The Long Awaited Third Cup

So I have a feeling that is high time for another blog post.

So, here goes.

And this will probably be quite jumbled up, because my brain is like scrambled eggs right now, but I hope most of it makes sense.

First off, God is good. All the time. Not some of the time, but literally ALL of the time. I have to remember this, because it is one of the easiest things to get thrown out of the roller coaster of a mind that characterizes part of my soul.

Secondly, God is love. I'll expand on this later. So have patience - which is a virtue, you know. =]

Okay. So where did I leave off? Oh, right. I didn't tell you anything about my actual TRIP at all, yet, did I?

Hmm, how to make a month-long story short? With bullet points, obviously!

February 5, 2011
-I hopped on a plane from Medford, Oregon and flew to Salt Lake City, Utah.
  -Didn't sleep.
-I then hopped on a plane from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Paris, France.

  -Prayed for a traveling companion.
  -Met Dennis, a Frenchman who was very kind and helpful to me. He sat next to me for
   this 9 1/2 hour flight.
  -Didn't sleep.
  -Dennis fell asleep, and they only showed 2 movies, so I counted in my head. Yep, you read that right. I got all the way up to 504 before I got distracted by the fact that the sky was becoming light! YAY!
Somewhere along the way, February 6, 2011 happened.
-Prayed for favor in the eyes of all I met.
-I arrived in Paris. I had to go through customs, but didn't have to grab my bags! Hallelujah!
-Met a girl from Reno named Kelsey. We stuck together because we were both quite lost/confused.
-Finally got to my gate and sat and waited for my flight to Manchester.
-Hopped on the plane to Manchester.
  -Didn't sleep.
-Arrived in Manchester, went through customs, and picked up my bags. At the carousel where my bags were, there were handy little trollies for my bags so I wouldn't have to carry them. However, what you need to unlock these trollies from one another is a pound coin. Guess what I didn't have. Mmhm. You got that right. A pound coin. So, I tried shoving every kind of American coin I possibly could inside that little keyhole... and nothing worked. Finally, when despair started sinking into the depths of my soul, I asked someone for help. He also could not make the trolly unlock. Eventually, he said "Hang it!" and took out his pocked knife and picked the lock on the trolly so I could have it. What a kind man. =]
-Got lost in Manchester Airport.
-Finally found the blasted train station.
-Bought my ticket.
-Waited for 30 minutes
  -During this time, I met Andy, who was the guy on the platform who tells you were to go. He was very kind to me and talked to me the entire time. Then, when my train finally got here, he helped me put my bags on the train. Too kind. =]
-Got on the train and tried not to fall asleep while I waited for it to arrive in York.
  -Had an awkward encounter with two young men while on the train. They thought I was looking at them, which I wasn't, mind you, and they were talking about me to each other and staring at me. I prayed for them to get off at the next stop. By the grace of God, they did. =]
-Finally arrived in York, tired, hungry, and feeling quite weak.
-Lugged my bags all over the station looking for a pay-phone. That was painful, and it resulted in an
 injured finger! =[ Poor finger.
-Finally found a pay-phone. Put coins inside it and called Angharad.
  -Angharad did not answer her phone.
-Frantically searched for more change.
  -Found none.
-Left my bags by the pay-phone and went to a Starbucks stand a few yards away, watching my bags intently the entire time.
-Bought a bar of chocolate so I could have change.
  -Got a weird look from the cashier.
  -Didn't care.
-Went back over to the pay-phone.
-Called Nan, who was actually IN the station waiting for me. I had walked right past Nan and Rachael.
  -They came and found me.
-Got a taxi and drove to Burton Green.
-Lugged my luggage upstairs.
  -Understood the reason behind calling luggage LUGgage.
-Forced myself to stay awake until 8:04.
-Went to bed.
THE END of traveling! YAY!

What did I learn through all of these things? That God listens to me. I prayed for favor in the eyes of all I met - and I got favor. I prayed for a traveling companion - and I got Dennis and then Kelsey. I prayed that those two men would get off the train at the next station - and they did. God listens to his children. Isn't that cool? =]

I'll write more on other cool stuff later. =]