Happy Birthday to Sarah Crockett!!!!!

Just one week after Mercy's birthday, I should like to publicly acknowledge the birthday of Sarah Crockett.

Sarah is amazing.

I had never met her before coming to France, because she is the newest addition to the McCropder team, having only officially met the McCropders a year ago. She is a teacher, and has the job of teaching the eight McCropder children in Burundi and I'm not sure where to even begin with describing Sarah!

She's one of my best ski buddies, and has spent much of her life waiting for me while I fall, pulling me out of snowbanks, and teaching me the ways of skiing (the basic philosophy being the more epic wipeouts the better). She has a magnificent sense of fun and adventure and as a result, I love every single minute spent with her. Together we make quite the pair. Grocery shopping with Kathryn and Sarah is much more than just grocery shopping, and each venture to Carrefour or Géant is inevitably unforgettable with stories ranging from broken bikes to unzipped backpacks and always including lots and lots of laughter.

She plays many important roles in my life here in France, including my chocolate supplier. If in need of chocolate, it's up the stairs and to the second door on the left that I go. And if Sarah's not home or even out of the country, it matters not, I can always find a way to the chocolate in her closet. Always.

She plays more roles in my life than a chocolate provider, though. She's my friend; she's my role model.  I have someone I know I can go to if I need anything from chocolate to hugs to advice. We watch out for each other. Just the other day, she appropriately remarked that we're kind of each other's mom's here in France, although most of the time, that really goes more of the direction of her to me than me to her.

A thing about Sarah that is pretty awesome (depending on the situation) and definitely unique: she was born without a sense of smell. I think that's pretty legit.

I love watching her interacting with the kids. Clearly one of her spiritual gifts. She will be a phenomenal teacher for the children. In her room, there are baskets upon baskets filled with kid stuff. Awesomeness. Our shared adoration of little people often translates into us acting like little people. Adults who know how to act like little people are always amazing.

She's the kind of person that you just want to spend more and more time with, the kind of person who it'd be hard to spend too much time with. She's the kind of person who is going to sleep outside on the terrace with me one of these nights. She's the kind of person who laughs with others at herself, the kind of person who will lie on gravestones to make sure she'll fit one day. She's the kind of person who knows how to make someone feel special, who knows how to show genuine interest in your life. She's the kind of person who when you spend time with her, you leave feeling just that much happier inside. She's the kind of person who you can tell has known God and has His Spirit living and active in her heart.

I am grateful for Sarah, grateful for the work God has done and is doing in her life, and grateful that it's become hard to imagine my life without someone whom I had never even heard of a year ago.

Happy birthday, Sarah.