Travel Days. Not always the easiest. Sometimes you forget to print bus tickets until 11PM the night before. Sometimes you have to constantly juggle staying calm so everyone else stays calm while also panicking on the inside because you have no idea what is happening. Sometimes you think wearing a dress is a really great idea and have to learn how to put a pack on your back without flashing half of Europe. Sometimes life feels really stressful and overwhelming, and then you get on a train in Montenegro. After having a nice old man help you dump your heavy pack on your bed, you take a deep breath and turn around to see this view outside of your train window.
It’s one of those moments you absolutely cannot believe your life. It felt like we had been transported back into the 1800’s. You could slide the train windows all the way down and stick your head out the window. All the noises you imagine a train making, they really do make those noises. The wind rushed through the windows whipping my hair around and making my skin chilly to the touch. No pictures could ever do the views justice. So many shades of green, mountains, tiny little villages, winding roads, bridges over rivers. Molly and I ended up standing in front of the window for 2 hours without even realizing it had been so long. My heart has never been so content as it was on the train. After days of stressing over last minute details and getting no sleep, having that level of peace rush into my soul was exactly what I needed.
Was the train ride perfect? No. The train went through a lot of dark tunnels that let in damp dusty air. The train cars were filled with smoke and I think my bedding had bugs in it. There was no sleep to be had, and the conductor told us to get off at the wrong stop.
As we start our month in Romania for all squad month, I can’t help but see how that train ride looks just like the month so far. There have been moments of stress trying to soak in all the details, trying to figure out how to continue having time for just our team among 40 other squad mates, and just learning how to function in a new place in a new culture with so many people all around all the time. We haven’t even really gotten on the train yet, and I feel like I’ve already seen so many dark, damp tunnels and smoke filled sleeping cars.
I’m already being stretched in Romania, but I know for certain that those beautiful views of the mountains, the greenery, and the little towns and rivers are coming soon. God is prepping us to do something big here, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
