D.C. Trip 08.04.12

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Original plan:  Meet at Gateway church in northern Indiana at 6:30 p.m. CST for Heart Prep and for planning. 

 We spent the day doing laundry and packing after picking up our oldest kids from camp. 

I finally secured a piece of luggage for the trip plus put together and packed enough outfits for the trip, which was followed by nap time for me.  During the afternoon it poured rain for the first time in a very long time.  Unfortunately the rain fell at the same time that Matt was working to load the van.  Afterward we ate supper early and were enjoying some laughter around the table when the phone rang…

New plan:  Due to the storms happening in the Gardner’s area and the impending storms predicted for there and here, we decided to go up tomorrow morning instead of tonight.  We will meet at Gateway at 9:30 a.m. CST and see how the day progresses.

We do not know what the Lord is doing, but we do know He’s at work.

08.05.12 Sunday

We left home at 9:00 a.m. EST and arrived at Gateway Christian Fellowship at 9:30 a.m. CST.  After church and a fabulous lunch, we wrestled bags and food into the two vans.  Finally at 3:15 EST we departed on the first leg of our trip – destination:  Akron, Ohio.  We stopped for two bathroom breaks and one supper break; since we had such a large and delicious lunch, our supper was sandwiches, chips, fruit and cookies.  We had no problems on the road.

At approximately 10:30 p.m. we arrived at the EconoLodge where we had four free rooms awaiting us.  In my room were Lydia, Maria and Katie.  Sleep did not befriend me on Sunday night.  Anxieties joined sleeplessness and cause me to lie awake much longer than usual.  I am choosing to believe that I did in fact sleep.

08.06.12 Monday

Our goal this morning is to leave the hotel no later than 8:00 a.m. EST.  I have a slight headache this morning, but am anticipating a great day.  We will traverse Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland today, as compared to Indiana and Ohio yesterday. 

[The rest of this entry was written after it occurred; therefore information is likely missing and/or mixed up.]

We departed from the hotel at 8:30 a.m.; our team members in one of the rooms overslept their alarm.  This occurrence, coupled with multiple bathroom stops lengthened the trip and put us in D.C. later than we had planned.  The Washington House of Prayer, the YWAM base where we are staying, is located in Anacostia on the southeast side of the city. 

Gatepost Center, YWAM Washington, D.C.

It is an inner-city neighborhood, which was a bit unnerving initially.  As we moved our luggage into the building, I could feel my two day old headache begin to worsen.  Then a certain unpleasant smell, a badgering fly and a mysterious comment, “I’ll tell you about the showers later,” caused my heart to question.  The clincher for me was the reference to the “furry creatures” (a.k.a., rats) which sometimes share our new living space and which conjured a mental image of a dark, dank, moldy basement shower room only accessible via the rat-gauntlet hallway.  Add to all of that my intense physical hunger, and you can guess how fast I caved to fear, anxiety and complaining.

Unfortunately I indulged those negative thoughts and feelings for a while and even voiced them to a couple of adults from our team.  Yet God was already at work whispering words of love, faithfulness and strength.  By the time we finished some worship and prayer with Jason Hershey, the leader of the YWAM DC team, my heart was adjusted and aligned and peace reigned again.

Our adventure for the evening was worship in the Ellipse, which is situated between the Washington Monument and the back side of the White house.  It’s officially part of the White House grounds.  It felt so very right for us to be there worshiping.  We also prayer walked around the entire sidewalk that encircles the Ellipse.  This will be the site of the upcoming  David’s Tent Event, in September.

Upon arrival back at the Gatepost Center, my heart and spirit were still entirely peaceful.  I asked a team member who had showered earlier to show me to the shower room, since it was the female's hour to shower.  The shower room in the basement is a shared shower room; females shower during odd numbered hours and males during even numbered hours.  The sight of the bright, clean shower room gave me confidence that showering at 5:15 a.m. the next morning would suit me perfectly.  And despite the city lights beaming in the windows of our dorm room and the call of sirens and other city noises, I slept relatively well for me when I am in a new location.

What a trip so far!  In just a few short hours I felt like huge transformation had taken place.  My faith was buoyed by the reality of God's faithfulness in always being with me and available to help me.  This trip was promising to be an amazing experience.

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