It’s never boring when the C’s are round!
We were so happy to have the opportunity to house sit while reconnecting with friends and supporters. One of our friends had to tend to some unfortunate business which included a cruise to Hawaii. So we packed up our bags and took off for what was to be a peaceful two weeks. We were so excited when we pulled into their drive and were not too surprised that their car was not parked in its normal space in the driveway. Being experienced missionaries we simply relaxed and waited patiently. Yes, God has taught us patience and flexibility and how to “go with the flow.”
Syble mentioned that our friends had said they had some errands to run and so we thought this is why they were not at home. This also explained why they did not answer their home phone and didn't answer the door. An hour passed and just to be sure, Syble got out and went to the door and knocked on the door, but no answer. Being the patient people we are, we didn’t want to rush them!
As in life, nature called. If we had been in the “bush” we would have remained with our car and walked to an appropriate sized vegetation. However, since we were in a suburban area we decided to find suitable facilities. So we backed out of the drive and went to a nearby convenience store, used the toilets and bought a cola lite. We always felt guilty if we simply used their facilities and didn’t reciprocate in some manner. Feeling relived we returned to our friends home and still not seeing their car, we settled back in our seats again. We amused ourselves watching the neighbor’s children play cops and robbers while making friends with the family dog, Toby. Their father is a police officer so we felt somewhat secure being there.
Remember we bought a coke, so it should not surprise what happened next. You guessed it; after another hour passed we had to tend to business again. So we backed out of the drive and headed back to the store not sure what the neighbors were thinking of us. Rather than going back to the convenience store we stopped in the local McD’s hoping to just slip in and use the toilets but of course they spoke to us. Since having not eaten since breakfast and we had to buy something! As we sat there eating our plain burger we saw someone we had not seen in years. We asked them to join us and we spent the next hour and 10 minutes talking about the goodness of the Lord. Then it was back to our friend’s driveway. Still no car! This was strange! Thinking something must be wrong, Syble called their mobile phone. She then went on to tell them that we were in town and were looking forward to seeing them. Then they said something odd. They said “when are you going to get here?” Syble replied, “We are here and are sitting in your drive way.” She then asked “where are you?” They replied, “WE’RE AT HOME AND HAVE BEEN ALL DAY!!!”
Seems as if the home number we called was their fax machine number. When Syble knocked on the door they were in the back room and by the time they got to the door Syble had returned to our Hum V Wanna B which was parked on the side of their drive they couldn’t see from their front door so they did not see us! They were wondering if we were even going to come! Why did we not see their car? They had cleaned out their garage to make room for their car!
The good news was the local economy was blessed, the Lord was praised, the neighbors were entertained, our friends were amused and we got inside in time so as not to have to go back to the store again.