The Sisterhood of the Traveling Buses part one welcomed you into the realities of travel days with Peace of Freedom. Our last month was in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We spent the first two weeks working with Hogar de Niñas & Niños. OUr last week our ministry host (AKA Dad) took us to San Ignacio and San Jose Campamento to do ministry. Before heading to the bus station we decided to go eat at Subway or Burger King. (Side note: I was so excited to get a Burger King crown!) We had to speed walk/jog home in order to be able to leave in the ideal time frame Dad had set. Traffic was so bad as we were trying to get to the bus station. Just before the entrance of the bus station Dad jumped out to tell the bus company not to leave because his girls (Peace of Freedom) were on the way with all their bags. I didn’t pee before we left because I thought I would have time before the bus left. I was wrong and was on the verge of peeing my pants as we were sprinting to catch the bus before it pulled out. The bus was set to leave at 8:30 pm and wouldn’t stop until midnight. I became very uncomfortable when I found out the bus would stop on the side of the road. However, a VERY nice bus attendant told me if I hurried they would wait for me. Jada and I couldn’t fall asleep and were bored. So she decided to start learning Hebrew and I chose to practice Romanian. Early the next morning we arrived in San Ignacio.
A local family friend of Dad welcomed us into their home for breakfast and a time of rest before catching our next bus. On the way back to the bus station Allie, Hannah Beth, and I got into one of the two taxis that was hailed. Within the first few minutes, a slight panic set in when we realized the taxi driver was using his emergency breaks because his regular breaks were broken. (Good News: The 3 of us are still alive!) As we traveled into San Jose Campamento we took a large van instead of a bus. The bus was loaded down with 10 people, big packs and day packs, and a few extra pounds on top. As we piled into the van Allie, Hannah Beth, and I wound up in the back seats. The 3 of us were WIDE awake having our own party. We laughed so hard we cried, were SUPER loud, and started playing a quiet game which eventually put us all to sleep.
Coming back to San Ignacio and Santa Cruz our bus rides were uneventful. It was so difficult to say good-bye to the kids at Hogar de Niñas & Niños as well as our ministry host (AKA Dad). As we set off for Argentina everyone met back up at the bus station. We boarded a bougie bus for the next 40 hours. To our surprise, there was hardwood floors, air conditioning, and 170-degree reclining chairs. Once again we arrived at the border VERY early. We were able to exit Bolivia right away. But had to wait for the Argentina border and bag security to open before coming into the country. After a few more crossings we finally were able to continue our journey.
Each travel day in and of its self is an unexpected adventure day. I couldn’t be more thankful for the laughs and memories created with my team and entire squad.
