A Tribute

During our trip and now following it, we have been sobered many times over by the types of danger that we co-existed with while out and are humbled and grateful that none of these things came upon us. I suppose that it would be easy for us to remember the trip as 'everything turned out fine in the end' and quickly sweeping over what an unusual thing that is. There was, in fact, danger at every turn, and our returning to where we came from unscathed is nothing short of an act of God. I'll explain what I mean so that you can appreciate our safety in the way that we do.

While on the trip we were able to keep up with news in the countries that we were in or about to visit, or just had visited. This was a great thing to do as it kept us in the know, but it led us to realize some very alarming things unfolding around us. While we living at our beach campground in Coledale, in Australia, there were riots going on at the beaches just down the road from us. Racial tension had come to a head and people had seen fit to resolve their issues by brawls and gang fights. Thankfully, none of this violence reached our area. A week later we were in Brisbane and the beach that Hilko had just recently surfed at was closed because of a shark attack that resulted in the death of a girl about our age who was swimming there. Two weeks later we were in Thailand, staying at a hotel on a beach that had seen a British girl raped and murdered only a week before we arrived. From Thailand it was off to Sri Lanka where tension between the Tamil Tigers and the existing government had begun to boil. Though we felt the unease, that was the height of things for us. While we were in the country, though, several bombs were detonated all over the country to send the powers there a message. Again, we were out of harm's way. From Sri Lanka on to India, where an American girl had been raped and murdered on the same train system that we had spent 60 hours travelling on the same week that we arrived. While we were staying in Visag we read in the paper about an abduction attempt on another American tourist in Bombay, the city we had just recently come from. Also while in Visag, we spent a day in mountains crawling with naxilite terrorists who made it a practice to kidnap foreigners to then use in negotiations with the government. Again, we walked away unharmed.

The list could go on and on. I haven't even gone into all the terrifying driving we were subject to, the strange foods we ate from even stranger sources, the diseases we were exposed to, the flights and boat rides and motorcycles,and the danger from theives and other criminals we no doubt crossed paths with. And what about the fact that we were able to keep all of our personal belongings? Never once were we without enough cash, or the right documentation, or directions, or at the very least, a friendly person to help us when we needed it the most. At the beginning of the trip there were far more jitters. By the end of the trip we began to feel far more confident that things would turn out right, and that we would be protected and provided for.

Now we sit at our homes, safe again, and we are eternally grateful. Grateful to God the most, for His protection and intervention despite all the odds. People told us that we were crazy and doubted that we would make it. They had every reason to feel that way. This trip probably shouldn't have ended the way that it did. By all indications, it could have very well ended in tragedy. But it didn't. And we attribute that not to our prowess, because we had very little, or to our ability to rise above danger (as it seems we were hot on its heels all the way around the globe), but to the kindness and mercy of the Lord. And how could we forget all the people we met along the way who extended kindness to us? Some of these people we knew well. Many of them we had only just met and others still we didn't even know. But what they had in common is that they understood that we had needs and that they had the means to meet those needs and they stepped out to make that happen. We often had nothing to give back but thanks. Sometimes we offered them money, and they refused it. Sometimes we promised to get them back, to reciprocate for their kindness, but even there we have no idea if we will ever see them again. The people that helped us out did it because they wanted to, not because they had to. They did it because it was the right thing to do and didn't ask for anything in return. Often it came up between the four of us, and I will mention it here, that one of the things that we will take away from this trip is that in the future we will do all we can to show kindness to travellers and strangers, because for the last six months, our survival depended on other people doing exactly that. Without them, it is entirely possible that we would still be out there, stranded and a long way from home. If you are reading this and you are one of those people, if you gave us food or shelter or a ride or directions, or you prayed for us or you let us use your house or your car or even your phone, thank you for what you did. It was critical and it did not go unnoticed. You've turned us into lifelong believers in the power of kindness. We hope very much to be able to make it up to you. God Bless you all.
E