From October 12th
I have never been so glad to be home as I am today! I was lost, totally lost, in an unfamiliar neighborhood! After school, I was getting a ride home from the Principal & his wife. We had to go the longer back way, because there was a blockade. So, we got about half-way home, to where they turn left onto their street & I need to keep going right. I got out of the car with my co-teacher, Nancy. We walked about a block to her street.
Before she left me, she told me the best way to get home from there is to first get in a “collectivo”. A collectivo is a taxi that isn't just yours, so the driver can pack as many people in as he wants. She said they could only go to the “bus terminal” ~ so that the driver would let me off there. She said THEN, I would get in a “mototaxi” to take me the rest of the way home. A mototaxi is like a small, 3-wheeled golf-cart. They are open on both sides. There is a small front seat for the driver & a seat in the back where maybe 2 people could sit comfortably. So, as soon as we saw a collectivo, she motioned it to pull over & told the driver where I needed to go. I got in the front seat, since there were already 3 people crammed in the little backseat.
He drove to the top of the hill & the other 3 people got out. I looked around thinking, “This doesn’t look like a bus terminal?” But, the driver graciously motioned for me to get out, that this was the last stop.
I immediately noticed there were no mototaxis in sight. This made me nervous, because I was carrying a purse & a laptop case in plain sight. Normally, every single day I carry both my purse & my laptop case INSIDE my huge hiker’s backpack, so they’re not visible. But, today, I THOUGHT I was getting a ride directly home, so I didn’t bother putting them inside the huge backpack. I knew I would certainly be a target to thieves of opportunity, since I was walking alone with these things visible.
So, I prayerfully got out, hoisted my bags over my head, so they were across my chest & on my shoulders. Then, I began walking. BUT, I walked & walked & the 3 or 4 mototaxis that did go by were all full. So, I kept walking. It was probably about 15 minutes of walking? I was dripping from walking in the sun. The wind was blowing my hair into my face & it was sticking because I was sweating.
Then, I got to a spot where either I had to turn left or go straight. I had only been back that road maybe 3 times? I didn’t remember if I was supposed to turn left or go straight. I was literally lost! I knew I was quite a ways from home, but had no idea which way to keep walking! I stood there for a minute, looking hopefully for a mototaxi to come past. None. So, I called Nancy’s cell phone, thinking she could tell me which way to go. But, no answer. By this time, my mind is crying out, “Jesus! I’m lost, Jesus! You do you see me here, right? Jesus!”
Across the street from where I was standing, there was a little food stand. An older man there was apparently also looking for a mototaxi for an elderly woman, with a cane, who I assumed was his mother? As I was dialing the phone number for Nancy’s house, I saw him whistle loudly & gesture to a mototaxi that had just pulled out of a street up the hill & was driving away from us. Suddenly, the driver turned it around, drove down the hill, & pulled over. Just as Nancy answered the phone, the man helped the elderly woman in & then gestured for me to come across the street & get in. I hesitantly walked across & asked the driver if he would take me to my neighborhood. He nodded & I abruptly got off the phone with Nancy, saying, “Never mind.”
The lady got out a block later, just around the corner.
Fifteen minutes & fifty cents later, I was on my street corner, walking towards my apartment, praising Jesus for picking me up out of a scary situation & getting me home safely! Aren't you grateful that we are never truly alone? I'm so thankful for God's continued protection!
(Sidenote ~ since then, I've found out that it would have been ok to go either left OR straight! Both ways lead home!!!)
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