July 10, 2026

Let me start this post by saying thank you for encouraging me to keep my word. Yesterday was a tipping point, showing that I can commit to things, even when it gets hard. I’m hoping I carry this lesson with me even after this challenge is over. With ten days down and eleven more days to go, I’ll soon start counting down to a single journey.  The moment I put that post on my WhatsApp status, saying I was too tired to post, I had several people in my DMs saying, “You can do this,” and cheering me on. I rode on that energy and finished the post. I didn’t take it for granted, and I’m going to share about it tomorrow. Today is for my friend, the angel that God specially sent to me in Germany.  When I knew that I was going to embark on this writing challenge, I already penned down Day 10 for Ines, and even without intentionally planning it, yesterday’s post became a prelude. I used to casually say that if I ever get to write a memoir or an autobiography, Ines would get a chapter, and until I do that, I will dedicate this post to her How did I meet Ines and her family? You remember yesterday’s post of God setting me in my family. Ines is part of the Alpha organizing group, and when I sent that email, she was the one who replied. For some reason, I would seek her out after every Alpha session to hug her or just say hello. This continued, and somehow a connection was formed. She invited me to her home one time, and I can still remember till today how we communicated. She understands English but was not so fluent in speaking it. Occasionally Google Translate became our lifesaver. My miracle apartment, it came through her; she was also the one who sent the email to the church about furnishing my apartment. As if God were not done, she lives just 3 minutes away from me. Her living so close to me meant that I was never going to be stranded. If I need anything, I call Ines. When they sent a letter that I didn’t understand, I just went to her house. Whenever she invites me to lunch at her place, I only need to walk 3 minutes. When I need to go somewhere and I can’t go there by bus, Ines becomes my chauffeur. When I need to go shopping because the place is far, Ines has consistently taken me grocery shopping since 2023. When I didn’t know how to spend my birthday in 2023, and I didn’t want to spend it alone. Ines drove me on a one-day trip to Zurich and back because I had randomly mentioned that I would love to go there, and it was just a one-train, 3-hour ride. When I visited her and needed something that would require me to take the bus to buy, she casualty opens her fridge and gives me to me. While I was looking for a job before I started my master’s, Ines would do her own search and send me links to apply.  Sometimes, I have to be careful in my conversations with her, because even in just our regular conversations and sharing, Ines is like an antenna, extremely tuned to pick what “Abi,” as they call me, might need. Ines became my practice partner for German classes; whatever new word I learned, be sure that I was either going to randomly say it to her or add it in our text message.  Beyond my relationship with Ines, it’s the gift of her family that I’m thankful for. Everyone in Ines’s family knows Abi, from her parents and siblings to even her in-laws 😅. I get invited to events that are strictly for family. 🥹 That’s the one that touches me the most. What’s interesting is that I know for sure that God used that Alpha course to bring me especially to Ines. Because Ines is Catholic, and even if I had eventually found my way to the Evangelical church, I might not have met her in the way I did. She was the one who replied to my email. I have experienced many God-incidences; the evidence is too clear to deny that God organized and delivered them. My dearest Ines. Thank you! Thank you for the many things I’ve shared here and for the countless ones that I can’t even talk about publicly. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Ines. Ich liebe dich. 🥰 My scripture for today is dedicated to Ines:  1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I’ll send the German translation to her personally  If you read today’s post, please kindly say a prayer for Ines. And to this community that God has blessed me with. Bis morgen. 🥰