Hungary and the train trip

I arrived in Hungary and met up with friends from Grace and YWAM. Budapest is a remarkable city, very big and very busy. Rosie and I met up on Sunday and she helped me settle in and she showed me some of the city. I was fortunate to attend a worship service on Monday morning and Rosie took me sight seeing in the afternoon. We even shared some Hugarian goulash.On Tuesday, we had a very busy day. We went to the base and did some cleaning for the crew coming in. I did some errands (tickets and money) in preparation for my train journey. Cameron invited me to an intercessory prayer meeting with some local ladies and some others from ywam. The meeting was interesting because I learned some about Hungarian culture and some of the things going on in the city. Cameron has been led to look into what can be done about the problem of human trafficking and prostitution in Budapest. Young girls and women are being abducted or sold into prostitution not only in Budapest but other cities as well. The base here is amazing. I commend Steve and all those here with him who are working so hard with him to do the outreach and other ministries they have here.

I left Budapest early Wednesday morning because I knew I had a long train ahead. I would have loved to have stayed but time was not on my side. I felt like I just breezed in and out. The train trip was an adventure. I was blessed the whole way to be able to make my connections and be where I need to be when I need to be there. I realized very quickly along the way that one missed train can cost you a day or more. My first leg was 12 hours from Hungary to Frankfurt. I spent the night in Frankfurt because I could not catch the train to Paris until the next morning. The schedule I had read 6:18. I arrived at 5:58 to find the train leaves at 6! I made the connection, thank goodness. Minutes could really have made a difference here, especially because this was a long connection (ICE) to Paris. When I arrived in Paris, I was really thankful I had not been able to go the night before. Paris was crazy. I arrived at one station and had to take the Paris subway to another station to leave from there to Irun. Again, I was blessed that I had slept, was refreshed and able to tackle this part of the journey. Some people were helpful, but some were not. Once I was situated, I walked from the station up a few block and found a little restuarant to have a nice hot lunch. The meal was excellent. I had packed some snacks, but Iwas in need of a hot meal.

After lunch I went back to the station, and boarded the train to Irun. There were two trains and one was headed for another destination. I found myself on the wrong train and had to find my way down the tracks to the train I was supposed to be on. This was another long leg. I called Maria to tell here I was leaving Paris and would arrive in Irun at 11. Well, we arrived at 10 and I went to the counter to check about the overnight to Salamanca. From Irun to Salamanca is five hours. The man tells me I have one minute that it is outside now. I run from the counter after I had made the transaction and find my place on this overnight.

The overnight was the least comfortable of all the trains. I was in the car with a family from Portugal. Because they don't announce the stop and I could not see the signs from inside, I had no clue as to where I was. I was also in the habit of not paying attention. I did not have to because the legs where long and the stop was the stop I needed. So, I missed the Salamanca stop at 4 or so in the morning. Some students who were on their way to Portugal helped me. They knew that at the Cuidad Rodrigo stop I could catch a bus back to Salamanca. So, I hopped off in Cuidad Rodrigo and caught a bus and was in Salamanca by 7:30 in the morning.

Maria picked me up and took me to the city. I walked around some while she had meetings. She had a student come home with us for lunch. I had a shower and lunch. There was a whole huge crew here. Some added extra guest as well as the family. Benito is visiting again Sunday. I will go to Madrid Monday night so I will be ready to leave Tuesday morning.