For those who regularly follow my blog, it’s time for me to switch it from devotional to travel again…
Look at the picture clues
Big Ben
Buckingham Palace
and guess where I spent Friday! Actually, the majority was on a 747. But having a 7-hour layover at Heathrow airport meant we had time to ride the underground train into London where we saw the sights – Buckingham Palace, Big Ben (we heard it bong at 5:00 P.M.), and the House of Parliament (you can see it, too, if you look on a bottle of HP steak sauce). Then came the return hour-long train ride to Heathrow amidst commuters heading home to the suburbs. Oh my. Imagine standing…in the heat…squished by other passengers…after being awake for nearly 30 hours. Call it an adventure! We ended the day with a 2 ½ hour jaunt to Budapest, Hungary.
We reached our hotel around 1:00 A.M., grateful that the team’s 22 suitcases arrived intact and thankful for a room with air conditioning. It felt soooo good to crawl into bed. Talk about exhausted! And now we’re up and at it again, after about 5 hours of sleep. Today we’ll drive from Budapest to Resita, Romania. That’ll take at least 7 hours, I believe.
You might be wondering what we’re doing this time. My husband and I are leading a team of 9 volunteers to partner with five career missionaries. We’ll host a camp for young adults facing various challenges in life. We’re bringing craft supplies, hygiene items, snacks and Bibles. We’ve planned games galore. And we’ll be sharing insights from God’s Word to encourage the kids and reassure them that they’re loved and not forgotten. I can hardly wait to see the kids we spent time with last summer, and to make new acquaintances.
Re: craft supplies. I was especially blessed a week ago when a little girl named Joanne celebrated her 8th birthday back in B.C. In lieu of gifts, she asked her friends to donate money to buy soap and deodorant for these kids in Romania. The donations topped $180 so she bought candy and elastic thread for beaded bracelets, too. Then she came to our house with her mom, grandma and two sisters and helped assemble the bags of goodies we’ll give to each camper.
Last year we had wireless at the camp venue. I’m hoping the same will be true this week so I can continue posting about our experience. Stay tuned for more!
Hi, Grace, I’m pleased to read details of your trip so far. Bless you for all you and your team will be doing. Joanne’s efforts touched my heart. Take good care of yourself. I’ll look forward to future posts. You’re in my prayers.
LT
Thanks for your prayers, Linda. I was without internet access for several days but will have it for most of this week, so I can post a few more blogs about Romania.