Warning: Only Travel With the One You Love and Who Loves You, or You Will Quit!

Jim in Venice

 Conversations in 96 degrees with 35 pounds on your back in countries where everything is uphill and you don't speak the language.  You had better love the one you are with.

AT THE TIME:

Linda in Croatia

1. "I thought you had it!  Look in your backpack again."
2. "Not that way!  This way!  We have to make that train or we'll miss the rest of our connections!"
3. "Okay!  Okay!  I heard you the first time!"
4. "I don't have any kunas.  I thought you changed Euros for them at the cambio.  Looks like we can't buy water now!"
5. "They weren't kind.  I don't think they like Americans."

AFTER: 
1. "She was SO nice!  She said she had seen pictures of Arizona!"
2. "I love you, too"
3. "He walked us toward the bus station. He said he hopes to visit beautiful America someday."
4. "You are a good compass.  Now, we'll make all our bus connections to the Adriatic today.  PTL!"
5. "Taste this!  Oh my word!"
6.  "Thank you."

We have learned after 43 years of marriage that if we had not liked the one we had been traveling with, we would have quit along the way.  We met during the Viet Nam War in a Navy hospital and married 90 days later.
We give God the glory for that intersection and for His faithful companionship along our journey. We don't tolerate each other: we love each other.  That has to explain conversations in the humid heat while running to make a train connection while carrying 35 pounds.

DURING:
We saw this commitment during one part of our intentional journey:  a visit with Nazarene church-planters, Dave and Betsy Scott, in Zagreb, Croatia.   Graduates of Eastern Nazarene College and Fuller Theological Seminary, they have intentionally committed their lives to international church planting.

They have been in Croatia for 2 1/2 years, have two beautiful children and clearly like who they are traveling with. Through sporting connections, Bible studies, and English Clubs, they are slowly making connections in a country that is 86% Catholic and only about 5% Christian.  And, most of the country is skeptical of the Protestant faith in general. An additional way of outreach is through Qanah (Hebrew word that means 'to acquire'), which is a thrift store they have established with another couple where families can sell goods and clothing with the proceeds going to help other families in the community.
They stay with the purpose of starting the first Croatian led Church of the Nazarene in order to introduce the seeking, the lost, the hurting to the best Traveling Companion in life, Jesus Christ.  They have become incarnate in their culture, and we witnessed this during the time we spent with them. If they didn't like who they were traveling with, they would have quit a long time ago.

We like who we are traveling with - each other and Jesus.  We firmly believe that Christ places the perfect steppingstones in the exact position to refresh us with new experiences and encourage us with new friendships.
We all sincerely get to know both ourselves and the people with whom we travel. When we journey with Christ, we are traveling with the One we love and Who loves us. We are getting to know Him better and He is polishing us in the process.   Quitting is not an option despite the heat, language barriers, added weight and uphill climbs.
We couldn't have chosen a better way to use our retirement. That's our story....and we are sticking to it!
  
Who's your best traveling companion? You don't have to go alone!

Keep looking up!

J:m and L:nda