DISCLAIMER: I want to say that this story is accurate in the way that I PERSONALLY perceived the situation. With that being said I want you all to know that our safety was NEVER compromised, or threatened. AIM has EVERY interest in keeping us SAFE. That is their TOP priority and the events that happened were completely OUT OF OUR CONTROL, as well as AIM’s. I also want to say that as a group of young females, we have moved around the countries we’ve been to JUST FINE. Although a male presence is nice to have, it is not something that is absolutely NEEDED in every situation to feel safe. As women of Christ we do NOT walk in fear or ignorance. We use discernment and wisdom from the Spirit to guide our every step, and we ALWAYS pick the safest route to travel. We ask LOCAL PEOPLE who know the ins and outs of their city, as well as the resources that AIM gives us. We have communication to contact them (the office, our mentors, and squad leaders) at all times and if something did happen they would get us out of a situation lickity split.
I want to start by making it clear that this blog isn’t to convince you that we did or didn’t meet an angel. What I am saying is that either way, the God the universe decided to intervene and meet us where we were at when we called out to Him. This is a story about the provision of the Lord.
Me: “Jesus I want to go on an adventure where the bottom falls out and we are completely dependent upon you.”
Jesus: “Buckle up.”
My exact words 3 days ago.
No matter what we did to try and make it work, we were stuck. We wanted to go out and leave the city, but one thing after the other fell straight through the floor and we couldn’t travel. It was a hard pill to swallow, but I really did want His will to be done. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s no less true. With that being said, it doesn’t mean it didn’t suck any less.
I went to bed that night feeling downcast about our current situation of not being able to leave the city. In my eyes I felt like it was something well within reach, so it was hard to accept that it might not happen. Little did I know that God was about to bust the flood gates wide open and shower us with blessings.
The day has come and we’re finally leaving the city. Port Dickson. Our final destination. Becky tells us she has had Port Dickson on her heart for a few days now, so we know it’s an answer to our prayers.
We took two trains, and there was only a bus ride and taxi between our new city for the next week. It was pouring rain when we got off the train, we didn’t know which direction the bus station was, we were tired and we had our huge packs with us. I can’t help but think of ‘One of these things is not like the other.’ It’s the 5 white girls and one black girl eating peanut butter out of the jar, and hot waffles from the snack stand. Hilarious visual by the way.
Once the rain let up, we found the bus stop and make the trek there. By this time it’s 7:30 pm, and we find out that the last bus had left already. Shit. I will say as a team, we handled this confusion EXTREMELY WELL. No one got frustrated with one another, and we were able to take a second and pray about what our next move would be. We prayed for the Lord to send us someone to guide us and help us figure out what to do. And boy did he show up.
A woman at the bus station walked us over to a driver and had what looked like a frank conversation about getting us to the Port. She pointed us to the correct bus, and we said out loud, “ Lord what do you want us to do?” Just like that He said “Get on the bus.” We load up and Rebecca ends up sitting next the woman who was our saving grace throughout the night.
The buses here go from stop to stop without completely stopping. It’s a rolling ‘stop’ with the doors flying open about 20 meters in front of the actual stop and sometimes before people can get off, the bus starts moving. We also didn’t know what stop that would be next. Awesome. Didn’t know getting off the bus would be an Olympic event. The woman tells us she is also going to Port Dickson, so we decide to stick with her. We look out the window and see our hotel pass by in the night lights. Jesus help us. The woman sitting next to Rebecca tells us we can go to the final bus station and get to our hotel, so we ride it out.
We get to the next bus station, and it’s barren. A couple people, no taxis to take us to the hotel, and now I had to pee really bad. Thank God the team phone was charged. We walk around the corner and see a number for a taxi. Meanwhile, the woman who sat next to Rebecca on the bus, is helping the team with our packs, and smiling the entire time. I call the cab number and nothing. The woman walks beside us and points to two cabs that pull up. Turns out she had called them for us, BEFORE we got to the station. WHAT. Who is this woman? She promises us that they will take us to our hotel and that she trusts them. I ask for the woman’s phone number and she only smiles. No seriously can we have your number? Still just a smile. We hug her and thank her for all her kindness and direction. We didn’t know if we would’ve made it to the hotel without her.
Before we drive off, Kayce speaks with the woman and finally gets a phone number to ask her to lunch tomorrow afternoon so we can thank her for all she’s done. She chooses KFC at noon and we agree to meet her there. We get there the next day and call her to try and meet up, but nothing. She picks up the phone and I reach her a couple of times but nothing really pans out. We end up eating at the KFC together and having a great time, but discussing if this woman even existed, or if she even planned on coming.
Either way, if she was real or not, the Mags are eternally grateful for the woman who saved us from sleeping at the bus station, or walking miles in the dark with our packs. Praise Jesus we had an angel lookin out for us.
Love,
Alisha
