BUT. I am hanging in there. Even though sometimes I am overwhelmed, I am managing (mostly) to stay positive about life.
What I really want to do is wrap up my thoughts about The Eastwest Tour since that whole adventure seems like it was ages ago.
I like numbers so here is a bit of a summary:32 days
12, 652 kms
6 provinces
6 states
0 vehicle breakdowns
2 oil changes
20 different beds
1, 000, 000 dead bugs + 1 dead bird
I wish I could think of some sort of cheeky formula for that to equal a certain amount of smiles or something but I can't. Let's just say it was PRICELESS. HA!
And totally worth it. There was some financial investment of course (so priceless isn't exactly true). It's hard to know how much money we actually spent because people along the way were very generous with food, money for gas, places to sleep, or advice on what to see and how to get there. I have to say a BIG THANK YOU to all those who took care of us and supported us on this journey. There is no way we could've done this without the help of so many people. You know who you are!
To see more of this country was somewhat of a dream of mine. I'd been wanting to do a road trip like this for a while and am very glad that I decided to go for it and that I had good people to go with. Hannah and I were together the entire 32 days and Marie joined us for 11 of them.
Was it a success? As stated before I left, my reasons for going were to see more of my country, visit friends, and take time to pray and think about my life/future/calling. My closing thoughts:
A. Now, I haven't been to that many other countries in all their different seasons and what not... but I do read National Geographic and I know there are many other cool places out there. So my statement is simply that Canada is a beautiful country and I'm so glad I have been able to see a good portion of it. We've got it all... oceans, mountains, skies, prairies, little lakes, great lakes, rivers, trees... and every single bit of it was worth seeing. However, there are still 4 provinces and 3 territories I have not been to... *mischievous smirk*
B. I have a lot of really amazing friends across this continent. If it weren't for YWAM, I would not have met most of those people and for that I am grateful. As much as my life can be crazy because of YWAM, I have to say, I lead a pretty awesome life. I'm so glad we could catch up and see the people we did, even though it often felt like we didn't have enough time!
C. God is really cool and loves to speak to us. I wouldn't say that God has given me a 20 year plan or anything (honestly, how often does He actually do that?) but I would say that I gained some perspective on my past, my present, my calling, my giftings, and some ideas for the next step. I won't get into that here as there is much to mull over still, but it was good.
Success? Yes. I honestly think I could've gone for another 32 days. Yes, living out of a car sometimes isn't the most convenient, but when I look at those things I wrote above and look through our hundreds of pictures from the trip... it makes me miss it.
And on that note, I will let Babs, without whom none of this would've been possible, wanted to say something too, so she wrote a note:
To all those who doubted my capabilities to drive across Canada,
I would like to take this time to say a resounding "TAKE THAT!!!!" as I made it with no problems whatsoever. Yes, I creak and squeak and have some dents, and yes I am 18 years old, and yes I have had problems in the past BUT I am young at heart. All I need are a few prayers and some TLC and I'm good to go. Even after those 12, 652 kms my running total is a mere 138, 000 kms. I have many miles ahead of me.
That should teach you for judging a book by it's cover.
Sincerely,
Babushka aka Babs
1 comment:
Babs, I am so proud of you! You took very good care of our girls, (although "someone" bought BCAA before the trip started) and I am glad that you all enjoyed the trip. Great!
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