The Next Few Days...

Day #4
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
11:58a.m.

"Last night was the craziest, and probably most intense nights of my entire life...in all seriousness. Brock never called us back, so we were left with no options for a home...completely and legitimately homeless. We eventually and sluggishly found our "spot" after trespassing onto Railroad property. We hopped a fence and found ourselves in a small bike path park, in it's wooded area (I use wooded loosely), just before closing time around 11pm. We settled in behind and underneath a somewhat dense bush (so we thought) in order to hide Ryan's bright orange sleeping bag. Knowing that we could get in big trouble for sleeping here we tried to be as quiet and sly as possible. My freaking heart beat fast and hard the ENTIRE night it seemed. Not 15 feet away, through the fence, trains started rolling in...from about 11:45pm to 2:00am. If they were looking, they had to have seen us...even though we were well-concealed from the bike/jogging path! At one point, Ryan motioned me "shhhh!" as a RR worker walked RIGHT by us with a flashlight, probably on his way to switch tracks for the arriving train. I have never heard more aweful, loud noises before what I heard last night. I was covered so I didn't see what the noises were, but wow were they loud! Another aspect of the night were the rats and raccoons. THey scurried everywhere around us all through the night, making it SO uncomfortable to try and sleep...They came within 1 foot of us sometimes.

I miss my parents...a lot. I just said to Ryan, "Dude, my parents move to China in 4 days." That's so hard to accept. I can hardly take thinking about how much I'll miss them.

7ish pm...
We've been walking since about 6:30am and awake since 3am. It seems like we'll never find ourselves a place to stay. THere is one place that seems promising, but who knows...I'm trying to Trust the Lord to provide, but wondering so often how the "heck" I got out here and what my purpose for this trip really was [is]. I ust hope God will drop some peace and comfort into our laps. Please, God...please. The highest calorie food that we've had so far is this Hershey's chocolate bar that we just finished together a couple of minutes ago. What an adventure...

11:23pm
Today was incredibly exhausting...I am too tired to write more. But I'll fill the next few pages with today's until tomorwejkj......"

Just an update...Everyone remember that this is not my CURRENT journal, but what I kept while I was in Seattle and Cali. There are just some cool things that I went through and wanted to share with ya'll...

By the way, I later found out that Ryan was "protecting" me by not telling me how many rats really approached him on his side during the night...About 7 or 8....oh wow....I thanked him...I guess:)

Finally there....

Day#3
Tuesday, May 20th 2008
9:30 a.m.

"I didn't sleep as well on the train this past night...this trip, as far as the functionality of it all by AmTrak, has been and is a disaster. I think we've lost a total of 4 or 5 engines so far, meaning that our average speed has had to be something like 45mph. Right now the train tenants are literally running down the aisles trying to sort things out; I think they, either intentionally or unintentionally, left 2 of the tenants back @ the last stop.

[...]
Last night as I slept (or tried), everytime we made a stop, more people left and boarded...Secretly and silently each time I woke up wishing and praying that no one would be assigned next to me, because my seatmate got off around 9:00 last night and I had both seats to myself...
[...]

A conviction came to me yesterday when not being able to handle a woman's physical condition as I watched her struggle to just walk. The way that she walked and looked absolutely for some reason shook me and unsettled my heart. I felt the Lord tell me this: NEVER TAKE JOY IN SOME ELSE'S MISFORTUNE...NEVER.

9:30p.m
Both Ryan and I are wondering why the ___ we decided to be this crazy. We're both still really excited, but wow are we scared. We tryed Ryan's alcohol stove at a park near the bay, but it was way too windy so we trekked a bit inland (OH YEA!!! We're in Seattle!!!) We walked past a loud group of "people" within our first 2 miles from the train station and I have to say that reality hit me and I said to Ryan, "We're in a whole new and different type of city now, bro!"...

It's 9:34 now and we freaking don't have a place to stay in Seattle. We're sitting in a city park about the width of a building, and since there is light we decided to journal...on a different note, we're waiting around because when we called Brock the first time he said, "it's cool! We'll have a few drinks and chill!" But now, against all that I had hoped for, he is "not picking up". Hopefully he'll call back...We really really hope so. If not...well...hopefully the cops won't pick us two homeless dudes up and jail us [not that that would really even be a horrible option right now because it's starting to sprinkle]...
If I thought for one second that this trip would be relaxing and stress-free, I take it back. The adventure has begun, we're scared ___less in a huge city, we're pumped for what lies ahead, and we're hopefully for many, many different things. Oh yeah, and we had our first hot meal since Sunday morning--oatmeal--and wow was is ever so good. Please Lord, protect us. Keep us humble but safe. Reveal yourself to me. Send your glory & favor. Help..."

En el Tren...

Day #2
Monday, May 19th 2008
7:30a.m....

"Tuna has probably never tasted as good a it did last night. Our dinner was a can of tuna each and to each a protein bar. Our experience already to me, seems so raw and exciting. I simply cannot imagine what it will be like once we're OFF the train and living it up in Seattle, WA.
[In recent news, the old lady who seemed insensitive @ the beginning of our ride seems to actually have one of those symptoms of Parkinson's disease (or something else) where her head is constantly shaking, telling everybody "NO" by shaking side-to-side...so yea...oops...I guess it wasn't directed as bitterly towards us as I originally thought]

8:00 a.m.
Today is kind of my first day of this journey for intimacy--encompassing intimacy with the Lord and peace/rest with myself--I woke up and read Psalm 18 like my mom previously told me to read, then I continued with Chapter 3 of Luke. I pray that God would just please reveal himself to me in a crazy way this summer. With the noise of people groggily awaking and having "goodmorning" conversations with their significant other on the phone, it's hard to obtain solitude here on el tren. Nevertheless, I expect the Lord to show up in new ways when I do find that silence somewhere. One thing interesting from Luke 3 "Jesus was thirty years old when he began his ministry"..this phrase comes right after he is baptised in the Holy Spirit. This confirmed in my spirit the song phrase, "Fill us up, and send us out" for me. We need to be filled, to have power if we want effective ministry.

9:30 a.m.
I'm now sitting out in a lounge area on the train. My seat is facing the window. Secretly I wish that it would storm so that I can be out here to look up into it. We just arrived in Rugby, North Dakota...not very impressive; however, @ the same time so unique and awesome. It's just one of the town along our way that looks like it has about 10 buildings and thousands of visible miles and rolling hills...there is a certain peace that is, I think, inherently released when we experience nature; more specifically, even, when we are @ least mostly void of schedule, exceeding amounts of possessions, and critical responsibility.

There is a couple, both about 65-72 years old in the corner...they are snuggling beneath a blanket. And thus my spirit is drawn again to the elderly. I'll never know why they touch me at such a deep level I don't think...
So many conversations surrounding me right now...So many unique, individual lives. How did our creator ever design & comprehend such complexity and diversity?"

The answer to that last question, as God later revealed to me: He has an incredible, a beautiful, a magnificent imagination. And he is love. That's how he thought up such a thing as this...

In The Beginning

Day #1
Sunday, May 18th 2008

"We only got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. What a crazy few weeks this has been...

Last night I broke down and just cried for 20 minutes. It's real now. I'm on a train to Seattle and Mom & Dad are moving to China in 1 week. Growing up could not have come more suddenly and simultaneously. Yet at the same time, I could not and probably have never been as excited as I am right now.

THE TRAIN...

My perspective changed on older people today. Indefinitely we should respect our elders; however, to love everyone recklessly and equally seems more accurate to some ideal of a state of "correctness"... All this venting sparked from a grumpy older woman that, when Ryan and I didn't see her behind us is the aisle said in an insistent or [obvious] tone "Yeeeeah...Hummmph!" when we finally noticed her and moved out of her way. I suppose what I actually realized is that NOT ALL OLD PEOPLE are sweet, innocent, and helpless...

I sit next to a 1-year-out-of-college theatre major named Tyler. He's really cool and went to Nebraska Wesleyan College. Maybe the Lord will bring opportunity in this short-lived relationship.

Ryan and I met a girl named 'Lily'. I first noticed her in line for our train back in Chicago because she was carrying what looked like a wooden spear. It turns out that Lily is carrying a well crafted longbow. She goes to some wilderness school in Albany, NY and is on her way out to the Olympic Mountains to do a "survival period". She's only taking a knife, her longbow, and several other items in her backpack. Lily taught Ryan & I how to make, essentially, rope out of the inner bark of a plant called dogbane (?!):
(1) Buffing period- to remove external bark. Methods: rolling in palm; segment twisting
(2) Seperate the buffed, slightly adhered strands into two sections.
(3) Make an -X- out of those strands...Twist to the right; lay over bottom strand; REPEAT

*I'm already craving a steak dinner, and it's the first day still. The powerbar and half-can of tuna will be well worth the wait..."

A New Start...

So I'm back...and with many crazy and amazing stories to tell.
All in all, I spent 54 days across the range of my time spent in Washington and California.
I've truly grown in incredibly amounts through this trip, but I'll tell you right now that it was not without a cost. As I read The Shack (I recommend this book to anyone and EVERYONE) this summer, I was able to come to somewhat of an understanding that more than not, God wants to take us through an experience and work with us to bring about change. Applying personally to me, the Lord met me in different situations that I felt like I almost was supposed to brought into in order to come to an understanding of what God wanted me to learn. This may all seem abstract, but I assure you that this summer has brought about important decisions, understandings, and changes in my life.

I want to share with any of you that may be still keeping with me some of my journal from this adventure of mine. Both Ryan and I kept a journal every day of this trip with maybe 2 or 3 exceptions, and for the next couple of weeks or so I will be posting different entries from my journal so that any joy or wisdom or comedy that I've experienced can in some way be passed on to you...

There are a great deal of personal things that were written in my journal that I will NOT include on here, but I think there is still enough material that can be shared that will be enjoyable.

So please, share what you think about some of the things, hopefully some of it will be a benefit. After most of my thoughts have been processed and put out there, I'll start actually blogging again...

So here goes...day number one coming up...