What comes to mind when you pray for traveling mercies? Do you ask the Lord to allow everything to go smoothly, or focus on safety, or that it all goes according to plan? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot this month as Noe and I have traveled to four different locations within India to visit teams. I learned on my last race to drop all expectations, trust God, and go with the flow. Noe says that I laugh a lot and keep him calm during these potentially stressful times, but I think that I have just learned that there’s nothing to worry about when God’s on our side.
The truth is, the Lord wants to provide and watch out for us, we just get in the way. For instance, when Noe and I traveled from Ongole to Vijayawada, we experienced just how much God can intervene when you let Him. We left Ongole around 11:00pm on a train, and realized a little too late that we got on the wrong car. So we walked through what felt like an endless line of cars with our huge packs and noisy American presence, until we got to the right car. Well we couldn’t exactly get into our car just yet because it was a higher class area and they locked the door. So with some help from locals, we jumped off at the next stop, ran with all our stuff, and jumped back on into the right car! whoo!
So Noe and I sit for a few hours, then we’re told that our stop is coming up. Wait, I forgot to mention that our ride to pick us up from the train station and take us to the team’s location in a nearby village couldn’t get us anymore. So we left Ongole kind of without a plan. BUT no worries, because God provided!
Like I was saying, we get ready for our stop and we meet a guy who is also waiting by the door. True to World Race fashion, we strike up a conversation and start asking questions. Well this guy was a for real angel from God! He told us everything we needed to know, from where we could get a cheap but safe hotel, to how much an auto ride should cost, to when the local buses run. Thank you, Jesus!
Turns out that we couldn’t get a bus in the middle of the night so we rested in the city. Again, although our plans for reaching the teams that night didn’t work out, I think God knew we needed a break and we gladly accepted the change in plans. So God sent us a very nice auto driver who took us to three different hotels and made sure we found one that was good enough. By 3:00am we were sound asleep, finally!
The next evening we headed back out to the bus station where we seemed to cause quite a stir because we were Americans. Once we found the right platform number, Noe left to go to the bathroom and check on the bus. I didn’t mind waiting alone, but again God took care of me and sent a swarm of Indian women and girls around me just so I would feel safe. I loved talking with them, and they told me that most of them were christians too.
After an hour or so, we left on the bus and of course Noe picked two seats that faced backwards which meant we were facing everyone else! By the end of the 1 1/2 hour bus ride we had made friends with almost everyone, shared why we were in India, and been given some food from an old woman.
When we finally arrived at our destination, the teams and over 100 kids at the orphanage were waiting for us with open arms and beautiful flower necklaces. Although at times it felt like we would never make it, looking back I can see God in all of it. He provided for us every step of the way, and never once did I worry or fear anything. Sure nothing went according to our original plan, but nothing really went wrong either. God provided people to help us and places to go for rest, and we just made sure to get out of the way of His plan for us. I think it’s when we hold too tightly to things or plans, that we miss God in action. And let me tell you, it’s way more exciting to do it God’s way!
