Day 18, Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I've been sitting herefor a long while just trying to figure out how to even start describing this day. We started out this morning looking for Wall Mart so we could buy a few things we needed. Three different people gave us wrong or conflicting directions. We finally found it though, bought what we needed, had breakfast and were on our merry way. It was a pleasant ride really till we got to Baltimore. We missed the exit to Ben's road mostly because the signs/the city itself has changed so much since we were here 20 years ago. So we found ourselves in the absolute heart of Baltimore in the sweltering 90 degree heat. At some point we started to drive thru the most poerty stricken part of the city. I began to feel very stressed. I started to cry when I saw several men sitting on their doorsteps with their head in their hands looking very rejected. Almost everyone we saw was black. It seemed like the poverty was more pronounced just because the people were black. Then I began to feel very ashmaed of thinking this way. Why should this section of town seem more scary or poorer than any other similar section just because the people are black? I was ashamed of my prejudice. I wish I could describe the poverty to you -- absolutely no greenery anywhere -- houses boarded up -- broken windows -- aimless people (especially young people) that seemed to be just looking for trouble -- businesses with closed signs on them -- a young man trying to sell socks on the street corner -- streets dirty, much trash strewn about.
At some point in time Ben told me we had a flat tire on the trailer and I began to hear the strange noise with every revolution. So here is what was going on: we were driving through the most crime ridden/poverty stricken part of town, in the sweltering 90 degree heat, with a flat tire on the trailer, trying to maneuver thru the narrow city streets. I felt so sorry for Ben -- he not only had to drive but to try to deal with my stress and tears. He is SO strong-- just kept plugging along and encouraging me that all would be well. It was a very dark time for me.
We finally (after abut ten miles on that flat tire) made it to a gas station near Sara's home. So Ben called Sara and she came and stayed with us there. Ben called AAA but they could not or would not understand that we only needed a strong man with a 2 ton jack. They wanted to tow the trailer to a repair shop. Ben just could not make them understand. After 1 1/2 hours wait, Ben went and bought a jack and the job was done in 20 minutes. Finally just as Ben was finishing up the AAA man showed up in his truck. God, In His infinite wisdom, mercy and grace, sent a wonderful black man our way to help Ben. He just happened to be walking by and stopped long enough to help Ben change the tire.
After all that we drove to Sara's and we had to get the clothes and other things we needed for the next few days out of the trailer because we could not park it at Sara's house but at a relative's house about 15 minutes away.
We also realized today that somehow/somewhere our trailer license plate fell off.
Now, at the end of an incredibly long and difficult day I want to tell you something -- Dear family and friends: God is GOOD! Why is God good? Because He has given us:
*18 days of beautiful accident free driving (well except for one tiny one)
*good health and money to take this amazing trip
*sweet/dear friends and family to visit along the way
*a computer and the knowledge of how to use it to keep you all updated
*a wonderful place in the country to return to where our eyes behold the beauty of he mountains every day
*good mental, spiritual, physical and emotional health necessary for this trip
*bright new hope for tomorrow
*a lovely trailer with kitchen, full bathroom and a comfy bed to sleep in every night
*a big white powerful truck to pull the trailer
*the blessing of living in such a beautiful and free country
*extra money to buy some fun things we did not need but just wanted
*so many other blessings that all the paper in the world could not contain them
As I fall off to sleep I am praying that God will never let me forget the deep povety and rejection I saw in the faces of the people of Baltimore city this day.
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