So here's the story....

Wisconsin and the sweet couple that brought us together.


Engagement picture.



Wedding rehearsal.

Wedding picture with the clown club, I mean, wedding party.


Oooo la la.



As soon as I'm finished, I'm gonna tag Janelle, Veronica, and Lisa. :) You may not be able to read Janelle's, she has to invite you, not 'cause she's stuck up, 'cause she's a foster parent. :) Ladies, you're 'required' to show an engagement, wedding and recent picture. Oh... and tell your story of how you met.

It's about time I post it because everyone asks how an Indian and an American got together, and how Germany fits into the whole picture.

Let me start by saying that we did not meet on the internet, though, I just heard a cool story tonight about a couple who did. It works for some. John had been living in Germany 4 years working for an IT company and I was in the States. We actually met through mutual friends.

Brad and Teresa Anderson is the lovely couple who brought us together. They had returned from active duty in Germany for Brad to pursue a Chaplain career. They ended up going to my po-dunk Christian school in WI, AND attending the church I was a part of. He even started working with the youth.

Anywho....I invited them over for a meal and we started talking about the biggest lover of food in their "acquaintanceship", John Varghese from Germany. Let me back up and say I was a proponent of celibacy and thought that that was what the Lord was calling me to, until I got really lonely. I prayed that the Lord would take away this pain, or fill it.... John, on the other hand, had just surrendered to the idea of an arranged marriage if that was what the Lord wanted.

Back to the story. So, they were talking about this guy and I was thinking, "huh?" while they were already jumping ahead to the possibilities. I was 28 and he was 35, so it's not like we were not ready for a real relationship or commitment, so they wrote him...

He says "no thanks" 3 times! or something like that. "No long distance", "No Americans". Finally they called him and convinced him that he had nothing to lose. He thought about it and he wrote. The rest is history.

We wrote e-mail for awhile before we exchanged pictures, then he called me and we talked for almost 2 hours every afternoon. I really liked being able to be exactly who I was, I really had nothing to lose. We met in person in San Francisco. He met my family in California and school friends in WI. Came out again two months later and we got engaged. Hey, when you know, you know.

Married March 18 '06.

What are we doing in Germany? John still works for SAP, but we are planning on taking a break for him to audit seminary classes next fall, Lord willing. We are about to have our first baby, hopefully in the near future. Also, Lord willing. ;)

Are we going to live here forever? We don't feel the Lord is moving us on.
Do we speak German? I do not, but I'm suppose to take classes. John, however, is close to fluent.

Sara, do you like Germany?
I have more and more good days, as opposed to the beginning when I couldn't get over not having a Taco Bell close by. Germans can still annoy me in the "check out" line, but all is well. We have a lot of American friends and things have gotten easier since we have found English fellowship.



Recent photo, though John doesn't have his 'hamster' (goatee) anymore.

Comments

Amanda Irene said…
I wasn't gonna ask if you met on the internet. :) Girl thats a head full of hair you got! Celibacy HAhah no really my granmother almost was a nun. What is with these guys who need to be pushed into the water?? Ahh San Francisco. What a great place to meet. What is IT and SAP? How did he come to know the lord?
The kids call the beard "pickeys" when andrew (and I) get a kiss we scream Pickeys!!! Do you like beard or no beard?
Its amazing that you don't speak german but get along well. I love your dress.

Janelle can I get an invite?? PLease please please..:) My mom and dad were foster parents and you have really pretty eyes and I swear I won't comment that much... Okay so I lied alittle. :)
sure amanda, and whoever else, i would LOVE to invite you to my blog, but you will have to send me an email at jovialgiant@hotmail.com so i can invite you. - and i never get enough comments, so they are always welcomed! :)

sara, that is a beautiful story. i loved all the pictures, especially your engagement photo. you two are a beautiful couple, and i can't wait to see how the baby turns out.

i will do my best to write up my story and post pictures of me and my "big-daddy-yum-yum" soon!

adios!
Amanda-

I like his goatee. I miss my hamster. He now calls his chin 'twin chin' (a.k.a double chin).
He is the second generation Christian on his mom's side and the 4th or something on his dad's side. He comes from a Brethren background. The Lord has done a lot in his life and mine. We have a similar past with drugs and what-not. We both returned to the Lord same year, same time of year, back in '95.

Yes, sometimes he does need a kick in the pants, but sometimes I'm pretty thoughtless and overly spontaneous.
oh....SAP deals with software for large companies. They don't make computers or anything, they just do the operating systems for some of the biggest companies. They are trying to open up into the market for small companies. Here in John's area of Germany there are approx. 8,000 SAP workers.
Amanda Irene said…
I know nothing about being overly spontaneous. Do you smell fire? It's my pants. :0
sara, i finally got around to posting my story.... sorry it took me so long. i'm not a very good writer.

janelle


love you sara!
Amanda Irene said…
You made me laugh out loud with this "crazy" music. Hahahhehehe!! Keep up the good picks! Hows the baby? Are you enjoying the circ, comments on my blog?