Story Time, Part 2

*This post is a continuation of my Dear John story.  Click Here to read the first part.*

It was in these next moments when I first met Matthias. Little did I know then...but our meeting would change everything I ever thought I knew about relationships and love.
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Matthias approached our circle with his blonde spiked hair and bright blue eyes - the German trademark. "What group are you in?" he asked in his attractive German accent. Each of the three of us answered in turn. Out of the three of us, 2 were in the K group, and 1 was in the H group. Upon hearing my response ("not the H one"), Matthias responded with a triumphant gesture, exclaiming, "YES!"

I laughed.

Initially, my thoughts were going crazy. This guy, this attractive, international German blonde-headed guy is excited that we happen to be working at the same location for the next 8 days. I didn't come to Germany for this purpose. Don't get me wrong. I was definitely that boy-crazy girl in high school. I can chronically list out the path of boys that I made my way through. However, I will refrain from this particular action. Back to the issue at hand: how realistic is it to be 16, travel to Europe and purposefully become infatuated with a guy who is 3 years older than you? Yeah, it's not. So it wasn't on my list of priorities.

The Kreuzberg Group (Americans and Germans) in front of the church.  This picture was taken the afternoon I had played futbol in the recreational park.

This is the 'H' church.  I am there on the right with my bright yellow backpack.  Oh, high school.

Over the next week, Matthias and I spent most of our time together through ministry. During the first few days, the Kreuzberg (formerly mentioned as the 'K' group) team tried to reach out to the surrounding Turkish immigrants in varying ways. Just down the street from the church building was Viktoria Park. It was in this park that we were able to master our balloon animal skills for the children and engage in conversations with adults. A little further away in the opposite direction, and around the corner, was a recreational park where young people would practice futbol and older adults would walk their dogs.

One afternoon, in order to reach a younger group of students, a group of German guys (Matthias included) and myself ventured off to the recreational area to play futbol. No other people joined our game - but I was able to prove myself very versatile to a discerning group of guys. It was these kinds of interactions that allowed me to spend time with my new interest.

Another view of our K group. I'm the second from the left on the first row.  See our amazing balloon animal skills?  Those mandatory meetings really helped us to prepare for mastering this essential skill.  Basically all of the people without balloon hats are Germans.  They just couldn't embrace the balloons like the Americans did.

When we ventured out into the neighborhoods to speak to locals, he would come as the translator for my group. In just a short period of time, I knew that something was different about our frienship. Our interactions were different than the ones I had with the other students. It was noticable to other people in the American group as well. I would be asked about the friendship, non-chalantly answer, "I don't know," or "I don't think anything's going on" and continue on with life. In my head, I knew better. But you can't just talk about something you aren't sure about. Especially in a youth group on an international mission trip. It just sets you up for disaster. You see, I wasn't the only girl on the trip who had developing interest in our new friends. That's not my story to tell, but let's just say that patience and endurance have worked out well for them. I'm impatient. And hasty. And I like to have immediate results. As you will see later in the story, these attributes come out time and time again. Sigh.

Practicing my balloon animal skills.  This picture reminds me of how young I once looked.  Sigh.

Within 5 days of meeting, I started to have dreams about Matthias. It's hard to recall the details. However, on one night when we were supposed to be resting more and sleeping in the next morning, I was awoken by such a vivid dream of the two of us that I failed to sleep from about 3 am until we finally got up the next morning (probably close to 9 am). Needless to say, I was always eager to see him. When we would go to church in the mornings, the first thing I would do is look for him. When the German students would meet us at the hostel, it was my top priority to be the first one to greet him.

On the first and last Sunday in the city, Matthias had to travel back to the town where his parents currently lived, a village about an hour away on the autobahn. His parents had moved out of Berlin and into this small town a few years before. When they had lived in the city, they had gone to the Kreuzberg church. Periodically, they came back to the city to visit. Anyway, Matthias was missing on this Sunday afternoon. After he had left for his parent's house, I began to feel sick. Later that afternoon, I had a fever. I was physically sick because the thought of Matthias not being present upset me. He had to be gone the night of our big "party" that we had been planning all week. We were only a few days away from leaving, and this was one of our last big ministry outreaches to the community.

Sunday afternoon after church.  Here, I'm on the far left, next to Lance, one of the American guys.  The guy in the suit in the middle is the pastor of the church. The other people are local members.  This picture was taken the afternoon I got sick.

As a result of Matthias taking time to visit his parents, I felt like everyone involved in planning and readying the event that evening were watching me a little too closely. It seemed they were trying to determine if I would survive without him there. A couple of the guys from my American team even possessed the boldness to ask me about our relationship - straight up asking about the possibility of dating, long-distance relationships, etc. I was so taken aback by his forwardness that I probably snapped at him about the whole deal. Even the question of needing 'protection' was even raised. Protection from what?! I didn't need protecting...I was clearly just developing a friendship.

I was so naive. Matthias returned the next day...and I recovered from my "sickness."


to be continued...