Here is a glimpse of traveling Word Race style….and overcoming math equations. So what are the variables? We are traveling with 47 people and everyone has a large pack and a day bag. What we get to for a 2 hour bus ride to get us to the Malawi/Zambia border is 3 15-passenger vans. To start off with we are technically already 2 seats short….not including luggage. The ultra tight packing begins as we stack packs in the back of the vans. Once that damage was done it took out 5 complete benches. Once you subtract that from the 45 seats we started with leaves us at about 25-30 seats for the 47 people. The human tetris game begins. Squeezing, stacking, creating seats, and sitting in laps we some how got everyone to fit in the vans. It was a work of art and still puzzles me how it all happened. Below you should see some of the pictures from this cram session.
Once we arrived at the border it took approximately 2 hours to process all the passports and get the visas. While waiting the famous afternoon thunderstorm blasted through sending us looking for shelter wherever could be found. Then we had to get into 3 different vans to get bused into our hostel in Zambia. Long story short….2 teams (15 people) got left at the border to hangout for another 3-4 hours while they waited for a bus to come back and pick them up again. Yes the second round of buses were smaller and it is harder to pack a tight van during a downpour. I however avoided being stranded at the border all afternoon.
The good news is everyone made it! 3 teams are at their ministry sites and the rest of us have bus tickets to arrive at their tomorrow. Travel days have been long fun tedious process. Looking forward to getting there and starting the Unsung Hero process!
Be Bold, Be Intentional
Written 11/12/14 at 9:45pm in Zambia at Mama’s Rula hostel!
