WOW, its been along time...

I find myself traveling once again. This time I am on the train, and realized that I haven’t written in a while, so here’s continuing the series on "the people that have shaped my life".

Today I am reminded of man with hero like qualities. I met him when my new and small family returned home from my technical training in the Air Force. He and his wife were the youth pastors of my home church; we were all trying to make it in our new found lives. We all became good friends, and soon my wife and I were serving as “advisors” in the youth group, which meant we got to do all the fun stuff, do the road trips, and hang with the”kids”.

It wasn’t long before we had a major trip before us, so in preparation I got a bus driver’s license to help drive, but a few days before the trip realized that the church’s insurance wanted to charge a small fortune to let me on as a driver. That was the first step of a hero…he said he’d drive the whole way, no need to cancel the trip.

As with any youth group trip, the best trips are fraught with woe and peril. This trip was one of the best!! The bus decided to breakdown just south of Biggs, 3 miles south to be exact, a cop happened by shortly after the break down; step 2 of the hero…get in back of the patrol car and get help. The bus got fixed relatively fast and we were back on the road.

The first agenda stop found us at the church door step of a good friend and youth pastor in San Jose. We planned to go to Santa Cruz to experience the boardwalk and a beach bon fire. On the way back STOPPED for gas…and didn’t get re-started. As we were making plans, an “off-duty” shuttle van “just happened” to stop to get gas before heading back to San Jose. Step 3 of a hero unfolded in front of us. He found a repair shop that was open late, put most of us on the shuttle and stayed with the bus until it was fixed. Apparently the previous fix was made haphazardly and the parts were not sufficient…but the trip was still moving.

We stopped in Lodi for the youth conference, and then continued to So Cal for more adventure. We stopped in Tustin this time to see another friend and youth pastor, we got to stay in some old classrooms; a boy’s one and a girls one. Somewhere about bed time phase 4 of the hero emerged, the girls let out a blood curdling scream, and all the boys ran over to see what was going on….even though we were fast, we were still behind a hero of a man. Thankfully, it was nothing more that a few bugs that freaked the girls out. But the time we spent there was restful and fun as we visited Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm…and all I got to say, is the DRAGON BOAT GUY (a story all by itself) and even as I type that, the people around me think I am crazy, because I’m stifling the laughter. We had a great time for two days before beginning the trek home

On the way home we took turns keeping our hero awake, as it seemed to turn into marathon sessions each leg. At one point I remember the discussion about stopping for the day out of sheer exhaustion….and I remembered thinking, this is what heroes are made of. We stopped and played in the pool while our heroic driver caught up on much needed rest. And though the next 2 days have their own story, they really seemed to melt into the background.

It has been a long time since I’ve seen this hero of a man, and this story only touches on the care he shows to others. Recently, I was blessed to have crossed paths with this man again. I was reminded of his genuine care for people and love of Christ. I am thankful that God put us together at a most important time in my life. And because of his actions, he earned a respect that will carry through many years. Thank you my friend. Blessings to you!