Throughout our time in Europe, we felt so blessed to meet so many remarkable people. We truly felt as though the Lord put people in our path that blessed us with their kindness, service, and friendship. We end this portion of our trip with no photo, but with a few more tender mercies by yet another brave knight or two.
Our flight home took us through London where we had an overnight stay before a long flight early the next morning. We arrived in London late in the evening. We exited the terminal and began looking for the bus that would take us to our hotel. To our surprise, the hotel buses are city buses and they charge 5 British pounds for the trip - fortunately kids are free. We boarded the bus and the boys ran to the back to grab a seat. The bus driver asked me for 5 pounds. My dull traveler brain proceeded to give him 5 euro. "Ma'am, I'm sorry but I can't take euros. You'll need to go inside and buy a ticket where you can use a credit card. The next bus will be by in 30 or 40 minutes." I inwardly groaned at the late hour that would soon be made later by this latest event. Just then, NoFear came running up to me with a 10 pound note. "Mom, a lady at the back of the bus gave this to me for you to use to buy your ticket." I was so grateful as I walked to the back of the bus to meet the latest of many brave knights we had encountered. I introduced myself and offered payment in any number of currencies from my wallet. This kind Canadian simply smiled at me and said,
"just pay it forward."
We arrived at the hotel, checked in to our room and headed down to the restaurant for a bite to eat. The boys were so excited to have some Fish n Chips. Mom was just ready for a pillow. When the waiter inquired whether I wanted anything to eat, I declined and just asked for a glass of water. As the boys were finishing their meal, the same waiter came back with an enormous slice of strawberry shortcake. "On the house," he said as he placed it in front of me. "Sometimes even weary travelers need a slice of cake." Hard to argue with that kind of wisdom!
So chapter one of our travels comes to a close. We are so excited to be heading home and so anxious to catch up with friends and loved ones. We are certainly excited to say goodbye to our wardrobe of the last few months and to sleep in our own beds! Having said that, we are most grateful for so many rich and rewarding experiences given at the hands of so many wonderful people.
Chapter two will find us in South America in a few weeks.
We are so excited to meet the brave knights of that beautiful land!
simply amazing! :-)
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