minibuses, rain, adventures and more!

Let me preface this story by describing the public transportation available here. We call them minibuses; the locals call them taxis. Basically 16 or 17 people cram into an 11-passenger van. Personal space is really a foreign concept here. There are different stops throughout the city where you might have to cross the street or around the corner to switch to a different minibus. The tricky part is they don’t always drop off in the exact same spot and if you’re not paying attention, sometimes they don’t stop at all. So this is one of the biggest challenges I’m learning to conquer. I should also preface that it’s rainy season here which means it usually rains multiple times a day, randomly without a lot of warning.

So this week I’ve gotten to help out some at the Primary School I’ll be teaching at. Thursday afternoon, I left with one of the other teachers, even though we are only are the same route for a very short time. While we were waiting for a minibus we ran into one of the men from the leadership center that one of my friends, we'll call him John, helps run. The other teacher had met Jacob before so we stared to talk with him while we waited, hoping the taxi would come soon because it was beginning to sprinkle. He was going to Ghotera, which is on my way home. I truly believe that Dad sent Jacob to help me on my way home. First, he paid for each of my taxi rides and even though he was stopping at Ghotera, he promised to get me on the right taxi to Wolsifer. When we got off the minibus at Ghotera it started to rain harder & harder until it was pouring… he led me to a little café where we could wait till the rain passed. Although there were some silent pauses, we were still able to have some great conversation over a macchiato. John is Jacob’s mentor, so I asked him what is the greatest thing he has learned and he told me that true leadership comes from having a servant’s heart, because that’s how the Son lived. I learned about his family & where he’s from & his girlfriend who is waiting for him back home. I told him that it was a blessing that he was going the same way and that I believe the Father sent him to help me. He told me before we left the café that we have the same Father and even though he has dark skin and I have white skin and that we have different hair and speak different languages, we both follow the Son. I told Jacob that he is my brother. The sun started to peak its head out so we went back outside, Jacob got me on the right taxi, paid my fare, and I was on my way. Jacob and his service to me was such a blessing. Praise the Father for brothers all over the world!

More adventures & facts that aren't so serious soon to come!