Imagine an orangish brown dust circling the air getting caught in your throat, people yelling and repeating words that you can’t understand, taxi’s are honking, people are whistling, bus engines are roaring, and all you can do is keep your bag close your sunglasses on and try your best to look like you know what you’re doing.
With Amanda’s pack on her back and Amie and I with snacks we loaded into a taxi to get to one of the many bus stations in Managua. When we arrived it all seemed like a blur because dust was everywhere, engines were running, people were hollering in a language I barely understand, taxis were honking, some people were grabbing at us to buy things, others were whistling and all we needed was to buy a ticket to Ocotol. Amanda got our tickets and thankfully we didn’t have to wait long for the bus. The bus drove up into its stall and we boarded what looked similar to a charter bus. About 3 hours into the trip we dropped Amanda off at Palaquguena to meet up with Jeff’s team so she could pour into and love on them as much as she did us.
After dropping Amanda off, Amie and I stayed on the bus another 45 min to reach the Ocotol bus station. When we arrived at the bus station with the very little Spanish I know I asked the bus driver when the next bus to Managua left. He looked at me with a smirk and said not until tomorrow. Now, I know I took two years of Spanish in high school and two semesters in college but to be honest it did not stick and I barely remember a thing-so I thought I miss understood him. So I said “Wait, I’m sorry, what?” He said not until tomorrow. With eyes popping out of my head and my mouth to the floor I graciously said thank you and walked off the bus. To be honest I was panicked. We were almost 4 hours from home with no way to get back. I knew I couldn’t hold on to those feelings so they shifted quickly and I went into okay we have to get back or find something to do now mode. So I came up with a few options: 1) call Amanda and stay with Jeff’s team (to be fair Amie came up with this option) 2) find a hostel and wait until morning or 3) ask someone else. I decided on the later option. Granted this station wasn’t as chaotic but it was still busy and there is only one bus left in the station that looked like it’s ready to go. So, I felt lead to talk to this guy in an orange top.
I went up to the guy and asked him (again with the VERY little Spanish I know) if there is a bus to Managua that left today. He said yes the bus that is about to leave is going to Estelli then we would have to find another bus in Estelli to get to Managua. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. I felt at peace with my instant decision that this bus was what we should do.
Amie and I got on the bus to Estelli (a place that neither of us have heard of or know where it was) with hopes we would somehow arrive in Managua. After a few hours and great conversations, we finally arrived at a terminal bus station. As I’m about to get off the bus driver wouldn’t let me off and was yelling something in Spanish at me and I kept telling him “no entiendo, no entiendo” (I don’t understand, I don’t understand). Well he wouldn’t let us off because there was another terminal we needed to get to in order to get on the bus to Managua. So staying on the bus we looked around and saw there was only one other person on the bus with us, a man that was going to Managua as well. I kindly asked him where he was going and if he would help me get to Managua because I had no idea what I was doing. He kindly helped guide us to the next terminal and helped us find the next bus.
Once on that bus I felt a little more at ease because I felt sure that bus was going to Managua. Slowly people start getting dropped off and our purple shirt friend who helped us got off too. That’s when panic started to kick in. I looked at my watch and we had been on the bus for well over 2 hours (meaning total we had been traveling well over the 3 hours it took to get up to Ocotol) and there was still no sign of Managua. I really started panicking now and wondering what I would do if we ended up somewhere random. How we were going to get home, how I could communicate to anyone because my minutes were gone, I felt really sick, I couldn’t speak the language, and was pitch black outside. That’s when I finally sought out the Lord. I said very simply, “Papa please get us home safely and back tonight.” Unexpectantly I heard him say, “Do you trust me?” “Uhh yes I trust you.” “Do you have faith in me?” “Yes I have faith in you but I am scared, I feel miserable, I can’t speak the language, it’s dark, this is all foreign to me, and I don’t see any signs of Managua.” “Do you remember why you came on the race?” “Yes to grow more in my faith and intimacy in you.” “Okay well then grow.” Within fifteen minutes I saw the Managua skyline and knew without a shadow of a doubt my heavenly father who loves me immensely more than I can imagine had me in his hands.
I thank God for last Thursday. I thank him for chaos. I thank him for craziness. I thank him for my being uncomfortable. Because without the chaos and without me being completely out of my comfort zone I wouldn’t have had to rely solely on Him and if I hadn’t relied solely on Him I wouldn’t have realized that I am learning far more valuable lessons that “street smarts in other countries” I’m learning to rely, trust, and have faith that my God is bigger, greater, more powerful than the box I sometimes put Him in. He has my life in his hands and has it all laid out, now may I be the servant and trust.
How in your life can you better trust the Lord?
With all my love- Cam
