Dublin and Beyond

Spent a week in Ireland and it was great.  Every missionary involved with the World Race trip met up in Dublin for a conference titled, ‘The Awakening’. A few hundred of us were challenged by speakers to view the world a different way, a way in which we would push aside our own opinions and pre-dispositions. Not to mention every night we would listen to one of the best bands I have ever heard in my life. John David Hesler and his wife have a musical gift that is so unreal. Here is their website, check them out http://www.aplacefortheheart.org/Home.html.  I explored Dublin and took part in their culture of drinking Guiness and having the ‘craic’ (Irish saying for a good time) in pubs.

 

This past week I got rocked, especially coming out of Haiti last month where I was challenged with living amongst the poorest people in one of the poorest nations in the world. Check out Craig’s photo album of Haiti here, http://cthompson.org/album/index.html. I sit here now in Timisoara, Romania in awe of what is going on in my life. I am seeking to find myself, while seeking to lose myself inside of God. I am traveling the world with like mined people who are pilgramages of their own each at different points of their lives physically, mentally,emotionally and spiritually. Taking in new countries and cultures is just icing on the cake. We live in very big world my friends.

~~~~Funny story about our travels to Romania from Dublin:
We flew to Budapest, Hungary from Dublin. We arrived around 9 pm and then had to catch a bus by 11 to Romania. Josh Maisner, http://joshuamaisner.theworldrace.org/, and myself made a sketchy exchange with some guy in a dark part of the train station. He told us we needed cash so he led us to an ATM away from the train station and told us we needed 120,000 Hungarian Dollars. Not really hesitating at all we took out the massive amount of cash and were led to another sketchy dark alley. I am so surprised we didn’t get stabbed and robbed. But we finally we got on the train with only seconds to spare, thankfully not stabbed or robbed.
We were supposed to switch trains in Arad, Romania, a small town just outside of Timisoara, our destination. Well, the stop came at about 3 am and everyone that needed to get off was sleeping (13 of us total). Josh tried to rally the troops and get everyone off the train so he hopped off down onto the platform. Everyone else in a sleepy stupor, lazily started to put their laptops and other stuff away when all of a sudden the doors slammed shut and the train started to roll. I look out the window and see the funniest look of horror on Josh’s face. He frantically runs after us with awkwardly and slowly with his huge backpack, flailing his arms and shouting. My jaw was dropped, but with a with a slight grin. Nonetheless I was speechless. My exact thoughts, ‘Haha wow this is hilarious….. Poor Josh”
Poor Josh indeed. He was by himself in the ‘middle of no where’ Romania at 3 am in a sketchy train station. The reactions from everyone left on the train were either laughing or frantic yelling of, ‘STOP THE TRAIN!’, aimed at no-one in particular. We asked when the next stop would be and we were told in 2 hours. More laughter and/or panicing occured.
…. And that’s the last we saw of Josh… We hope he is in a better place now….

Just kidding. We met up with him later that day. He will be posting his point of view of the story on his blog soon. Check it out.