So this is a story about the longest travel day on WR history. So all the team leaders arrived in Bucharest Romania on Tuesday the 26th of October so that we could have some leader time. Just a time to go out and not be leaders. Which I embraced fully! Lol Then the rest of the teams arrived on Wednesday so that by that evening of the 27th, the whole squad was together again. So we got to have some great time around each other and talking about how all the new teams did. On the evening of Friday the 28th, we threw our 3 angel squad leaders a little party, letting them know that we loved and are going to miss them. Janina had a bad valentines day experience, Kim never got to go to, and Kyla had a bad b-day last year, so we threw a valentine-prom-bday EXTRAVAGANZA! It was awesome! We had a DJ drop in (and by drop in I mean Blake rocked the house from the recliner) we had snacks, dancing and a very special guest drop by—-Cupid himself. It was certainly a site. So that was the last night that we would all be together as a squad like that again. We celebrated in style.
So the next morning, half of the squad headed out to start their journey to Johannesburg. They flew out around 10:45 AM and went to Athens and Doha, Qatar. The second group which I was a part of, flew out at 4:45 PM and stopped in Istanbul and Dubai. We all met up again in Johannesburg, South Africa in the afternoon the next day. BUT as we were in Istanbul, we got news that our buses had fallen through that were going to take us to Malawi when we arrived in South Africa. So….then started the praying that God would provide. So we arrived in Johannesburg to find out that we were still without buses, but Lia, Josh, Stacey and Dan were HARD at work making things happen.
After a few hours, they let us know that they had found a hostel that could host all 65 of us. Come to find out that some people had randomly decided to leave a day early which meant they had room. God providing #1.
So we got a few buses to the hostel, which took a few hours, since moving 65 people PLUS all their belongings for a year isn’t an easy task. So when we finally got to the hostel we found out that this place was crazy awesome! The people that work there were so courteous and nice. They said we had brought such a spirit of energy to that place that they missed. We are now going to try and work with them to host other WR teams in the future. They also helped with finding us the bus that would take us to Malawi. God providing for both sides # 2.
So finally, after arriving on the 31st, we finally get a bus to take us to Malawi on the 2nd of November. This is after a few times of getting prepared to leave and then to find out that we aren’t leaving. Of course the last time it was to once over the bus to make sure it was all ready for the journey. So the bus pulls up and we start to load up and find out that the typical bus can’t contain all of us and our luggage. So we have to go get a trailer to take our stuff. So we finally get one the road at about 6pm on Tuesday. Remember that time for you will want to remember that for later. God got us a 65 passenger bus for…..yep, 65 P-squaders. God providing exactly what we needed. That would be #3.
So we are on the road all excited to be heading to our place of ministry for the month. For most of us, it is our first time so we are even more pumped to get out into Africa! So we are off. 65 people on a 65 passenger bus, on an unknown length of time adventure. We have heard anywhere from 24-40 hours. To me, any amount of time is fine with me. Adventure with my squad mates is always a good time. Extra time with the squad….God providing #4.
After about 8 hours of driving, we arrive at the border around 130AM on the 3rd. We get through the exit side of South Africa smoothly and head over the enter side of Zimbabwe. This is when we find out that we are going to have to pay for visas for entry. So we figure that all out and begin the process to get us into Zimbabwe. If this were a conversation in person, I would ask you to guess how long it would take to get 65 people’s passports written in and a piece of paper stuck on it. I would then proceed to tell you 8 hours. It took us 8 hours to get all things taken care of. So needless to say that was something else. Other people were coming in and going out with out much a problem. But seeing as the president of Zimbabwe doesn’t like Americans, we got the raw end of the deal. BUT we got through and the majority of us were is great spirits and I was loving it! God providing #5. Passage and great spirits.
So now we are in Zimbabwe and heading for Mozambique. Since we got completely screwed on time at that border, we are not going to make the border before it closes. So we still hustle there to see. So we get there around 10PM on the 3rd. Well now we get to sleep on the bus! When you are in a bus and it is moving, it is rather nice. BUT when you are stopped and there are 65 people breathing all night, it gets kind of hot. It was definitely a night to remember. But we made it and started the exit side of Zimbabwe. God providing #5. Passage thorough Zimbabwe without any problems.
So we get through the exit side rather nicely. The border opened at 6AM. Once we pass the gate we find out we have to go back and get weighed in. So we do that and get everyone off the bus to get their passports stamped. We are all in line with our passports, when we all are told to pass all of them up to the front and then are told we can get on the bus since they can do it just with the passports. FALSE. After half or so people are on the bus, we are then told to get back off and grab our passports and walk through a room where it gets stamped and then back out. A total process of maybe 20 minutes. Crazy huh? So then we are on to the enter side of Mozambique. We get there around 8AM and start that process again. So we are in line and get the declaration sheet all filled out and are awaiting to see what this side will hold. So we find out again that we need visas to enter this country as well. So we have no clue if that is going to be similar to the last one, so we settle in for whatever it is. Well the pace of filling out our visas turns out to be quite an ordeal for these people. They average about 6.5 minutes per person. Which if you do the math that turns out to be just over 7 hours. So yep, you guessed it, we spent another 8 hours in total border crossings. This was also the place where I experienced my first squatty potty. For those at home who don’t know what those are….those are simply holes in the ground where you go potty and since there are no toilets, you have to squatty. Pretty clever name huh? Nothing too much for me, but the smell is something that gets you on those hot days. Well here comes the interesting part, there was an abundance of people selling water and hard boiled eggs. 4 eggs for a dollar! I did that twice! And a liter and a half for $1. I know that the squad bought around 40. Which was a total blessing since we hadn’t had any time to stop and re-supply our water. #5 God provides water when we are stuck at a border for 8 hours in the middle of nowhere Africa.
So we are still waiting for our time to pass and we find out that we need to leave by 3 to make it to the next border. So we are patiently waiting. And during waiting some people get some of us together and we worship there at the border. It was later told that the only way that our new squad leaders and logistics made it through that was because of hearing us worship and pray. So here comes 230pm and Lia comes running out and says “LETS ROLL!!”. We all hop and head through the gate and head on to Malawi. So yet another testament to God’s want for us to ask and be thankful at all times. God provided for his children when they ask. Numero 6.
On the bus, heading to our destination seeing what is in store for us now. We then find out we have a bridge coming up that has construction going on so there is a chance that that won’t even be open. If it is, then we have a great chance to make the border. If not, well you can figure that out. So we pull up to it and see that the direction we are going is stopped. Hmmm….wonder is this is going to get moving. So we do that sweet prayer thing God loves so much. Not 10 minutes later, we are crossing the bridge with the taste of the Malawian border in our mouth. Is that number 7? YURP.
We stop at the next store to try and stock up on water and food since we have been buying eggs and water at the border. No go. They only take local currency and we only have Rand, which is South African, and USD. So we just hop back on and decide to tough it out. We come across a little lightning storm that cools off the night air and is a refreshing face shower to some as we stick our heads out the window. I mean have you heard the song by Toto? “I felt the rain down in Africa….”. Yep, that song now has more meaning to me and there is even more to that later on. So keep an eye out. Anywho, we know that the border closes at 9 so we are looking good to make it time. So we are all in the mood to kick it into final gear and get to Blantyre and get this month going. Well we pull up only to find out that the little storm that came through knocked the power out and the border closed at 7….lol. Well here we go again, but this time with very little water. The squad leaders come up with a plan that has the guys sleeping outside with the ladies spread out more on the bus which will eliminate the hot problem. We also start to consolidate the water on the bus so that we know what we have. BUT here comes so great news, we are able to buy water from some place. So we know have water to get us through the night. We also get to sleep outside and enjoy the fresh air. God time #8 water and a solution to people not dying of a heat stroke.
So as we are winding down the evening outside the bus, I happen to glance down at the semi wheels next to the bus and I happen to see a small boy sleeping with his head of the rim. I was like what is this about? I immediately feel the need to do something. So I sit next to him just to start. I don’t know what to do, but I have this urge inside of me to do something. As I am sitting there, Christy comes over and sits next to me. I told her he was just here and I want to do something. I find out later that God had told her to come find me and to take her water bottle. Go God! So I am like “I wonder if he’ll wake up if I try to lean him on me so he isn’t on the rim anymore.” She says to do it, so I do and he sort of wakes up, but he doesn’t seem to mind that I am holding him, since he seemed to be a little chilly. So we give him the water and he chugs it down and then I remember that we have a few leftover sandwiches that the team hadn’t eaten yet. So I go grab them and give him one and he inhales it. I also grab some extra cookies which he absolutely LOVED! So we try to talk to him to find out what the deal is, but I don’t think he understand what we were trying to say. They speak Portuguese and we have some people that speak Spanish but that didn’t work either. So after that we slide under the semi since it was starting to rain….insert Toto song reference again. So Christy also gives him her World Race shirt which she lets him have. Yes I got a picture, but it was through the window since it wasn’t safe to take our stuff outside. She also grabs her pillow and blanket. They lay down on the pillow and I lay my head on a balloon we found and he isn’t for that. He proceeds to slide the pillow over and make room for me which I gladly accept since it is way more reliable that a balloon. Can you imagine that popping in the middle of the night with my head on it?? I can and I don’t want to experience at that time being at strange border and all. So the guys also have one hour shirt times to watch the bus and the people sleeping outside. So I fall asleep quickly since everyone probably got on average 4 hours sleep a night with many probably less than that, me included. Next thing I know I am getting woken up at 3 to do my hour. I get up and the kid is still there with the blanket since he stole it from me! By the way, it gets pretty chilly at night in Africa. But I do my rounds and head back to lay down for a minute or so before everyone gets moving. So when we awake, he gets up with me and hangs out. We seem to attract EVERY person within 2 miles that wants to exchange money, collect plastic bottles and sell things. So we get swarmed in no time and the kids get pushed away for whatever reason. But we are dealing with the border people and have a place to get to. We fist bump a few times and that is the end of that. Christy finds out that his name is Emmanuel, which means God with us….that was what I needed to hear. So this is big number 9. Provided me my first heartbreak and a way to love a child in the middle of nowhere. I mean come on, we had just traveled for multiple days, had some crazy times and yet in the midst of all that, there is ALWAYS times to LOVE.
So we are heading to the entrance of Malawi and we had a pretty smooth way out of Mozambique except for the guys trying to charge us 200 rand to use the bathroom which turned out to be a free bathroom. Nice try guys,. Try the next Americans that come across. So we get to the enter side and find out that we DON’T need a visa to stay in the country. So we need visas to be in a country for a few hours but not to live one for a month. Explain that… So we are now in the final destination country and are only a matter of a couple hours from Blantyre. We stop and a local place to get food at water and we have our first chance to spend the Kwacha. The Malawian currency which is a whopping 151 to 1 USD. So 2 loves of bread, a jar of honey, some water, chips and cookies came to like 1500 Kwacha. It was strange to pay that high of a number still knowing that it was only like 10USD. We finally roll into Blantyre a few hours later at the bus station and meet one of our contacts, Harvey Chabinga with Harvesters International Ministries. HE helps us get a few buses/vans to take us to Zomba, which is Tara and my teams final resting place. Here is a fun fact. It took 1 30 passenger bus and 2 smaller vans for 37 people and all their belongings to get to Zomba. The cost for that was…..around 36,000 Kwacha. Still hard to not have to think twice. Our weekly budget at 7 dollars a day for 13 people is 96,000 kwacha just for food and lodging. It feels pretty sweet to carry 80,000 around town after withdrawing it. #10 God providing us safe passage for us and all of our stuff for a total of a 68 hour bus ride and multiple days in South Africa. Altogether looking at 7 full days of traveling across 3 countries in Africa and many more in Europe and a couple in the middle east.
And he is only just getting started, but I will save the next blog about our ministry for another time. This is FAR too long as it is, but I wanted to do it all at once since internet is very sketch and we may only get it 3 times all month. So all in all, it was a VERY blessing trip that tested everyone’s patience and will. It was God breaking us all since we had been pampered for 4 months and he was letting us know it was about to get real…..which it has. Very real….and I am loving it. Africa is going to change me and I fully embrace it. Here is a small taste….we had church today and I heard the most amazing singing EVER. These people sing with all God gives them. It brought tears to all of our eyes. These people praise and worship God like everyone should. They have no instruments, only their voices. We should all be so humble before our savior. I am going to choir practice on Saturday. You better believe I am going to try to sing with these people. I could listen to them for days. 4 part harmony and such volume. You have to experience it. Colby got some recorded so you may get lucky.
Well I guess that sums it up for now. Lovelovelovelove to all of you! I will miss you during the holidays! Eat some good food for me!!!! Continue to seek God and just simply love. It literally is that simple. I will post blogs and other updates whenever I can. It will be much less than before but that is what I have been praying for. I expected the race to be more like this (that’s what I get for having expectations) so I am loving every second. Not that I haven’t loved every second before, just this is a whole new season for us all. God has prepared us for this and I fully intend to get all that I can.
p.s – yes the beard and hair still grow.
