written 10/09/2010
I promised a blog about God’s provision so far for our month of ATL.
This is it.
How blessed am I, really, at the moment –
To be sitting here at Starbucks (the ONLY one in Budapest) having glorious alone time with a pen in my hand and a notebook to write my thoughts down in?
To have been able to get here on foot (with one of my teammates)?
To be surrounded by the very places and things that helped me fall so deeply in love with history in the first place?
I might be a little bit in love with Budapest.
Just a little bit.
So, to tell the story up to this moment:
In Uganda, a few days before we left for Ireland, our squad leaders announced another change in our route.
We would still be finishing the race in Ukraine in November, but October was ATL.
One catch, though – ATL was restricted to six countries.
Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia (to be forever referred to as the “Big Six”).
From the beginning, Post Office was interested in two cities – Prague (Czech Republic) and Budapest (Hungary).
We determined we would pray, though, and go through whatever door opened and stayed open in the Big Six.
As we walked through team changes and became Unshakeable, we sent out dozens of emails to ministries in those countries.
Six of my emails went to the national office of IFES in each of the Big Six.
Within three days of sending them, a staff worker in Budapest named Zoltan responded.
His response could not have been a more clear sign of an open door – the email he sent listed many of the types of ministries Unshakeable was discussing.
College students, English clubs, etc.
A clearly open door if we were ever looking for it.
So we decided to step through.
Besides ministry opportunities, we also had to figure out housing before we got to Budapest.
Emails went flying out asking for discounted or free rooms at hostels throughout the city (free –> we would work for the hostel a few nights a week in exchange for a place to stay).
A door opened at one hostel at the heart of where we wanted to be – near many of the universities in the city.
Smack in the middle of tourist haunts.
Done.
More ministry opportunities opened up when we met with Zoltan the day after our arrival.
Homeless, street drama, churches…
Plus – when the squad leaders arrived, they had another contact who had worked with World Race teams previously.
Basically, we had everything we could have wanted, and then some, at our fingertips.
Seriously – how does that happen?!
Only GOD.
That is the story, less than a week in.
I look forward to sharing more stories about divine appointments, fantastical provision, and miraculous occurences in the next few weeks.
Oh, yeah – and to more Saturday afternoons at Starbucks (or other coffee shops) writing about the experiences.
