Mis amigos,
As we arrived at the Colombian / Ecuadorian border, another line was there to greet us. Lines seem to be a common theme in South America. Those who prayed for patience definitely had their prayers answered.
This line was different though. The line was full of Venezuelans leaving their county due to hyperinflation, severe debt and chronic food and medicine shortages. They were crossing the Colombian / Ecuadorian border carrying a suitcase with their belonging in hopes to start a new life in a neighboring country, mainly Peru. The small Colombian and Ecuadorian border facilities were not able to handle such an influx of people.
After a six hour wait, we got our passports stamped and hopped into vans that took us to the Tulcan bus station.
The lines were tiring and not ideal, but it was a small inconvenience for us in comparison of what the people of Venezuela were going through. They waited the same amount time as us, but they were traveling to start a new life with less belongings than what we had for a year. It showed me I have a lot to be thankful for. Please be praying for the Venezuelans and their country.
Our friends from the north were also at the Tulcan bus station and the station looked like a mall on Black Friday. The line for the bus to Quito ran outside of the terminal, along the sidewalk and out to the street. We hopped into line and started the slow process of moving up in line to purchase tickets.
Let me introduce you to Rodolfo Santos. He is from El Salvador, a member of team Los Habaneros, and in running to be the world’s most interesting man. He is also a huge blessing to have on travel days.
His knowledge of Spanish is an incredible resource. Rodolfo with his Spanish has the bus tickets bought by the time I try to explain what I’m trying to say with my Spanish. He was a crucial part of our travel days and I appreciate his help greatly.
As I stood in the line for bus tickets, Rodolfo came up to me saying that he heard that the 5:30 pm bus was being sold out and it was around 3:00 pm. He also told me that they only sold tickets for buses until 9:00 pm. At this point only half of our team was here because we split up at the border, so that one group could go ahead and get tickets. The other half of the team would arrive 20 minutes later and take their place even further back in line. Thoughts of the team potentially having to split up began to fill my mind.
Rodolfo then went over to the taxis to inquire about the prices from Tulcan to Quito. He came back and said it would cost around $100 a taxi, so that was out of the question. At this point I thought to myself, “will we be leaving this bus station tonight?” The team and I prayed that if it be His will that a bus would open up and we could all make it to Quito that day.
I stepped out of line with Vanessa to pull out money at the ATM. We discussed potential plans if we couldn’t get a bus that day. As we walked back and got in line, the team had moved a substantial distance forward.
Rodolfo had worked some of his magic and the 10 members in line could now buy two tickets per person instead of just one. So, if there were buses left, we’d all be going together. That was a huge answer to prayer.
As we continued to inch up we finally got into the terminal. We had less than 50 meters until we the ticket booth. Then all of a sudden, the gentleman Rodolfo had been talking to about purchasing tickets came running up to us and said, “I’ve got spots on a 3:50 pm bus, how people do you have?” We responded that we had 20 individuals and he motioned for us to follow him. He took us to the front of the line and we paid for our tickets and with tickets in hand we went to tell the squad the good news.
As we ran out of the terminal, Rodolfo and I looked each other and laughed, we had no idea where the bus came from and weren’t going to stick around to find out how, but our prayers had been answered.
By 4:30 pm we were on our way to Quito. We arrived in Quito and had to make the projected hour ride from the north terminal to our hostel. It was time to round up some taxis and Rodolfo once again stepped in to help me find taxis and negotiate the price.
In about 30 minutes and after running too many red lights to count we arrived at the hostel. It was about 11 pm and the hostel would not let us in because we missed the check in time due to our extended stay at the border. We only planned to stay at the hostel for the night and resume our travel to Banos the next morning. With the hostel being closed we decided to make our way to the south bus terminal.
Thankfully our taxi friends were still with us and they took us to the south bus terminal. Once again, I did not have to worry about calling a fleet of taxis the following morning to pick us up. A huge blessing… We arrived at the terminal and bought tickets for a 2:15 am bus to Banos.
After four hours of one of the most uncomfortable bus rides I’ve been on we arrived at Banos. We walked 15 minutes to Santa Cruz Hostel, and they let us in at the early hour of the morning. My head was on my pillow before 7:00 am and after 24 hours of travel we had made it to our destination.
Looking back on the travel days, I saw God show up in so many ways. We shouldn’t have gotten on the 3:50 bus at Tulcan, but we did. We didn’t plan on making the trek in 24 hours, but we did. We didn’t plan to have a day in Banos that we could use to explore and catch up with each other because we were ahead of schedule, but we did. God orchestrated a better travel day than I ever could have.
It reminded me that so many times in my life I put God in a box because I do all the planning. I try to plan my life because I feel comfortable doing so. However, this year I am learning to take up my cross and follow Him and allow Him to lead.
“You see the problem with my plans is they usually work. And if they don’t seem to be working, I force them to work and I get the small results I aimed for.”
“God gave the wise men a direction, not a bunch of instructions; it wasn’t a business trip, it was an adventure, then and now.”
– Bob Goff
Huge thanks to Fusion 2018 for their patience, flexibility and positive attitude throughout the 24-hour travel day. You guys rock.
Thanks to your faithful support I’m fully funded, but there are still other team members who aren’t. If you feel led to give here’s the link to Rodolfo’s blog: rodolfosantosramirez.theworldrace.org/ , I would highly encourage you to give to him. Thank you again for your support and prayers!
Brief side note, our travel day was on the Super Bowl and when we arrived to Quito, I heard the great news. How about them Eagles…
In Christ,
Jesse Martinez
