The bus driver looks me in the eyes and waves that it's time for us to get off. I had shown him an intersection on a piece of paper given to me by Erik earlier that day, and I had asked the bus driver to take us there. We were looking for a restaurant called the Yellow Cafe and apparently this was where we got off. As we all pile out of the bus, the driver pointed in the left direction and said something in Romanian then left. So as we looked around and no restaurant to be found, we began walking in the direction he pointed us. Now I am the kind of person that likes to know where I am going, and I'm not a huge proponent of walking aimlessly in any given direction. However, the others in the group thought it was better than nothing. We begin looking for the cafe left and right but to no avail. Wondering if we were going the right way, I began to remember Erik saying, ''You can't miss it. Its a big yellow building.'' I would have loved to find Erik was right, to find the cafe so easily, but this was not the reality in our current situation. As I begin looking every where for something that would tell me where I was, a white van pulled up beside us on the street. I looked in the van to find Arthur, our camp leader last week. Thankful that he was there, I asked him some questions which made us confident we were going in the right direction. After he left, my mind began to ponder. I first realized that Arthur lived in a village 20 minutes outside the city, and he ''happened'' to be in the center of the city at that particular time and place. As he left Lauren made a comment, ''that was convenient.'' However, I was quick to correct her and say, ''That was God.'' If that incident wasn't proof enough that God is taking care of us, let me share some more insight into this story. We finally found the intersection the bus was supposed to drop us off at. Relived we began looking for the big yellow building, however, it was no where to be seen. As I mentioned before I am not one to walk with out knowing where I'm going so I told everyone to stop. Chaise crossed the street to make sure it wasn't on the other side, and Lauren walked a few yards to ask someone for directions. As for me and Ashley, we just stood on the corner of the street hoping Chaise had found it. Furthermore, when Chaise gave us the news of no cafe, I began to pray God would send someone who knew English to give us some kind of direction. As soon as I was done, a couple walked by, and I asked the gentlemen if he spoke English. He immediately turned to his significant other and motioned for her to come closer to both of us. I then asked her the same question, and instantly this Moldovan woman spoke English as good as I did. Amazed and somewhat taken back, I proceeded to ask her if she knew where the cafe was located. As she looked at me with empty eyes, she had no knowledge of the cafe we were looking for. Disappointed, yet thankful, I began to think through other options. However, as quickly as the lady left she returned with a hopeful look on her face. She asked if I possibly was looking for the Galbenuse Cafe? Ashley immediately informed me that yellow in Romanian was galbenuse. Filled with relief, the lady told us to follow her, so we did. 30 meters down the side walk was a large building that we followed the lady into, and much to our amazement we went around two corners and found the cafe. Erik was right about it being yellow, but he failed to mention that the original building was being restored. The cafe had moved into a smaller space to continue operations until the building was finished. Thankful to God and all the means He used to get us to where we needed to go, we got our food and began to enjoy ourselves. God takes care of his children no matter what part of the world or the circumstances we may find ourselves in.
In Christ, Andrew
Psalm 48:14
ReplyDeleteFor this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.