The Engagement.

There is something so beautiful about writing out the story of some of the most precious moments that happen in your life. As life goes on and memory fades, words stand still. I want to be able to read this again over the next decades of my life and remember this.

September 20th.

After waking up really late, I dragged myself out of bed to head downstairs to go to church. I wasn’t feeling very motivated to see so many people, yet. But I am so glad I went. So many people were there and were so sweet in welcoming me back. After church, Micha and I went out with our friends, Raphael, Christine, Jones und Francine und Milan. We went to this new restaurant in Bühl that serves vegan food. We all had burgers and ice cream. We had so much fun, even though we were causing a bit of a ruckus. After lunch, Micha and I went to a nearby salt water pool that is used to relax and has jets to massage your back and different muscles. We were there for a couple of hours just relaxing and enjoying our final moments of vacation together. We then headed back to the house for a delightful house meeting/dinner. After that we both wanted to go out for a bit and took a little drive in a convertible lent to us by a friend. We drove through small towns and through the black forest. It was beautiful to see the stars and be the only car on the road. It was so peaceful and fun. We stopped at a viewpoint where we could see city lights of difference villages all over the land. Then Micha said he wished he had wine and was like… “Let’s drive home and get some wine and drive somewhere else.” I was like…. “It’s almost midnight but okay.” So we drive all the way back home and he runs into the house to pick up wine and some other things.

September 21st. 12 am.

He finally gets back to the car and we head off again. We end up at this spot among vineyards and we trek up this steep hill to get to the top that has a really cool view. There was a little hut and Micha had brought blankets and rugs for us to sit on. He pulls out some good red wine and a couple of glasses and says, “Happy one year.” We sip on some wine and enjoy the view before he stands up and says he wants to go look at something. He goes back down the hill a bit and he eventually comes back with something in his hand. He sits down and hands me some grapes that he tore off from the vines. He hands me the bunch and in it was a ring. I pick it up and start to cry. He got down on one knee and asked me, “Do you want to be my wife?” I started crying uncontrollably and couldn’t get any words out. I could only nod my head and hug him. The ring is so beautiful. It had this silver band that has little bumps, making it look uneven and like a branch. Near the diamond, there is a small branch that extends out, that looks like a leaf. The part of the ring that holds the diamond is made with a soft gold and the diamond is so beautiful. He told me that he picked this ring because Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches and we abide in Him (John 15). That is why he put the ring in the grapes because they are the fruit from the vine. The spot he took me to was also a spot where he would go with a friend to talk about life and their dream girl.

For those of you who don’t know me very well, I am not much of a crier. I will cry when I am devastated or when Jesus is speaking deeply to me or when a dog dies in a movie. But other than that, I don’t cry very often. I have never cried out of pure joy and happiness before. This was the first time and neither of us thought I would cry, but I did. There was something so spiritual that happened there. I was experiencing a new love for Micha. Not a newlywed infatuation type of thing, but a deep, deep love. A love that I didn’t think I could possess for someone. I instantly felt connected to him like never before and it was almost as if Jesus had married us then and there. I think my favorite part about it all was that it all felt so spontaneous, only to find out it wasn’t. (Well, kind of because he originally planned on doing it over breakfast.) But we weren’t dressed up fancy or anything. I was basically in pajamas and didn’t have any make up on.

Micha, I am so excited to experience life with you in all seasons. In the good, the bad and the weird. I love you and thank you for being so wonderful to me through all of my craziness, the ups and downs, and the distance. I couldn’t ask for anyone better to share my life with and you are my number one team mate. I am excited to see what our wedding day will be like and the love that will pour out from there from us and from God! Bring your tissues!

Until then,

xoxo Sara

Ooops. Update.

Well friends, I am still alive and well. I could do the whole “Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while, I’ve been really busy” speech, but I don’t want to. I just haven’t gotten around to it, okay?!

What have I been doing: Well, the last time we spoke, I told you that I was having troubles with my visa. That is currently still an issue. We haven’t had time in the past few weeks to return to the foreigners office to turn in some different papers as a new option, but we are hoping to do that this week.

Also, I took a week of “vacation” where I went back home in Südlohn to visit my friends and families there. It was a wonderful time to see a decent handful of people again, but that also made it a little bit tiring and a little stressful. But it was definitely worth it. It was so weird to be back because it felt like a dream but also a bit of a nightmare? It was weird to be back to the place that radically changed me life for the better and worse, as a different person, and after two years since my last visit. Things had changed. There were new buildings, new houses, things were taken down, friends had new people in their lives, people changed. It’s funny, when I returned home from my exchange, I expected everyone to have changed just as I had. When I came home, I found everyone was the same and nothing had changed. When I returned to Südlohn, I was expecting everything to be the same, but a lot changed. It scared me a little. I felt weird and a little out of place. It was no longer the place I had in my memories. The place in my memories will remain only there… All my friends are growing up and moving on in their life, just like I am. So I shouldn’t have been disappointed, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. Nevertheless, it was nice to see the people I did get to see.

After coming back home, I got a boyfriend. I don’t want to use this post as the spot where I tell you all the story of how it all came to be, but maybe in another post if you can handle the cuteness and me bragging about him. Let me know. But basically, he is the reason I haven’t written in a while. We have been spending a lot of time together, and the past two weeks he worked in the mornings so we spent the afternoons/evenings together after I got off work. So… there’s your reason. (Yes, I am writing this blog post because he is working evenings this week. So what.)

This past weekend, the youth staff of our church took about 15 kids from ages 12-16 on a retreat in a cute, little village in the Black Forest. We learned about friendship: what a good friend is, Jesus is our friend, and it is important to have friendships. It was surprisingly not at all stressful or overwhelming as most retreats with youth that age are. They were a great group and we had a lot of fun. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know them better and them me. We played mini golf, soccer, some fun group games, capture the flag, and we worshipped Jesus together. Not a lot of time to sleep, but it was worth it.

Now, we here are starting, slowly but surely, to enter into the busy season known as October retreats and November conferences and December’s Christmas.

How I am doing: I feel… good. I really feel at home here and haven’t had much thought of homesickness. I think the fact that I know the language and culture already, and already know some people here has really made a difference. I don’t feel like a new kid anymore, and I have been more accepted into the church body and it is just cool. My English has decreased significantly, which is a good thing, but definitely annoying when people ask me what things mean or when I try to skype with someone; I always want to answer in German and even typing this, I think grammatically in German and can’t remember how to phrase things in English. On the flip side, my German is slowly but surely improving. That’s what matters, right?

How can you pray for me: Pray against homesickness. Along with the upcoming busy and Christmas season, comes stress and wanting old comforts which lie at home. Pray for strength for me through the season, as well. Pray for a growing relationship between my boyfriend, Micha, and myself. That we can be strengthened as a team and grow into the likeness of Christ together, pushing each other towards the goal that is Christ. Pray continually for my visa. Pray for a continued hunger and thirst for quiet time with Jesus. It has gotten a little too easy and comfortable now to not want to wake up a little earlier to chat with Jesus.

I love you all, and I want to apologize for my slow repsonses to texts, messages, or just not messaging any of you ever because I am the worst at that. I read everything, I promise, I just need to set aside time where I focus on you guys. Don’t be afraid to send me an email telling me how your life is going. This is my personal “How are you” message, to which all of you can reply to. I want to know things, too.

Also, let me know of any questions you have that you would like me to answer here. I have a few posts I am working on that I am hoping to get up within these next two weeks. Maybe one of them can be a Q&A. But you need to give me questions so I can answer them.

Until next time,

Sara ❤