“A leetle,” she said.

A leetle was good enough for me. “We’re going to Katowice,” I said. “Do you know from what platform the train leaves?” She shook her head but said something about taking a bus instead of the train. I thanked her and ran up two flights of concrete stairs to Gene who was guarding our suitcases where we’d deboarded.

I told him the clue I’d learned, and together we hauled our luggage down the stairs into an underground tunnel. Now it was my turn to guard the luggage while he dashed to the ticket counter up a different flight of stairs to get more information. He returned a couple of minutes later. “Go outside,” he said. “There’s supposed to be a bus waiting to take train passengers to the next city!”

We grabbed our bags and hauled them up two different flights of stairs to a sidewalk above ground. Two buses sat idling there. Gene ran to one and asked the driver if the bus was bound for Katowice. The driver grunted, stared out the front window and waved his hand as if to brush Gene off. One passenger saw what happened and tried to help but his English was as sparse as Gene’s Slovak. Finally Gene saw a list of cities printed on the bus wall and pointed at the one we wanted. The passengers shook their heads. “No, no,” they said. As this was happening, the other bus pulled away from the curb. Too bad – turns out that was our bus.

And so our 10-hour trip turned into 15 hours. Thankfully it wasn’t all on trains. We found a coffeeshop with wireless (albeit intermittent) at the station. We enjoyed ice cream and cold drinks while catching up on emails and working on our Bible studies for the upcoming Polish camp. Chalk it up to adventure. Be still and know that He is God over every little detail. Turns out that we met a guy from Ohio on the train we eventually caught, and we were able to plants seeds of truth in his life through conversation with him.

While at the train station, I had an interesting cross-cultural experience. I had to use the WC (water closet aka toilet), so I found my way to the appropriate room. Two women about my age sat at a ticket counter at the room’s entrance. A sign on the ticket counter window told me that I had to pay 20 cents in Euros (about 30 cents CDN). I pushed the coins through the window toward them. The women smiled and pointed at a roll of toilet paper on the counter. I picked it up, they nodded their permission and I went on my way, mindful to return it for the next customer. BTW, men have to pay only 15 cents to use the toilet, unless, of course they require paper. Then the price goes up to 20 cents. Add that to your travel manual!

Gene and I spent Monday debriefing with the IM leadership team asking/discussing relevant questions to help us know how to better serve the staff. I’m so impressed with this team’s unity. Everyone’s gifts and strengths are recognized and encouraged. I count it a privilege to be part of this group.

On Monday evening, we walked up a narrow, paved, pot-holed road to an alpine village for dinner. We enjoyed reading the menus, as always. Convoluted pork, for instance, means it’s rolled. Mixed salad makes me think of lettuce tossed with fresh vegetables. Think again. It’s an assortment of four or five different salads (each portion the size of an ice-cream scoop) served on a small luncheon plate. At this restaurant, the selection included shredded carrots, cubed pickled beets, another type of beet salad, and sliced cucumbers in cream sauce. Here’s a tip for anyone traveling in Europe – if you order a glass of water, you’ll be asked whether you want water with gas or without gas. Water with gas is like North American club soda.

Tuesday morning held more leadership meetings, and then came time for us to catch the bus and begin our journey home. We spent the evening in Krakow with an IM couple. While Gene went off with the husband, the wife and I enjoyed dinner outdoors in a famous square. Hundreds of people milled about, shopping at vendors’ booths around us. What was for sale? Everything from smoked cheese shaped like little sheep (to celebrate Easter) to amber jewelry to Polish pottery to whimsical clay angels, cows, and cats.

I bought a wee wooden box with a hand-painted little girl angel on the lid. She’s smiling, but she has only three teeth – obviously a few are missing. Apparently this is a special box for kids’ baby teeth. I thought it would be fun for granddaughter Anna to use in a few years (okay, okay, I’m thinking ‘way into the future – she has only six teeth so far). When she loses a tooth, she can put it in the box and set it beside her pillow so the tooth fairy can find it easily. ‘Way too cute to resist.

When Gene checked his email, he discovered that our daughter-in-law was online. He was able to Skype her using my laptop, which has a built-in camera. What fun! We caught our first live glimpse of our new grandson, and caught some giggles, waves, and kisses from Anna.

When I checked my email, I received a message from the women’s retreat organizer in Warsaw. She said a Polish woman who attended the retreat two weeks ago told her that she chose to place her saving faith in Jesus Christ at the last session that weekend! That news brought a perfect end to a fantastic trip. Many, many thanks to those who prayed. I wish I could take you all with me on the next trip.

Budapest train station

Our third train was an overnighter. Remember the four-hour adventure Gene had buying tickets for this trip? Well, it continued in Budapest when we doublechecked with the conductor re: whether or not this was the right train before we boarded. The conversation went something like this:

G (Gene): Does this train go to Krakow?

TC (Train Conductor): Yes.

G: Thank you. (We picked up our suitcases and boarded the train.)

TC (from behind us): Show me teeckits. (We deboarded the train with our suitcases and showed him our tickets.)

TC: Yes. Dis da train. Come. (TC led us back onto the train and to our reserved sleeping compartment.)

G (wishing to triplecheck): This train stops in Krakow, correct?

TC: No! Dis train no stop in Krakow. It go to Warsaw. Show me teeckit.

G: The tickets say ‘Warsaw’ but it goes through Krakow to get to Warsaw. Will it stop there?

TC: No stop in Krakow.

G: I told the ticket agent that we wanted to go to Krakow and these are the tickets he gave me. What should I do?

TC: (shrugged) I dunno. Come vit me. (I stayed with the luggage while Gene and TC deboarded the train, walked along the platform past several cars, and disappeared. They returned minutes later having found a solution. Gene learned that the train would split during the night. The car with our reservations would head for Moscow! We had to move to a different car and pay an additional 42 Euros despite the fact that it was the ticket agent’s mistake. Sigh.)

Then came THE phone call. Our son called our cell phone to tell us the good news: his wife had safely delivered their wee son, Luke Timothy, 35 minutes prior! So, grandbaby #2 is safe and sound, albeit about 3 weeks early. Praise the Lord for this little life!

The night was a long one. Gene climbed onto the top bunk and promptly fell asleep. His ability to do so is truly a gift. I stayed on the bottom bunk and tried to sleep, but that’s as far as it got. My mind was filled with thoughts about the new grandbaby: What did he weigh? What does he look like? How will 15-month-old Anna respond to having a sibling? I could hardly contain my excitement.

Besides my having an emotional rush, the train rumbled and rocked, screeching to a stop and lurching to a start countless times until dawn broke and we pulled into Krakow. Within 20 minutes we’d boarded a lovely tour-type bus and were headed to Zakopane. “Thank You, Lord, for watching over us so faithfully and for giving us the blessing of Luke.”