his mother had visited their house to inform her mother about the committee of friends for his upcoming wedding.

Then, in March of that same year, God sent me an angel in human form.
There was no stress. No pressure. No manipulation. No trust issues.
We communicated so well that whenever I called him, I usually knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. The same was true for me. I've never had a reason to doubt him, and he's never had a reason to doubt me.

People called him a stranger.
But that so-called "stranger" treated me better than some people I had known for years.
If given another chance, I would still choose this "stranger" over and over again rather than a devil I already knew.
Because trust, peace, character, and consistency will always matter more than familiarity.
Sometimes the people you've known the longest hurt you the most, while the person everyone calls a stranger becomes the greatest blessing of your life.

Have you ever discovered that someone you barely knew treated you better than people you'd known for years? Share your story below. 👇


📷 Shade Alatishe-Yakubu

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Bismarck, ND

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