Friday, July 12, 2013

Do You Wanna See the Clown?!


Alright, it looks like the Jackson traveling team has went to the bullpen for this next blog post, as the seasoned vet (Dani) takes a break to grab some sleep. It looks like you, kind readers, are stuck with me for the next few updates. Hope you enjoy.

First things first: we feel really bad about how long it’s been since we’ve posted a new blog, but traveling has worn us out quite a bit. True rest has been nearly impossible to find as we are moving to a new location every few days, which entails finding a new place to sleep for the next few nights, figuring out how to navigate the transportation systems in a new city, and then scoping out what we actually want to do when we reach our destination. Then repeat all of those steps again in another couple of days. Truthfully, I would be lost without Dani. She is much more organized than I am (go figure) and is amazing at staying on top of everything we need to do. She’s a true blessing!

Despite our lack of rest, this trip is still ringing true to the moniker, “Trip of a Lifetime”. The things we’ve been able to see and do have been truly amazing, most of which I never dreamed I would have the opportunity of experiencing. However, the highlight of the trip has surprised the two of us as we reflect upon everything we’ve done thus far. It took place in Switzerland, high in the Alps. Many of you might be thinking, “Of course, living in the Alps has to be incredible!” Don’t get me wrong, it was truly majestic to wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and just gaze out at the snowcapped landscape that surrounded you. However, it was the people that we met along the way that truly made this an amazing experience.  

First off, we flew into Zurich, Switzerland rather late. Being the frugal minded individuals that we are, we decided to sleep in the airport that night instead of finding a hostel for just a few hours of sleep. As we got situated for the night I was having a hard time falling asleep. Maybe the concrete floor I was laying on had something to do with it, but I think God knew that I had a restless mind at the moment. I was missing friends and family more than I realized. More than just being face to face with them, I was missing encouragement and fellowship in my spiritual walk. As I was laying there figuring all of this out at midnight, somebody comes up to me and starts to talk to me. He introduced himself as Rich. I was hesitant to take part in a conversation with someone who introduced themselves at midnight in a foreign country’s airport, but I’m glad I did. After talking for a little while, we found out that we had each started to take part in a conversation with a fellow Christian. Rich was heading home to New Jersey from Egypt, where he was helping plant Bible schools in the country. He was ecstatic to hear of our plans to go to India. We talked with each other for hours, sharing scriptures and sharing testimonies of how we got to our respective mission field. God couldn’t have sent me a more encouraging answer to prayer and need than the time I was able to spend with Rich. 

After that night, we headed out to our hostel in Gimmelwald up in the Alps. We made so many friends here, that we decided to extend our stay another night to spend more time with them.  We met a family from California, the Milnik’s, who were absolutely great. Ralph and Ginny were on a family vacation with three of their kids. Jenna and Kristal were our age, and Nathan was a few years older than us. They were fellow Christians, and we started talking about our upcoming trip to India and just talked with them for hours after that. We fit in so well with this family, playing cards, quoting movies, and laughing until our stomachs hurt! 

*Side note: I should explain the title of this blogpost (and no, I wasn't referring to myself). While we were playing Hearts, the Milnik's had a saying they liked to use during the game. "Do you wanna see the clown?" referred to the queen of spades. As the game wore on, the phrase got used more often and more intensely so that even Dani and I took part in shouting it out at random times.

We also met three girls from Alaska, Jenny, Jackie, and Sarah. Dani bonded with them immediately and they became fast friends. By the end of our stay it was as if they had all known each other forever. Another friend was Warrick, the adventure-loving geologist, from New Zealand (the only Kiwi we’ve met so far on this trip!). He was absolutely hilarious, and just had an outstanding attitude while we got to know him. He was traveling across Europe and into Russia, so it was great to hear about the places he had been. Then there was Milo, from the U.K. We became really close to Milo as we were able to combine our resources and make a meal for the three of us one of the first nights we were there. He had been living and working at the hostel for about a month, so he knew the lay of the land better than most. The hikes that we went on were all suggested by him, so we had him to thank for the outstanding scenery we were able to see. He was an avid climber who had pretty much explored everything around the area in his stay in Gimmelwald.  To top it off, after our stay in Switzerland, we were able to share the six hour trip to Munich with another couple we met at the hostel, A.J. and Juliana from Canada.  

From Dani going around the table: Ginny, Kristal, Sarah, Jenny, (you can't see Jackie), Milo, Warrick, Jenna, Nathan, then me

Milo, Warrick, and Jenna. And Sarah's face.
We finally found Ralph to take another group picture
The results were not so pretty. I just love that Ralph thought it was a normal picture. And I promise Dani is not that fat.
Dani with Jackie (left), Sarah, and Jenny

Nathan wanted to make sure we got a picture of him taking a picture

I couldn't blog about Switzerland without adding a few more pictures of our surroundings


It was incredibly clear the morning we left. It seemed an appropriate send-off for our amazing time there.
 
We were so blessed and encouraged by all of the people we were able to meet and get to know in such a short amount of time. It really felt like we were one big family by the end of our stay; a truly priceless feeling that I wouldn’t trade for any of the other things I’ve been able to see or do on this trip.  God reminded me during this time that no matter what I’m doing in life, the people I share it with are always going to be more important. It made me even more thankful for the friends and the family I have who have helped me with so much throughout the years, who are reading these blog posts and are in constant prayer for us while we travel. It’s also made me more thankful for Dani, to realize just how much better this trip has been just for the sake of being able to share it with her. 

We’ll get to the next blog sooner rather than later as we go over our first taste of Eastern Europe! Prayers for energy would be greatly appreciated as we finish up our backpacking journey. Thanks for reading. We love you guys!

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