Yesterday I told you about how God has begun to provide the needed funds to get certified for a taxi service. Today I want to tell you about how God allowed me to take my friends, Dave and Martha, and some of their friends and family to Smyrna, Maine. I will break this post up into two different ones so that it won’t be quite so long.
One evening after work I had a message on my phone from Martha asking me if I would be interested in taking her and Dave and maybe a few other people to Maine. I could hardly believe it! Maine of all places! I have wanted to go see the New England states for a while, but I have never had the opportunity to go. Not only would I get to see those states, but I would also be with my friend Martha and other Amish people. I was so excited!
The big hiccup that I could see coming was that I may not be able to take off work. My sister’s wedding was planned to the weekend before the Maine trip and I wasn’t sure that I could get off for two weekends in a row. I began praying and I asked others to pray as well.
If you know me well, you will know that I do not like conflict and will try to steer clear of it if at all possible. I knew this could cause conflict, and I was scared! I was not going to allow fear to rule me, so I took a leap of faith and asked off for that weekend. When the managers went to make the schedule, I got butterflies in my stomach. When I took my break that day I could barely eat and began praying that God would somehow allow me to take off. A few days later I got the news that I was granted permission to have off that weekend. I felt so blessed! As the plans began to come together is was evident that God has His hand on this trip and wanted me to be a part of it.
On Thursday after work I picked up 4 guys who were going along on the trip and headed to Dave and Martha’s house to spend the night. The next morning, we woke early and had a wonderful breakfast. By that time other guys had joined us that planned to go on the trip including Dave’s Mennonite friend, Glen, from Missouri and Glen’s friend, Stephen from Iowa. Altogether we had about 13 people. It was quite the task getting everyone in the van plus all the luggage!
When we finally got on the road it was about 6:45 AM. Because Glen had driven all night, I took over the driving. I had never driven a 15-passenger vehicle, but it only took a few minutes before I felt comfortable driving that large of a vehicle. I actually really enjoyed it. We decided to take the scenic route through New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We made it to our first destination in Wales, Maine by 6:30PM. Yes, I drove the entire way!
While we were in Wales, we visited what they call an outreach settlement of the Amish church in Smyrna. This new Amish settlement has only been there for a couple of years. As I began to listen to the men talk, I began to realize that there was something different about these Amish. It was evident that these people had a genuine relationship with the Lord.
We spent the night with a couple Amish families. The next day we shared breakfast together before heading the next 3 hours north to Smyrna. On our trip to Smyrna we stopped at an overlook to see the Mount Katahdin. It was a gorgeous view!
Once we finally arrived in Smyrna we spent the afternoon listening in on a meeting about the Amish magazine that they publish there as well as visiting with the people from other states who came for the meeting. That evening we went to the places where we were going to be spending the night.
I was placed with a wonderful family. They had girls around my age who were very welcoming and allowed me to tag along on Sunday until I was able to meet up with Martha at church. I did not realize until later in the day that I was actually staying with the bishop and his family!! If I had known that in the morning, I would have been a bit nervous. However, by the time I found out I was feeling mostly comfortable around everyone. At least as much as I can when at a completely new place.
In my next post I will tell about what happened at my first Amish Sunday church service and what that Sunday afternoon and evening looked like. I will also tell about our fun and eventful trip home.
