Since my last blog, so much has happened. I had my final days of training, 3 days of travel (5 countries, 4 planes, 2 long bus rides, one short car ride, and countless hours waiting (and sleeping) at airports and bus stations). Check out some of my squad-mates’ blogs to get a better idea of what our travel was like.
The coolest story I have from our travel took place in Skopje, Macedonia (yes I said Macedonia!). When my team reached Macedonia, we were exhausted from non-stop travel. We had arrived at the Skopje bus station at 3 a.m. on the morning of July 5th, my team knew we had another 2 hours on a bus to Pristina, Kosovo, however that bus would not leave the station until 6 am. As we settled in to wait for our next bus, my team was unaware of the many ways God was already taking care of us.
For you see, on the night of July 4th, several riots had started to break out throughout Skopje due to the court case against 6 Muslim men. These men were found guilty of murdering christian fishermen and were sentenced to death. The riots were started in protest to the death sentence by some in the minority Muslim population of Macedonia. Police were present, tear gas was used, and several people were injured during this 2 day long protest. (you can read about it here http://balkanist.net/fumbling-for-the-frontline-of-skopjes-barely-contained-ethnic-conflict/ or here http://adukovska.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/police-used-water-cannon-to-disperse-protesters-in-skopje/)
Here’s the thing, this protest lasted 2 days, from July 4th to July 6th. My team and I were in this city for 3 hours on July 5th. During those 3 hours, there was a break in the protesting. Whether it was because it was late at night or people had left to recuperate, I do not know. But this I do know, my team knew nothing about the chaos surrounding us as we traveled. As we entered Skopje, there was nothing that alarmed us and as we left it was just the same. I know that God protected us through that night. He let us sleep and relax when we desperately needed it.
Isn’t this the truth about the life. God takes care of us and arranges details all without our knowing. My team did not want to be at a bus station as 3:00am, but if we had arrived earlier it would have been in the middle of a dangerous protest. Our plans were made in such a way that our safety was arranged by God. It’s a dangerous business going out your door, but with our God, even the most dangerous of situations are still in His hands.
