Wallabies and Engagement rings
Friday, November 3rd, 2006 by Nick Verwymeren
For those of you who I haven’t contacted yet, last week Sara and I got engaged. How you might ask? Well read on.
It started tuesday of last week. Sara received a note from me simply asking her on a date that evening. It didn’t say where, but she figured it out quickly. We headed down to ‘The Strand’ (the local beach here) and went to Cold Rock for ice cream. I wanted it to be a week-long event, so I decided to take her on a date every night. Wednesday, we went sailing though I was unaware she got seasick on boats if she didn’t eat. She survived, though. Thursday, I made Sara her favourite dinner(glazed salmon, rice, bok choy and shrimp). Then on Friday, I invited her to my flat for breakfast. After breakfast, I asked her if she would like her last note. Her eyes lit up and she nodded. After reading it (which told her to get ready for the day at the beach), she looked at me, puzzled.
“What day is this for?” she asked.
“Today.”
“No, I have to work today,” she exclaimed.
“No, you don’t. Get ready. We’re leaving soon.”
Minutes later, we headed off to Broadwater, which is a state forest where Sara and I went camping on our DTS. It holds great significance for us both because this was the place we both realized our feelings for each other. After we arrived, we strolled through the rainforest, observed termite damage, tried not to scare the wallabies and looked for turtles. Hungry, we decided to eat before we went swimming. I set out a tablecloth (ok, it was a bed sheet but it was nice), wine, cheese and crackers, one of her favorite lunches. We finished lunch and I kind of awkwardly stalled and told her I needed to go to the car to get my camera.
“But we have my camera here,” she said, not even looking up from her food.
“I know,” I replied sheepishly, “But I want to use mine.” If this didn’t work, I had to think quickly of another excuse to go to the car. Luckily, she didn’t push it and let me go freely.
I nervously shoved the ring in my pocket, picked up the camera and turned back to the table. On her face, I could tell she knew something was up. I sat back down and tried to make light conversation, but it was futile. I was on a mission. I was going to ask the love of my life to marry me. So I walked over to her grabbed her hand and spoke very clearly.
“Nick, what are you doing….?”she started.
I took a deep breath.
“Sara,I’ve loved you for a long time…”I said.
“NICK! Stop it! What are you doing?” Ignoring her, I bent on one knee and pulled her grandmother’s ring out of my pocket.
“Sara will you marry me?” I finally asked.
I got no answer because she was freaking out. She couldn’t believe what was happening, she thought it wasn’t real. I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment. After she stopped asking if I was joking, she calmed down and looked at me.
“Wait, what did you say?”
“Will you marry me?” I asked, for the second time.
“Did I say yes?” she asked, bewildered.
“No”
“Really? Will you ask me again” she yelled.
“Will you marry me?” Third time.
“YES!” She giggled and grabbed the box from me and stared at the ring.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and we both sat there and soaked in the moment.
It was such an amazing day and everything really was perfect. We prayed for eachother after and both realised how much God really has blessed our relationship. We’ve also been really grateful for all the good friends we’ve had help us along the way. Luke and Ang Haythorpe have encouraged us so much and opened up their home to us. Brian and Carmell Field always had such good advice for us and have been such a great example of a newly married couple. Sara and I love all you guys and can’t thank you enough for your help.
I’ve posted engagement photos on my flickr page if you would like to take a look
As for details about the wedding, we’re still working stuff out and I’ll keep you all posted!
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About Us
Sara and I (Nick) have been married since June 2007. We volunteer with an organization called YWAM (Youth With A Mission). YWAM has close to 1000 bases around the world. One of those bases is Reef to Outback in Townsville, Australia which is where we are located. Nick currently works in the communications department and Sara works with the music ministry. We believe that we will be in Australia for a few more years to continue volunteering. Neither of us receive a salary from RTO (Reef to Outback) or YWAM for what we do. We must raise all of our own support through church, friends, family, and anyone else who is genuinely interested in helping us (if you’d like to help us please visit our ‘Donate‘ section).
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