Over the last few months we have had a
couple of REALLY funny instances where a restroom was needed and we had to get
a little creative!
The first time
was during a 6-hour bus ride to Johor Bahru, Malaysia that really ended up
being a bit more like 7 hours. We
were about 5 hrs and 45 minutes into this ride and Eryn needed to go (#1). She was trying to be calm, but at the
same time making a plan just in case she couldn’t make wait quite long enough. (Her plan included using her Nalgene
water bottle.) I went to the front of the bus for her and asked the driver how
much longer it would be until we reached our destination. After a lot of confusion because of the
language barrier, he told us that it would be another 45 minutes! I knew that there was no way that she
was going to be able to make it that long.
I went back to my seat and told Eryn
the bad news.
Part 1 of “the plan�: THEN I saw the
empty Pringles can that she had finished off during the earlier part of our
ride. It was genius! She wouldn’t have to use her Nalgene
and in turn probably never use it again for drinking purposes.
Part 2 of “the plan�: In the back of
the bus there was a curtain, which we had found out earlier was where the extra
driver would sleep on overnight bus rides. It was now empty.
As she walked hunched over (because she could not hold it any longer) towards
that curtain everyone was watching us and wondering what we could possibly be
doing.
She climbed into that curtained off
“room� and filled the Pringles can up to the very top! Success!
The second time
happened during an afternoon run in Kitale,
Kenya. (This is where my team and I are currently). Before the run we had been “in town�
and Taniuska and I had drank milkshakes from the local Coffee Shop. (mistake
#1) No more than an hour later we
(John, Taniuska, and I) were on our HOUR LONG JOG!(mistake #2) We were all fine
for the first 30 minutes. However,
only a couple of minutes after we turned around to jog back…it hit me! I, very quickly, needed to find a
restroom. This was not a situation
where I could “hold it.� John and Taniuska
began helping me look for a place where I could go. I spotted what I thought was a restroom and asked the girl
inside (who I think we frightened a little bit) if I could use it. After a
couple of tries because of the language barrier again, she said yes!
(Just as a reminder we are some of the
only foreigners around…so EVERYBODY is watching all of this happen.)
As we were back on the road and I
thought that there wasn’t anything left in my stomach, we began to jog
again. I realized that I had made
a huge mistake about there being nothing left in my stomach only a few moments
later! And once again we began the
search for a restroom! We found
one and after frantically trying to find someone with a key to open it, and a
sweet lady taking pity on me because she could see the urgency in my eyes, I
found myself in another “public restroom� in Kenya!
As I walked out of that restroom a
while later, I saw Taniuska and John surrounded by about 30 Kenyan kids. They took this opportunity, as they
waited for me, to minister, sing, and play with these kids! It was so incredible to me that even in
the most random, awkward, funny times…God still allowed us to be used by Him
with these children!
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Colossians 4:5
Here is an interview of Eryn after this
huge ordeal:
