GOD WAS THERE
It was late, but I had to get myself home. I took the public mini-bus as far as it would take me, but then I had to walk down the necessary dark alley the rest of the way back to my apartment. I held my keys, pointed outward, between my fingers to give myself some sense of security that I would be able to defend myself if approached by one of the many drunkards who frequented the streets of Lviv, Ukraine at night. I was scared and felt utterly alone. But God was there.
I boarded a bus to go visit a church for a post-English camp follow up. I barely spoke the language and had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. Wishing someone was going with me, I had never traveled alone on a bus in Ukraine before. There was a pit stop along the way. I had no idea. I didn’t understand how to find my seat, and no one spoke English, so I was on my own to figure things out. I just sat in an empty seat, hoping that was the protocol. It wasn’t. A large man came on the bus and proceeded to yell at me pointing at the seat. Talk about a deer in headlights. I stood, as people laughed and stared me down. I finally broke down, crying, stood and yelled “does anyone speak English?!” Nothing. But God was there.
I needed to take the overnight train to Krakow because I was instructed to get a visa just incase the government in Ukraine went to pot with the latest election. Alone this time, as normally I was in a group, I boarded the train and found my room, hoping to have the space to myself. I didn’t. For seven hours I lay scared on the top bunk while two foreign men lay chatting in the bunks below me. A combination of anger and fear kept me alert through the night without rest. But God was there.
My apartment had so many issues. Most nights I didn’t have water after 10PM. Sometimes I would have to go a week or so without electricity and/or water. My landlord, who spoke mainly Russian with a hint of Ukrainian, would show up often to do some sort of construction project, which I, of course, knew nothing about. In the winter, the radiators are regulated by the building, so they would be on full blast, causing me to open my windows and balcony doors so I didn’t die from heat stroke INSIDE my own apartment. Through all that, though, not once was my apartment ever broken into; never did I have anything stolen, while everyone else had. God was there.
At the time I couldn’t see that I wasn’t alone. I felt abandoned not only by my team but also by the One who called me to serve. It took me seven years, almost to the day, to realize God was always there, that He was right beside me in each of those moments. I was never alone. Everyday, each fearful trip, each uncomfortable moment, protecting me. Always.