At this very moment I am sitting on a
crowded bus en route to Sofia, Bulgaria. We are two hours outside of Budapest
and have more than 10 more hours to go.
It’s hot and there’s no air or even a cracked window and the bus driver
is on his third cigarette! I am
uncomfortable in my dirty, puce colored cloth seat and a little anxious about
the bus driver staying awake and on the road. I am also anxious about my
bladder exploding before we get to a restroom so I refrain from drinking water. I am sure by the end of this trip I will look
back and consider these accommodations luxurious, but for now I am ready to
just be there. What would I do without Higgs? She is sitting next to
me and we are playing “would you rather” to pass the time until we will force
ourselves to attempt sleeping sitting up. So far I have chosen chocolate over
vanilla, raising one monkey over twelve children, and hooves over webbed feet.
Anyway.
Leaving Budapest was hard. We had been
there two weeks and had definitely grown attached to the family we were staying
with. We (all 7 of us) crashed on the
floor of their living room where we virtually took over with all of our stuff.
Wow they were gracious. They had two
young boys who were a consistent source of entertainment and joy and a good
reminder of how to be in awe. The older son is four years old and wants to be
just like dad. He loved his attention and time and I saw him on more than one
occasion, following his father around so closely that he could have been his
shadow. I want to follow my heavenly father around like that. I want
to shadow Jesus so closely that the world may get us confused.
And that is what this trip is about to me,
following in my Father’s footsteps and seeing the world through His eyes! Kinda
like an extra-adventurous version of a ” Go to work with dad day”, only it’s for
a year. He’s showing me his office (the whole world), and introducing me to his
co-workers ( the awesome church body and missionaries we meet in each country)
and teaching me about what it takes to be a healer, a counselor, social-worker,
life coach, truth-speaker and servant to anyone and everyone I encounter. What an honor. Although I must say, it is a REAL challenge to
take His posture in all situations and I am coming face to face with my humanness
daily. Especially now: in this bus ride 🙂
Update: The very unfriendly bus driver just yelled
at Higgs and I for having our feet up on the seat, the dangerous looking men
behind us keep eating curry and salame and there are three different sources of
LOUD music competing for attention right now. One is horrible 90’s rock, then Bulgarian
polka, and what sounds like Egyptian house music. Not a good mix 🙂 At least this makes it pretty impossible for the bus driver to fall asleep! Doubt we’ll get much either. Oh well! I let go of “comfortable” a long time ago!
Lord, thank you for this incredible
opportunity to get to know you more. Please get us safely to Bulgaria…
