June 8th, 2010
Austin and I have been extremely spoiled for the past two years. And I don't think either of us realized the full extend of it until this past Sunday. Our church family at Zion Lutheran in Waterloo has blessed us so incredibly! They welcomed us into their church, their community, their lives and their hearts with such open arms. They became a vital part of our lives here in the Cedar Valley.
And this past Sunday, they showed us even more how much we're loved by them. Austin and I sang a duet in church this past Sunday. We sang "The Twenty-third Psalm". I picked this song for us because the Sunday after we made the decision to move to Western Iowa, the Psalm of the Day was this exact Psalm. I felt in my heart that it was God reassuring us that we had made the right decision and that He was going to be there next to us the entire way.
After we got done singing, Pastor Gary stopped us from walking back to our seats and reminded the congregation that Austin had accepted a teaching position in Oakland and that we would be leaving Zion. He thanked us for our time, our talents and our presence in Zion music and the community itself. Then he presented Austin with a new baton, in its own beautiful case with the engraving "Austin Zaruba, with love, Zion Lutheran". Austin was shocked - I would maybe even say speechless but he recovered quickly from that enough and asked to say a few words. To which Pastor Gary responded, "sure" and started timing on his watch. :) And AJ even kept it fairly short. He thanked the congregation for all they've done for us and how openly they welcomed us into their lives. We have been forever touched by the people at Zion.
After we got done singing, Pastor Gary stopped us from walking back to our seats and reminded the congregation that Austin had accepted a teaching position in Oakland and that we would be leaving Zion. He thanked us for our time, our talents and our presence in Zion music and the community itself. Then he presented Austin with a new baton, in its own beautiful case with the engraving "Austin Zaruba, with love, Zion Lutheran". Austin was shocked - I would maybe even say speechless but he recovered quickly from that enough and asked to say a few words. To which Pastor Gary responded, "sure" and started timing on his watch. :) And AJ even kept it fairly short. He thanked the congregation for all they've done for us and how openly they welcomed us into their lives. We have been forever touched by the people at Zion.
After the service, they had a reception for us! One of the ladies in the bell choir baked all this AMAZING cake! They even had punch, mixed nuts and mints! It was a full-blown reception! :) They had balloons which they made sure were Riverside's school colors as well! And throughout the entire time, everyone kept coming up to the both of us thanking us for being apart of the church and wishing us the best of luck and God's blessing in our next adventure in life. Some people even gave us cards and gifts. It was unbelievable and so sweet.
Even though we were only there a relatively short time and didn't even get to know everyone that well, each one of those people made an impact on our lives and made a difference to us - especially by their prayers. We will be forever grateful for all they've done. And it will be extremely sad to leave. But I hope that they all know how much they mean to us. Because they do. And we wish them all the best and God's greatest blessings.Below are some pictures of us with the Zion choirs for our last Sunday performance.
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