A lot of interesting people on the bus...
A Colombian girl doing her post-grad in demographic studies between LA and Tijuana.
A man who made me some quesadillas, trying to find the right church, eager to talk about faith and life.
A teen asks me if I want to smoke pot with him, (I decline) and then we proceed to talk about getting his life together and possibly joining the military.
A couple Welsh guys on their gap year travelling through the USA. We talk for a couple hours about travel, music, and faith.
A Russian-American asks me to play guitar with him. He solos like no other while I play chords, we make two dollars and then asks the Welsh guys if they believe in God. He plays with religious and philosophical ideas, but doesn't stay on a single topic for more than a sentence or two. Doesn't answer any questions directly, but says really strange things about angels and demons, at least had something going on in his head. Nearly gets on the wrong bus, even after we tell him which one he's supposed to be on.
An older man who listens to rap music and gets drunk because he's on his way to see his son for the first time in eleven years, and he's nervous. He keeps up a steady stand-up routine going across the entire state of Utah.
An single mom artist and post-grad student who, although she's planned on it for maybe fifteen years, makes her first trip out west.
A teen who dropped out of a rehab because "I'm a Christian and all, but they were all crazy bible-thumpers."
A girl who's moving to Cali to be with her boyfriend and dreams of growing pot.
A native American girl who's just finished going around visiting a bunch of churches seeking and also dancing with an Aztec dance group. When she wasn't explaining Peyote to me, she was exhorting me with Bible verses and was really just super-encouraging. God spoke through her. I would try to figure that out, but I think I'm over that phase of my life.
I got a three hour testimony from one lady who, having grown up in Foster care, lived a hard life as a youngster but has found faith and is a determined and inspiring mother of three. Hearing her story of abuse and being ignored in the foster care system broke my heart. And yet, God was bringing purpose and hope into her life, and despite a rough past, she was able to share an amazing story of hope and change. Her love for her own children, and her dedication to being there for them and teach them self-sufficiency and worth, was probably the most inspiring part. Also, despite being on food stamps herself, she reaches out to those in her community who are more in need than she is, feeding and hosting them!
The diversity and depth of these people is staggering: their sins, their fears, their journeys. And each one carries pieces of His image, which can be hard to remember when they're drifting off high on their Marijuana-laced soda or snoring. But you meet a lot of beautiful people on the bus. Austrailians on their way to weddings, dreamers interviewing with big companies, musicians, and even sometimes, someone who will take you in. :)
Beautiful, man.
ReplyDeleteThat first sentence: crushing because it's true.